Theresa May is butt of joke as votes cast for best modern Christmas cracker pun

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

The best line was voted to be: "Why was Theresa May sacked as nativity manager? She couldn't run a stable government", which 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", while "What's the difference between Ryanair and Santa? Santa flies at least once a year", came third.

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.

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

"The subjects of the jokes that were entered reflects the issues that concern the country today: from Brexit and Donald Trump to Bruce Forsyth and Southern Rail, people have still been able to find the funny side."

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