![\"MPs](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6373905.jpg\" "\\"MPs")
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MPs lost their minds during the Brexit psychodrama (Image: House of Commons)<\/p>\n
Twitter users have been recalling some of the most darkly funny moments from Britain\u2019s real-life political soap opera ahead of a major Brexit<\/a> anniversary.<\/p>\n Next week will mark six years since Boris Johnson<\/a> requested that the Queen prorogue parliament in order to avoid MPs preventing a no-deal exit from Brussels, a moment that marked a fever pitch of anger sparked by the 2016 vote.<\/p>\n After years of parliamentary infighting, failing to agree a deal and attempted reversing of Brexit<\/a> altogether, Mr Johnson finally \u2018Got Brexit<\/a> Done\u2019 in the early days of 2020, after defeating Jeremy Corbyn and the Remainer cabal and securing a landslide majority.<\/p>\n In the years that have followed, Covid<\/a>, scandals and Liz Truss have made Brexit<\/a> feel like a distant memory, but thanks to X users, you can enjoy a trip down the memory lane of high political drama, farce and delusion.<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong> Tory Brexiteers mock Corbyn’s U-turn – Commons erupt in laughter <\/a><\/p>\n Boris Johnson faced a sticky wicket, but came out trumps in the end (Image: House of Commons)<\/p>\n The indicative votes<\/p>\n In March 2019 MPs took control of the order paper to schedule a series of so-called \u2018indicative votes\u2019, which would allow MPs to have their say in the Commons on the sort of Brexit<\/a> they wanted.<\/p>\n After weeks of demanding the votes, MPs were given eight different versions of Brexit<\/a> to choose from, from leaving without a deal, staying in the customs union, Labour\u2019s proposals, and reversing Brexit<\/a> altogether.<\/p>\n After hours of debate and voting, MPs finally learnt that not a single one of the eight proposals had received the support of a majority of their number, as every single member refused to compromise from their own preferred option.<\/p>\n The results marked one of the most farcical moments of the whole three-year saga, and helped prove that MPs were letting down the country.<\/p>\n In the row following the votes, hardcore Remainer Anna Soubry rose to speak, telling MPs: \u201cLet\u2019s try to remind ourselves what we\u2019ve decided to do\u201d, prompting hilarious heckles of: \u201cNothing!\u201d<\/p>\n Tory MPs losing it<\/p>\n In July 2018 Theresa May\u2019s loose grip on power was becoming completely unstuck, as Tory MPs descended into a rabble of squabbling, swearing and backstabbing.<\/p>\n She was forced to call on her MPs to stick with the plan and back her Brexit<\/a> deal, while criticism and open rebellion rained down on No. 10.<\/p>\n Backbencher Henry Smith snubbed an invitation by the Chief Whip to watch an England match at Downing Street, saying that because the PM \u201cisn\u2019t bringing Brexit<\/a> home I\u2019m concerned attending would be a bad omen for football coming home”.<\/p>\n Chris Green, a PPS in the government, quit as he demanded \u201cBrexit<\/a> must mean Brexit<\/a>\u201d, prompting fellow Tory MP Simon Hart – who would go on to be Chief Whip under Rishi Sunak<\/a> – to publicly reply: \u201cYour a pps Chris. It is not relevant and nobody gives a f**k. Apart from me obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n Fellow MP Simon Clarke piled in, calling his outburst \u201creally poor form, Simon. Really poor.\u201d<\/p>\n That same week two Tory vice chairs quit, with the PM\u2019s spokesman sardonically replying: \u201cShe thanks them for their service.\u201d<\/p>\n If only Tory MPs had known things would never get any better\u2026<\/p>\n Parliament\u2019s first Saturday sitting since the Falklands<\/p>\n In October 2019 MPs were called back to Parliament for an emergency attempt to get Brexit<\/a> done ahead of the then-October deadline.<\/p>\n It was a moment of high drama, not least because it was the first time MPs had debated on a Saturday since the Falklands war in 1982.<\/p>\n MPs rushed from their constituencies for Boris Johnson<\/a>\u2019s last-ditch attempts to pass a deal before the deadline<\/p>\n In the end, MPs voted to squander the historic moment and vote to do nothing.<\/p>\n The vote was hijacked by serious anti-Brexit<\/a> Tory plotter Oliver Letwin, who passed an amendment withholding support for his Brexit<\/a> deal and forced him to delay Brexit<\/a> for weeks longer.<\/p>\n Boris Johnson<\/a> told MPs he was not \u201cdaunted or dismayed\u201d by the latest anti-Brexit<\/a> move, and would press on regardless. He, of course, was right in the end.<\/p>\n Keir Starmer rejecting his own Brexit policy by accident<\/p>\n Keir Starmer<\/a> likes to brandish his reputation as a man of detail, setting himself apart from the Boris\/Corbyn approach to Brexit<\/a>.<\/p>\n However this came undone when he took part in last-ditch efforts by Theresa May to save her premiership by inviting Labour into No10 for negotiations to improve her deal in the eyes of Labour MPs and get it through with their support.<\/p>\n According to Theresa May\u2019s then-communications chief, Sir Keir was in No. 10 for the talks when he was presented with a potential document for him and the Labour Party to agree to.