Ben Jennings

The first example in response to Rishi Sunak’s government’s draconian crime bill that included legislation to criminalise homelessness, giving police powers to fine or move on rough sleepers deemed to be causing a nuisance. Such nuisances included ‘excessive smells’. It seemed like the actions of a government completely out of ideas and desperate to cling on to power by indulging in acts of performative cruelty to see if any of it went down well with voters. With the cartoon itself I am always a fan of being able to get across the idea without any words.

The second was produced as Wimbledon 2024 started and a couple of days before the UK General Election. Starmer’s victory seemed like a foregone conclusion from the beginning and the whole election felt like a long coronation campaign characterised by a string of mishaps from Rishi Sunak such as the early D-day memorial exit, “I didn’t have Sky TV as a boy” and the suggestion of bringing back national service.

It’s a common cartooning trick to merge a current sporting/pop culture event with a topical news story. In this case we have Starmer winning the top prize whilst Sunak is still playing (and failing) in which spectators have grown bored and just want it to all be over, symbolised by the empty court and sleeping umpire.

The final example was in response to the far-right unrest that took place in the summer of 2024, which included rioters violently attacking a hotel housing asylum seekers. It depicts two people within the hotel who thought they’d managed to escape danger and arrive at a place of safety.