The United Kingdom is a mysterious land of strange and unusual customs. Everything about the rainy and depressing island of Britain is alien to us. Every now and then, a news story emerges which reminds us of the inherent bizarreness of the UK, and here’s your example for this morning: chaos reigned in the House of Commons today after an MP grabbed the enormous ceremonial mace in a protest against the Brexit vote.
The mace, which represents the Queen’s authority in Parliament, sits at the centre of the room like a prop from a terrible swords-and-sandals fantasy epic. After the Conservative government announced they would not proceed with Brexit vote debate, Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle stood up, marched over to the mace, and picked it up.
(To be clear, technically Parliament cannot pass laws unless the mace is present. Yes, stupid country. Australia has a marginally less ostentatious mace also – we are also a stupid country.)
Watch the video. It is incredibly clear that he did not plan for what he was going to do after he got the mace. He had a rock-solid scheme worked out for grabbing the ancient weapon, and then one for holding it aloft like a king of old. But after that? Zip.
Here’s the moment Brighton Kemptown Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle is ejected from the House of Commons after picking up the ceremonial mace in protest at the Government’s handling of Brexit. pic.twitter.com/lPVAy6dQ9F
— BBC Radio Sussex (@BBCSussex) December 10, 2018
As you would imagine, a group of gargoyle-like old British MPs were very, very offended by this action. You can clearly hear many of them hooting, “Disgrace!” and, “Expel him!”
Russell-Moyle has tweeted a short statement about his protest:
Thankfully they haven’t locked me in the Tower of London but if they had I’d expect May to be in the cell next to me for her treatment of Parliament today. I’m allowed back tomorrow after my symbolic protest against this government, wish May wasn’t allowed back. https://t.co/S51q5O9QEt
— Lloyd Russell-Moyle MP🌹🏳️🌈 (@lloyd_rm) December 10, 2018
Here’s the short version of the Brexit vote which inaugurated this mace-related chaos. Prime Minister Theresa May has hacked together a deal to actually make Brexit happen, after all the brouhaha of the past couple of years, but it is incredibly contentious and there’s not even broad agreement within her own party on it. The opposition is such, in fact, that May knew bringing it to a vote would result in a humiliating failure. So she didn’t. And now someone’s gone and picked up the mace.
Absolute scenes. Scenes!
