Grant Shapps has released a cringeworthy video plugging electric cars in which he engages in a faux Wild West shootout scene with original Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson.
The bizarre clip starts by showing the Transport Secretary reversing into an electric car charging point in a Tesco carpark.
He then opens his boot to grab some plastic bags, presumably to prove he knows how to use a supermarket in the wake of Rishi Sunak‘s bungled publicity trip to fill up a car in Sainsbury’s.
After safely stashing the bags into the pocket of his North Face jacket, Mr Shapps’s eye is drawn behind him before the screen turns sepia and ‘Western’ music plays.
As the edges turn to black and the screen narrows, who should be in his line of sight but original Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson.
The bizarre clip starts by showing the Transport Secretary reversing into an electric car charging point in a Tesco carpark
As the edges turn to black and the screen narrows, who should be in his line of sight but original Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson
The pair lock eyes and Wilson even goes so far as to place a toothpick in his mouth as he stands with his arms crossed at a different charging point in the carpark.
They both grab the charging plugs and, complete with finger twitches that Clint Eastwood would be proud of, draw them up and into the sockets of their cars.
Just as the banjos reach their peak twanging, the video cuts to the pair sitting on a cafe bench on a dreary day drinking takeaway coffee.
It is then revealed that this entire stunt has been orchestrated to illustrate what Grant Shapps proudly claims: ‘The UK has got the fastest charging in the West.’
And just in case anyone was under any illusion that he was referring to the Wild West, he adds: ‘Well, the Western World that is.’
The pair lock eyes and Wilson even goes so far as to place a toothpick in his mouth as he stands with his arms crossed at a different charging point in the carpark
They both grab the charging plugs and, complete with finger twitches that Clint Eastwood would be proud of, draw them up and into the sockets of their cars
But the banter doesn’t stop there. In a scene reminiscent of the stilted conversation between Alan Partridge and Dan Moody at the petrol station, Wilson adds: ‘And you are going to be building even more chargers aren’t you?’
Shapps responds: ‘Yeah that’s right, we’ve got £1.3billion to build out this charge network to make it easy to drive an electric vehicle.’
Wilson then uses a bit of electric car slang by adding: ‘And I’ve been driving EVs now everyday for over a decade. And they just are easier to live with, cheaper to own and maintain and so much better for air quality and the environment.
Just as the banjos reach their peak twanging, the video cuts to the pair sitting on a cafe bench on a dreary day drinking takeaway coffee
As the ‘old-timey’ credits flash onto the screen the viewer thinks the clip is over, but the duo save their best joke for last
‘And look, here we are, in a supermarket. You can go shopping and charge your electric car, how good is that?’
As the ‘old-timey’ credits flash onto the screen the viewer thinks the clip is over, but the duo save their best joke for last.
In an attempt at an American accent, Shapps asks: ‘So what’s your poison?’
To which Wilson replies: ‘Bourbon, of course.’
Shapps then proudly produces a packet of chocolate bourbon biscuits and the video cuts out.
The millionaire minister was mocked for posing for publicity shots pumping gas into a Kia Rio – worth about £12,000 – outside a Sainsbury’s
It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak was mocked by the public on Wednesday for posing for publicity shots pumping petrol into a Kia Rio, worth about £12,000, outside a Sainsbury’s.
But it all appeared to unravel when he headed inside to pay for the gas and a full fat can of Coke, which he has previously admitted to being addicted to.
The cashier held up the bar scanner to register the price of the drink, but the Chancellor tried to tap his contactless card while he was being recorded on live TV.
Social media users ruthlessly mocked him for the publicity shots – which he has become well known for – as well as mishap when paying.
Fergus Craig said: ‘Yeah, just filling up my Kia Rio and then it’s back home for a bottle of Blossom Hill in front of Eastenders on our DFS sofa.’
