The National:

WE hear a lot about so-called “strongman” leaders from around the globe, from Turkey’s President Erdogan’s consolidation of power, to Vladimir Putin’s latest attempt to remain in the Kremlin indefinitely.

However, strongman politics normally refers to a form of autocratic, militarised power, not literal physical strength (Putin’s infamous shirtless horseback ride aside).

This weekend, in a show of fitness guaranteed to impress absolutely nobody at all, Boris Johnson did at least one push-up in front of a fawning photojournalist from the (Daily) Mail on Sunday.

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In a bold retort guaranteed to impress roughly the same number of people, Keir Starmer has said he can do more than that.

Starmer, confident in his ability to do more than one press-up (prime ministerial indeed) and stuttering as charmingly as Bridget Jones’s Mark Darcy, said: “I was thinking this week at PMQs maybe question one should be, maybe, erm you know, first to, first to 50.”

Piers Morgan said he would pay “good money to see that”. We’ve got news for you Piers, we’re already paying to see this.

Let’s not forget it was only in March this year that MPs got a pay rise of 3.1%, to nearly £82,000 per annum.

Though the price tag is certainly high, why we should expect any different I don’t know.

Two blustering old men desperately trying to out-do each other on the floor of the House of Commons is about as good a description as you could really get of PMQs anyway, so why not make it literal?

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Why not show the whole world how far British politics has fallen, and how essential it is that Scotland gets out?

So yes please, Keir, first to 50 it is.

Which just leaves one question: How many can you do First Minister? Perhaps if you manage 100 they’ll let us have another independence referendum.