Another day, another party, another Urgent Question – and another dreadful outing for Michael Ellis. The Paymaster-General was sent out again, just three hours after the Met Police confirmed it would be probing ‘partygate.’ Deploying the finest lawyerly evasions and the best of his oleaginous charm, Ellis spent a gruelling 45 minutes fending off a barrage of outraged opposition MPs.
Highlights include the Member for Northampton North appearing to indulge in existentialism by questioning the very meaning of the word ‘party’. He mused to colleagues that ‘If whilst at work, someone eats a piece of cake for ten minutes, I don’t think conclusions can be drawn from that’ and suggesting that ‘Ten minutes of eating cake and wishing someone happy birthday would not a party make.’ The Kierkegaard of the Commons, indeed.
Ellis, of course, has more than a hint of Jacob Rees-Mogg in his voice and the Leader of the House would be proud of some of the put-downs deployed by his ministerial colleague.
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