UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[YL]

First Yorkshire based MP to ever become PM in fact.

Wasn't Wilson a Yorkshireman (no Harry Enfield pun intended)?

Asquith too, but Wilson represented Huyton (now in Knowsley) and Asquith East Fife.  And the Marquess of Rockingham was, going by modern administrative areas, from Rotherham, but of course wasn't an MP.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Two Leaders of the Opposition have represented Yorkshire constituencies, though neither were Yorkshiremen: Hugh Gaitskell (Leeds South) and Ed Miliband (Doncaster North).

Sunak’s seat of Richmond (Yorks) has the odd distinction of being passed from Tory grandee to Tory grandee, almost by accident. It was represented by Leon Brittan (who was parachuted in from elsewhere), one of Thatcher’s Home Secretaries, who was replaced by William Hague (Foreign Secretary under Cameron, Leader of the Opposition to Blair), who was in turn replaced by Sunak.

As of this morning, it’s one of a handful of constituencies to have been represented by MPs holding each of the four Great Offices of State.

None of which were remotely local to it, even if Hague was a Yorkshireman. However, Lady Hale, the former President of the Supreme Court, is from the area and it is Richmond (Yorks) that her full title refers not Richmond upon Thames as often assumed. Anyway, if there's any geographic bounce for Sunak it is... unlikely to be felt in Yorkshire.

[Torrain]

Truss’ farewell speech went about as well as you’d expect. She tried to quote a Roman philosopher, and completely forgot how to pronounce his name. She smiled when she talked about the Queen dying. And they didn’t clear the protestors, so you could hear a combination of what I think was Yakety Sax and I Predict A Riot being played on boom boxes in the background.

[Pericles]

What's with all these references to ancient Rome in Tory resignation speeches?

[Pericles]

Liz Truss is one of the few Prime Ministers that I genuinely believe was an empty-headed person lacking in brain cells. She wasn't robotic like Theresa May because of a mere social awkwardness but because there simply wasn't any extra level of thought beyond the pathetic soundbites.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That's how you know it was a long time ago. Tory PM with a seat in Manchester...

The very working class and industrial Manchester East, no less.* He lost it at the 1906 General Election, though he wasn't the incumbent PM by that point (having resigned as his government could no longer function shortly before the election, allowing the Liberals to run a caretaker administration despite their being a Conservative-Liberal Unionist majority. Different times). He returned to the Commons after a hastily arranged by-election for the City of London constituency a few weeks later.

_{*Centred on the Ardwick district and also including Bradford and Beswick.}

[Torrain]

What's with all these references to ancient Rome in Tory resignation speeches?

It’s part of Johnson’s image* - she’s (very) awkwardly co-opting it.

* See him doing stuff like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2k448JqQyj8&t=142s

[Yeahsayyeah]

Curiously enough, Brian does have a deliberately non-posh nickname (used largely by his wife), though it isn't Brian, it's Fred. He, in turn, calls he Gladys. Meanwhile, his uncle the late and unlamented Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor was always known in his family as 'David', even though that was not his name.

He was called Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, so it was actually one of his names.

Yes, but literally the last one and he was only given it for purely symbolic reasons (note that all of the last four - four! - names are of the Patron Saints of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales).

Oh, so David is fitting for the Prince of Wales, isn't it? ;-)

[Coldstream]

Curiously enough, Brian does have a deliberately non-posh nickname (used largely by his wife), though it isn't Brian, it's Fred. He, in turn, calls he Gladys. Meanwhile, his uncle the late and unlamented Edward VIII/Duke of Windsor was always known in his family as 'David', even though that was not his name. But this sort of thing is common enough with properly posh people even outside the Royal Family: Anthony Wedgwood Benn is best known to us as Tony, was usually known by colleagues as Wedgwood before the 1970s... but (and this is the relevant part) was called Jimmy by members of his family for his entire life. I have no idea why they do this either.

To be fair, David was one of his names (though he had .

Seven, Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David.

Corrected! It’ll teach me to scan read.

[afleitch]

Liz Truss is one of the few Prime Ministers that I genuinely believe was an empty-headed person lacking in brain cells. She wasn't robotic like Theresa May because of a mere social awkwardness but because there simply wasn't any extra level of thought beyond the pathetic soundbites.

Absolutely. It's been known for decades but she kept inexplicably being elevated.

The country is reeling from dubious Cameron era selection processes.

[Zinneke]

She thought Rostov was a region of Ukraine.

The explanation for her elevation would be her hypergamy and her willingness to towe the line and even in the Johnson Der Untegrang remake she was away as Foreign Secretary whilst Sunak was backstabbing.

[Cassius]

Truss’ farewell speech went about as well as you’d expect. She tried to quote a Roman philosopher, and completely forgot how to pronounce his name. She smiled when she talked about the Queen dying. And they didn’t clear the protestors, so you could hear a combination of what I think was Yakety Sax and I Predict A Riot being played on boom boxes in the background.

The best part was that she stumbled over one of the easiest names to pronounce as ancient author standards go - Seneca.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Look, the rather grim reality (and I hate saying this, I really do) is that she was only selected for S.W. Norfolk because she was [REDACTED] with Mark Field at the time and he was someone of influence back then and pulled strings for her.

[TheTide]

I didn't know that Sunak and Brian are roughly the same height.

[TheTide]

Sunak has gone to Parliament, presumably to sack various ministers.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I didn't know that Sunak and Brian are roughly the same height.

Most members of the Royal Family are small - up until the Spencer genes were added, of course. But note that Brian is seventy three so will have shrunk a little bit and has bad posture... and is still taller than Sunak (who wears lifts lol).

[TheTide]

The first cabinet exit is the most predictable one - JRM.

[Silent Hunter]

I didn't know that Sunak and Brian are roughly the same height.

Most members of the Royal Family are small - up until the Spencer genes were added, of course. But note that Brian is seventy three so will have shrunk a little bit and has bad posture... and is still taller than Sunak (who wears lifts lol).

Victoria was only five foot.

[Antonio the Sixth]

The first cabinet exit is the most predictable one - JRM.

RIP to a real one.

[Middle-aged Europe]

The first cabinet exit is the most predictable one - JRM.

RIP to a real one.

Bummer.

[TheTide]

Brandon Lewis (Justice Secretary) also resigns.

[Torrain]

Chief Whip Wendy Morton resigns - for real this time. Rumour is that Simon Hart (former Welsh Sec.) or Mel Stride (Treasury Select Committee Chair) will replace her. 

Work and Pensions Sec. Chloe Smith is also out.

Rumour is that Shapps is headed to Business. Braverman rumoured for Justice (early rumour about her going back to the Home Office seems to be fading).

[brucejoel99]

The first cabinet exit is the most predictable one - JRM.

RIP to a real one.

At least we get this out of it:

https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/1584889949991497729

[Zinneke]

Braverman at Justice when she committed a felony resulting in her sacking...my god...

[Torrain]

Kit Malthouse (Education Sec.) has resigned. Longtime Johnson ally who worked with him as London Mayor, and backed Truss early on, as a member of the Johnson caretaker cabinet.