HOLLYWOOD actor Simon Pegg has gone viral on social media after he posted a rant aimed at the “unmandated, unelected prime minister, twice removed” Rishi Sunak.
Pegg, the star of British classics such as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead as well as Hollywood blockbusters like Star Trek, took specific aim at the Prime Minister over his plans to require every English schoolchild to learn maths until age 18.
“What about arts, humanities, and fostering this country’s amazing reputation for creativity and self-expression? What about that?” Pegg asks in a short video originally posted to his Instagram.
“What about the kids who don’t want to do maths?” he goes on, accusing Sunak of wanting to create a “drone army of data entering robots”.
I’m putting Simon Pegg down as ‘undecided’.pic.twitter.com/mcLfzTd8H1
— Parody Rishi Sunak (@Parody_PM) January 5, 2023
Closing the short video, Pegg calls Sunak a “t**ser”, before saying: “F*** the Tories. Get rid of them. Please. F*** you Rishi Sunak, and f*** the Tories.”
Former Countdown star Carol Vorderman has also condemned the Prime Minister’s plan for all pupils in England to study some form of maths until the age of 18, saying “the system is not working”.
“Does he have any conception of what real people are having to go through and the lack of opportunities for children?” Vorderman asked on LBC.
Education experts said Sunak’s policy does not address major problems in the wider education system, including the already “severe shortage of maths teachers”.
Announcing his plan on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said: “Right now, just half of all 16 to 19-year-olds study any maths at all.
“Yet in a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before, and letting our children out into the world without those skills is letting our children down.”
The Prime Minister said the plan would not mean a compulsory A-level for maths for everyone and may not be achieved in this Parliament.
With the Tories expecting a dramatic defeat in the next General Election, due in early 2025 at the latest, it is unlikely that Sunak’s plan will get off the ground.