<\/p>\n After looking at it, Sir Keir described it as a \u201ctotal disaster\u201d of a proposal, only to be told they had been cut and pasted from his own Brexit<\/a> policy document.<\/p>\n Theresa May\u2019s comms chief quipped: \u201cDisingenuous is his middle name, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n Keir Starmer branded ‘disingenuous’ by Sir Robbie Gibb<\/p>\n Change UK<\/p>\n Anna Soubry was mentioned previously, a name that now has very little recognition but at the time was a key player in the endless Brexit<\/a> drama.<\/p>\n Ms Soubry was among a number of MPs who quit their parties – both Tory and Labour – and eventually formed a new, centrist anti-Brexit<\/a> party.<\/p>\n Initially it was called \u2018The Independent Group\u2019, and sparked terror in Westminster as it soared in the polls.<\/p>\n The group changed their name to Change UK, but tanked at the European Elections in 2019 and never came back.<\/p>\n With defections to the LIbDems, just five MPs stood under Ms Soubry\u2019s Change UK banner at the election, and all five lost their seats.<\/p>\n The infamous Change UK Nandos meal (Image: @ChukaUmunna)<\/p>\n The \u2018Government of national unity\u2019<\/p>\n A moment that proved anti-Brexit<\/a> MPs had fully lost it came when proposals emerged in August 2019 for a \u201cgovernment of national unity\u201d, in other words, a government elected by no one explicitly designed to take control of Parliament and block Britain\u2019s exit.<\/p>\n Remainers had concluded that merely forcing a vote of no confidence in Boris Johnson<\/a> wouldn\u2019t work, as that could lead to Jeremy Corbyn becoming PM, whom they did not trust.<\/p>\n Instead they began a search for an alternative PM-in-waiting, a centrist Remainer who could win support of moderate Labour, Tory, LibDem, SNP<\/a> and Green MPs to block Brexit<\/a>.<\/p>\n Multiple names were thrown around: Ken Clarke, Harriet Harman, Caroline Lucas, Yvette Cooper, and Dominic Grieve.<\/p>\n This reached its peak when Caroline Lucas called for an all-female cabinet in this make-believe \u2018Government of national unity\u2019, only to be forced into an apology after hardcore lefties pointed out all of the names she proposed were white.<\/p>\n Stephen Kinnock going on hunger strike<\/p>\n In February 2018 Stephen Kinnock, the Labour MP currently serving as Minister of State for Care, announced his intention to go on a \u201c24-hour hunger strike\u201d to protest against Britain\u2019s First Past the Post electoral system.<\/p>\n He took part in the stunt to coincide with the 100th anniversary of women\u2019s suffrage.<\/p>\n While not directly linked to Brexit<\/a>, the moment signalled just how much MPs were losing their minds as the debate raged and tensions brought people to breaking point.<\/p>\n Mr Kinnock\u2019s protest was mocked as \u201clittle more than a diet\u201d by Damien Green, the former deputy Prime Minister.<\/p>\n Stephen Barclay voting against his own motion<\/p>\n In March 2019, the Brexit<\/a> Secretary Steve Barclay stood up at the dispatch box to argue, on behalf of the government, in favour of MPs to pass a short extension of Article 50 until June to allow more time for negotiations.<\/p>\n In the Commons, Mr Barclay said: \u201cIt is time for this House to act in the national interest, it\u2019s time to put forward an extension that is realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n Minutes later Mr Barclay voted against the extension he had just called on MPs to support.<\/p>\n Given it was a \u2018free vote\u2019, he was allowed to keep his job.<\/p>\n The BBC<\/a>\u2019s Nick Robinson branded the farce an \u201comnishambles\u201d<\/p>\n Jo Swinson supporting Boris\u2019s snap election<\/p>\n These days Jo Swinson is nothing more than a niche pub quiz answer, but in 2019 there were LibDems, including herself, who believed she could be Prime Minister.<\/p>\n The LibDems came second in that year\u2019s EU Parliament elections, and were winning by-elections with huge swings thanks to protest votes.<\/p>\n Boris Johnson<\/a> was desperate for an election, but thanks to a law passed by David Cameron he couldn\u2019t call a snap election without the support of 2\/3rds of MPs.<\/p>\n As Labour fought to secure a second referendum instead of an election, Ms Swinson\u2019s ego got the better of her, and she decided to back Boris\u2019s election, believing she could hold the balance of power, or even be the next Prime Minister.<\/p>\n In the end she lost her seat, her dreams, and her hopes of remaining in the EU.<\/p>\n Oh, and she spent much of the election campaign being forced to deny that she shot squirrels for fun.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also worth remembering that the debates about whether to hold an election saw one of the finest moments of Commons oratory for years, as Attorney General Geoffrey Cox branded Parliament \u201ca disgrace\u201d in his trademark booming voice.<\/p>\n The chaos of prorogation<\/p>\n As mentioned, next week is the 6th anniversary of Boris Johnson<\/a> asking the queen to prorogue parliament.<\/p>\n At the time it felt like his world was caving in, when the Supreme Court ruled the prorogation unconstitutional, sparking parliament to un-prorogue.<\/p>\n![\"Boris](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/6373915.jpg\" "\\"Boris")
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