Theresa May gag voted best original Christmas cracker joke

A gag about Prime Minister Theresa May has won a national competition to write the best modern Christmas cracker joke.

The best Christmas cracker joke of the year has gone to a gag about Theresa May. Picture: AP Photo/Virginia Mayo

The best line was voted to be: “Why was Theresa May sacked as nativity manager? She couldn’t run a stable government.” The joke was penned by Samuel Williams, 35, from Kent.

Gags about Donald Trump, Brexit, Southern Rail and Ryanair also proved popular in the annual competition by UKTV channel Gold.

The second-placed joke was: “Why don’t Southern Rail train guards share advent calendars? They want to open the doors themselves.”

Third place went to the gag: “What’s the difference between Ryanair and Santa? Santa flies at least once a year.”

The entries were submitted via Twitter and shortlisted by a panel of judges led by comedy critic Bruce Dessau before being put to a public vote of 2,000 British adults.

Mr Dessau said: “In a world that seems to have turned upside down in recent years, there is something wonderfully reassuring that people have still retained their sense of humour and come up with some inspired gags for this year’s Gold Christmas Crackers competition.”

Mr Williams will receive £1,500 and a box of bespoke Gold Christmas Crackers, one of which will contain his original gag.