Corbyn to Bercow, during his last PMQS: "In the tradition of the great Speaker Lenthall and others, you've stood up for parliament when it had to be stood up for."
Good call there. Lenthall would be my third choice, after Richard Overton and Harriet Taylor Mill, for any new statue in London.
Corbyn proving relatively effective against Johnson here. The poshness works against Johnson. And that sense of slipperiness.
Quite telling how effective it is when Corbyn lumps NHS and Trump together. Avoiding Brexit while simultaneously weaponising it.
Jess Phillips to Bercow: "It's a delight to see your children watching here today. I know that while you have a responsibility to parliament, you take your responsibility as a parent incredibly seriously also. And now to the prime minister."
Ken Clarke to Bercow: "During your decade, there have been unprecedented attempts to increase the power of the executive at the expense of this parliament. And you have been very formidable in maintaining the duty of govt to be accountable to this House."
Johnson fails to pay any tribute whatsoever to Clarke. So Bercow steps in. "As the father of the House leaves this place after 49 years without interruption, I for one want to salute him." Huge cheers and applause in the Commons.
"The rt hon gen is one of the most popular and respected politicians in our country. He deserves the warmest appreciation. As most sensible people know, whether they agree with him or not, he is a great man."
Worth noting this moment. Johnson having a pretty shoddy time at the dispatch box. Not emotionally convincing, or intellectually convincing. But look at that Clarke moment.
He either refused to pay his respects out of spite, or because he forgot. Either way, he hands a big meaningful Tory cheer to the Speaker, while being basically scolded. Regardless of the motivation: He really fucks up an awful lot. He is not very good.
What a way to go, really. For someone of Clarke's stature and history to leave the Commons an independent, chucked out the Tory party by a feckless charlatan like Johnson. Fucking state of it.,
Watching Tory MPs nod sagely every time Johnson says the machine programmed 'dither and delay' lines is really something.
