a Rule of thumb. When you’re in a hole, it’s generally best to stop digging. So, after a spectacular display of arrogant selfishness and partisan politics by MPs from all parties in the Opposition Day debate in Gaza the night before, Thursday morning saw what you might have least expected. It was just a little bit of repentance. A walk of shame into the commons. Lawmakers are trying to avoid looking at each other. We all had a drink
And it all started very well during the questions in the cultural sector. Everyone had decided not to mention the war. No, it’s not a Middle Eastern one. What was fought over the dispatch box. This is an issue that lawmakers were really worried about. The speaker was also sitting on a chair. Everyone wanted to pretend everything was normal. “Yes, Mr. Chairman. No, Mr. Chairman.” The only hint that something was wrong was the excessive politeness.
The tiptoeing continued through two urgent questions. Kevin Hollinrake, deputy economy minister, has rubbed his head against Labour’s Kevan Jones by suggesting he knows far more about the Horizon Post Office scandal than he does. After the second UQ, Lindsay Hoyle made an excuse and left, although no one dared to point out the irony of the timing of the government’s decision to cut funding to interfaith groups. It was a long two hours for him. Tired.
So it was up to the house’s shadow leader, Lucy Powell, to address the elephant in the room during business questions. Lucy was not an honor student at Charm School. She feels that it is easier to make enemies than friends. She has a surly side. She can’t completely shake off the awkwardness. But she wanted to make up for Wednesday’s debacle. olive twig. If it wasn’t a branch.
It was like this, she said. She accepted that Labor was not resting on its laurels. The party was in a predicament over the Gaza Strip vote and had persuaded its speaker to change parliamentary procedures to avoid it. This is something that any political party would do in a similar situation. You can hardly blame them for trying it on.
But no one was completely innocent. The SNP chose the Gaza motion above all else to embarrass Labor. It was not as if the outcome of the vote would make any difference between Israel or Hamas. And the Conservatives were up to their necks in it. They had tabled amendments almost identical to Labour’s amendments as purely destructive motions, and were furious at being outmaneuvered. They then panicked about losing their votes and threw the toys out of the stroller and walked away. Cue chaos.
Powell paused, looked up from his script and made this offer. What if everyone acknowledged their role in the humiliation of vanity? There’s no need to make a big deal about it. Don’t worry about embarrassing details. I just mutter something vaguely apologetic. Otis has regrets. It’s enough to give the public the impression that members of Congress display some basic signs of emotional intelligence. Then we can all move on. Pretend that nothing happened.
This seemed like a decent offer. However, the same cannot be said for House of Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt. A walking disaster caused by emotional stupidity. Not to mention the brazen dishonesty. She is a woman who cannot recognize the most basic truth. Who would have thought that her brief cameo appearance at her coronation gave her iconic status? Britannia in the 21st century.
From Earth to Penny. From Earth to Penny. Is there anyone there? Apparently not. All you did was carry the sword for a while. Okay, well done. But it wasn’t that difficult. You can’t keep expecting the rest of us to be eternally grateful to you. Still, Penny is in Pennyworld. She is a woman who rarely takes herself so seriously. Except maybe Liz Truss. And just as crazy. Of all the days for modern leadership, today was not that day. Especially since she is lucky to retain her seat in the next election.
Penny was completely frozen. Theatrical outrage of intellectually compromised people. He could not understand that it was an untenable position to put all the blame on Labor and maintain Mr Hoyle’s innocence. This is not to say that speakers lack independence. To make matters worse, she had the nerve to act as if all she cared about were little people.
SNP rights. Mordaunt has never cared about the SNP. Leaving before the vote was all about distracting from the possibility of the government losing. Nothing more, nothing less. To pretend otherwise was an insult to the country. At a time when people expected better from their congressmen, Penny has chosen to hurt them again. What about parliamentary conventions? She has never taken care of them either. Does anyone remember Probation? Mordaunt wishes you hadn’t done that. Although she was a fan at the time.
To their credit, Penny’s display of holiness was too much for many Tory MPs. It’s hard to imagine that there was ever a time and place for such self-serving denial, but there never was. Most people chose to ignore her. She refuses to pander to her master and distances herself from him. Someone took her on. Look no further than Marc Francois. It was something I could never have imagined writing.
Francois is often a purple blob of incomplete anger. He resents a world he doesn’t understand. It refuses to bow to his will. Storm clouds briefly parted Thursday. No one successfully emerged from the Gaza journey. no one. It was directed at Penny. Not everyone was perfect either. Hoyle admitted his mistake. Now was the time for forgiveness. Generosity. A moment of grace.
Not so for SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn. He intended to pursue it to the ends of the earth. Lindsey committed the biggest sin imaginable. Crimes against the SNP. Flynn would gladly join the firing squad. Although he might have thought he could have granted a royal pardon. Out of this scent of roses came SNP. The debate on the other day begins again.
So Hoyle himself intervened. Once again he was furious. he made a mistake. he was sorry. He wished he hadn’t. He was not besotted with Labor Party stalwarts. It was a threat of violence against members of Congress. He couldn’t bear to get another call that his friend had been murdered.
Penny groaned. she wasn’t happy. We are not prepared to think through the consequences of undermining parliamentary democracy by terrorist groups. She thought she understood, but she spat out her words as if she had swallowed a wasp. Lindsey was weak. Weak, I say. She would never give in. Some things were worth dying for. Erskine May was one of them.
