Whilst the final verdict on Gordon Brown's position at 10 Downing Street is still to be determined by the voters, one former Prime Minister is certainly set to be dispatched to a new home.
Bonhams has announced that puppets of former Prime Minister John Major and his wife Norma from the famous satirical TV show Spitting Image are to be sold at auction next month.
The puppets appeared towards the end of the Conservative PM's time in office before Labour won a landslide victory under Tony Blair. Major's puppet is uniquely made entirely in shades of grey, reflecting the commonly held view of him as a dull character.
In the show he was shown enjoying meals of peas in silence with his wife Norma and being mocked by the Downing Street cat.
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Bonhams has previously sold Spitting Image puppets of Gordon Brown (£4,800, June 2007), Margaret Thatcher (£5,040, June 2007) and Tony and Cherie Blair (£12,600, January 2008), though Major has been given a modest £3,000-3,500 estimate.
Stephanie Connell of Bonhams Entertainment Memorabilia Department comments, "These items are a great piece of British television and political memorabilia and the popularity of Spitting Image puppets continues - they are much loved by politicians and the public alike."
Earlier this year Bonhams offered the street sign for Downing Street at auction, but it was withdrawn from sale when they discovered that it was not the sign for the famous Downing Street, but another one.
Bonhams' current sale take place on June 23. Collectors interested in rare pieces of political memorabilia may be interested in the annotated transcript of Winston Churchill's parliamentary answers.
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