YOU can take the boy out of Eton but…
As the Brexit ding-dongery continued at another high-pitched PMQs, our noble leader caused a few furrowed brows when during Commons exchanges he told the chief comrade: “The Right Honourable Gentleman is showing complete ignoratio elenchi.” Come again?
Jezza looked somewhat taken aback by the Latin reference, demanding a translation from what he no doubt regarded as a classical insult by the Tory clever dick but which even dunderheads know means: missing the point.
However, the point was not missed when SNP champion Ian Blackford rose to adopt his disappointed dad pose to rebuke the delinquent premier.
Once again, the Scottish Bagpuss complained Scotland was being ignored and asked a question, the answer to which he already knew – not an unusual thing at PMQs – namely: would the UK Government require Holyrood’s consent before it passed the Withdrawal Bill?
The Minister for the Union, naturally, said no. “As he knows,” noted Bozza, “the Scottish Parliament has no role in approving this deal.”
The button had been pressed and the Highlander duly jumped up to declare the respect agenda had been “torn asunder”.
“There we have it! The legislative consent of the Scottish Parliament is meaningless in the PM’s eyes…Our Parliament does not matter.”
The SNP chief raised Tory eyebrows when he noted: “If he so desperately wants an election, Europe is willing and waiting, so what is stopping him? He must now secure a meaningful extension and bring on a general election.”
The “bring it on” invitation cheered up the PM no end.
“Well, what an exciting development!” declared Boris. Looking at the Labour benches, he added: “Perhaps he might pass some of his courage down the line.”
Of course, a PMQs would not be a PMQs without a cheery comrade referencing the Brexit Svengali that is Dominic Cummings; the Leave campaigner, who many believe is running the show in Downing St.
This time it was the turn of Labour's champion for Ealing Central Rupa Huq, who noted how the blonde Beatle had "a long list of shortcomings" and quipped: "So could he do something over one that he does have some control of and get rid of Dominic Cummings?"
It seemed to take a while for the PM to get the point before saying that he would respond with the “generosity” with which his interrogator had shown, insisting that he received "excellent advice" from a wide range of advisers and officials before declaring: "I take full responsibility for everything that this Government does."
Which, of course, is a complete obsides fortunae or hostage to fortune as every Old Etonian knows.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel