50 Batshit Moments In UK Politics Since The Brexit Vote

    The ultimate guide to a month where stuff just kept happening.

    1. So basically, a month ago we voted to leave the European Union by 52% to 48%. It is quite a big deal. And what followed was the most extraordinary series of political events and shenanigans that anyone can remember.

    2. The pound plunged to depths not seen for more than 30 years.

    Coming soon to Thorpe Park: the value of the pound

    3. And the UK had to consider what the future might hold.

    If you liked The Phantom Menace you're going to love the next 5 years of trade negotiations.

    4. Prime minister David Cameron immediately resigned, but we weren't worried because Vote Leave would surely have a plan for what happens now. Surely?

    Take back control. No you take it back. No you fucking take it. You touched it last.

    5. Oh.

    Marr: 'You said you'd spend £350m on the NHS' IDS: 'No we didn't' Marr: #marrshow

    How many Bexiters does it take to change a light bulb? "I never said there was a light bulb"

    6. Someone uploaded Boris Johnson's post-referendum speech to PornHub.

    Someone has uploaded Boris Johnson's post referendum speech onto Pornhub with the following title...

    7. Tom Watson, deputy leader of the Labour party, spent the referendum and its aftermath at Glastonbury.

    Tom Watson currently in a tent in a muddy field with 5,000 missed calls

    8. But this was the state of Labour's frontbench team after MPs began resigning in protest over Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

    Shadow resignation bingo players anxiously waiting on an announcement from John Healey

    9. So Watson had to try to get an early train back to London to sort out the deepening crisis (status update: crisis still ongoing).

    The best thing about this photo of Tom Watson is that they've managed to capture his actual thought bubble.

    10. Some plotting MPs (and perhaps a few journalists) got confused about the difference between Whatsapp and Snapchat, to much mockery.

    Labour Left believe anti-Corbyn plotters have been consulting each other over timings, resignations etc through a Snapchat group

    @helenlewis @DuncanWeldon artist's reconstruction of events

    11. Corbyn promised some positive action to fill the vacant shadow cabinet roles.

    12. It all went swimmingly.

    Not going to lie, I'd happily join the shadow cabinet for two days to get a Wikipedia page that looked like this.

    13. Corbyn made a face like an EastEnders actor squaring up to someone in the Queen Vic, after someone asked him whether he would step down.

    “Leave it, Jez, ‘e ain’t worth it. We’ve all ‘ad a drink.” - “Come back here, Miliband, and say that to my face.”

    14. Some Brexit voters were regretting their choice in the days following the referendum – a sense of "Bregret", you might say.

    15. Many people in Britain pretended to be experts on the EU constitution and whether/how we would trigger Article 50. Others wondered whether the people in charge knew much about it either.

    16. Nigel Farage gave a speech to the European parliament about his victory – and Facepalm Man became a thing.

    Nigel Farage made me facepalm. I couldn’t hide my despair | @V_Andriukaitis on #WeAreSeat123 https://t.co/eqPkYFWJwr

    17. Meanwhile there was – obviously – still time for the MP for Kettering to complain in the House of Commons about Lindsay Lohan's referendum night tweets, in which she was a bit mean about the town.

    18. She replied that she would be happy to turn on the Christmas lights in Kettering. And this is one of the less weird things that have happened in politics since 23 June.

    @MPChrisGrayling and #philiphollobone Direct message me about your offer. Would be happy to light the Christmas tree in #Kettering 🙏🏻

    19. Politics break: Spare a thought for this dog.

    We have to stop saying Brexit, because Stan thinks we are saying biscuits.

    20. Labour's internal crisis was deepening as more shadow cabinet members resigned, with multiple frontbench roles having to be taken by those who remained.

    21. Labour's press chief thought it would be a good idea to let Sky News' cameras into a shadow cabinet meeting to see how unified it was. But those cameras picked up Corbyn telling him that in fact it wasn't a good idea.

    Corbyn picked up on microphone by Sky News in shadow cabinet meeting.

    This, of course, became a meme.

    “The Lannisters send their regards.”

    "Seumas, I'm not sure this is a good idea." #Seumasideas

    One last one, then. "Seumas, I don't think this is a good idea"

    22. To make matters worse for Corbyn, 80% of his MPs backed a motion of no confidence in him. Undeterred, he ploughed on regardless.

    Jeremy Corbyn responds after 172 Labour MPs back a no confidence vote in him #jexit

    23. BUT THEN! In the Tory leadership race, Brexiteer Michael Gove, previously a supporter of Johnson's bid to be prime minister, turned on him and announced his own bid instead. Which went down well.

    A text arrives from a senior Team Boris figure: "Gove is a c*** who set this up form start". This is going to be bloody.

    24. The race to become the UK's most shambolic political party was hotting up.

    Until this morning Labour was managing to look more shambolic than the Tories, but's evened up this morning

    25. But Johnson briefly put the Tories in the lead by inviting the country's political press to his campaign launch, only to get to the end of his speech and declare he WAS NOT STANDING for PM.

    "Greatest ever practical joker flees the scene of the crime"

    26. TWITTER WENT INTO ALL-CAPS MODE.

    Boris just set off Twitter’s ALL-CAPS filter

    27. THIS REPORTER MADE THAT FACE.

    The lobby's reaction as expressed by @SamCoatesTimes

    28. This was not in the script.

    Oxygen masks have now dropped from the ceiling. Please apply to yourself before assisting your lobby team

    29. Boris's team had cannily covered up the "EXIT" sign, robbing photographers of the perfect photo.

    Aides at Boris event covered up the emergency exit sign to foil the inevitable photo

    30. Given speculation that Johnson wasn't actually that committed to the Leave cause and may have joined the campaign for career reasons, it was all a bit of a shock.

    "Hey, you've left a turd in the fridge." "Reluctantly I have concluded I am not the man to remove the turd from the fridge."

    31. MPs didn't know who to support. Some hedged their bets.

    Two tweets from Tory MP @NickGibbMP in less than 24 hours

    32. This 2012 clip started doing the rounds, of Gove saying he would sign a parchment in his own blood making clear he never wants to be prime minister. Which was awkward.

    Here's Michael Gove saying he wouldn't be very good as PM and would write in his own blood to say he wouldn't stand https://t.co/4jNF0YPzFw

    33. And eventually Gove pulled out too, along with other challengers – leaving just the favourite, Theresa May, and Andrea Leadsom, whose supporters led this quite remarkable march across Westminster.

    Stop everything and watch this video of Andrea Leadsom's march on parliament.

    34. Questions were also starting to emerge about Leadsom's background and her pedigree as an "investment banker". There were a LOT of jokes on Twitter.

    Andrea Leadsom says criticism of her CV is 'ridiculous', and she didn't have to put up with this nonsense when she was an astronaut.

    35. But Leadsom's leadership hopes disappeared in a puff of media smoke when this Times front page dropped, featuring an interview in which she suggested she might be a better candidate because she has children and Theresa May doesn't.

    Saturday's Times: Being a mother gives me edge on May — Leadsom #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers

    36. Then Leadsom stood down and everyone made the SAME joke.

    Leadsom stands down and quietly adds successful UK Prime Minister to her CV.

    37. But when Leadsom dropped out of the race, May was in Birmingham making the launch speech for her (now redundant) leadership campaign – leading journalists to immediately check train timetables.

    If you are on a train with Theresa May from Birmingham to London pls call the news desk

    38. AND! While all this was happening, Labour MP Angela Eagle launched her bid for her party's leadership. A new prime minister being confirmed DURING YOUR SPEECH is no doubt the best way to kill any interest in it.

    Meanwhile over at Angela Eagle's #LabourLeadership launch...

    39. Incidentally, Eagle's campaign featured a signature that looked like "ARGH" and the branding of an own-brand Boots perfume.

    Fittingly, it appears that Angela Eagle's signature is the word 'Argh'

    40. All this was too much for Larry the Downing Street cat, who incidentally is staying at No. 10 and not following the Camerons out the door.

    Larry stages a protest by lying down in Downing Street.

    41. Meanwhile, Labour's National Executive Committee decided that Corbyn should automatically be on the ballot in the forthcoming leadership election. But at one point he had to be ejected from a meeting on the issue.

    Jeremy Corbyn is about to be excluded from Labour NEC meeting. Secret ballots thought to favour critics.

    Reportedly, he refused to go.

    Labour NEC chair tells Corbyn to leave the room but Corbyn refuses to go

    If you exclude me from the NEC meeting I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine

    42. In his last speech as PM, Cameron unknowingly gave the world a premiere of a little tune. Of the many remixes, this may be the best.

    After announcing #TheresaMay will be PM on Weds #Cameron leaks Evil Tory themetune. (Needs sound... Wait for it!)

    43. No. 10 also released this picture of Cameron with Larry the cat to prove that he "loves it" as he put it during his last Prime Minister's Questions, because apparently that's a thing politicians do now.

    David Cameron have found a new second job as a backbencher. Villain in the next James Bond movie.

    44. But anyway, it was official: We were getting a new PM.

    Theresa May arrives at Downing Street to survey the damage.

    45. It was all too much.

    *time traveller arrives* TIME TRAVELLER: What year is it? Who's Prime Minister? EVERYONE: *just cries confusedly* TIME TRAVELLER: Ah, 2016

    46. There was a bad omen when May failed to find her car in Downing Street.

    Theresa May leaves Number 10, walks to the wrong car and takes time to give a wave from the doorstep.

    47. But once she'd been officially given the job, May showed no such indecision by sacking key ministers, including chancellor George Osborne, and appointing...Boris Johnson as a foreign secretary.

    Boris: "take that foreigners, pew, pew, pew"

    Our Foreign Secretary @BorisJohnson picks a set of weapons for James Bond in his new role as head of MI6

    48. And sacking Gove.

    49. This journalist had to help David Cameron find his way into parliament because he's not used to using the same entrance as everyone else.

    Just helped David Cameron find his way into Parliament on foot. "Oh is this the way in these days?" he inquired as I held a side door open.

    50. He now sits on the back benches.

    David Cameron sits on the back benches for the first time in 11 years

    Like everyone else.