Quintin Jardine's blog

Let’s be clear about this: I don’t rate Theresa May as outstanding Prime Minister material. However I acknowledge that it is unfair to judge her at the stage as her time in office has been dominated by a single unsolvable task that was not of her making. Aside from that her only major howler has been to suffer an attack of opportunism and throw away a working majority.

Let’s be clear about this also: there isn’t a single person on either side of the House who could have come up with a solution that would have commanded Commons support.

During the negotiations she hasn’t got everything right, but in the main she has behaved with decorum and dignity. That’s why I wake up this morning feeling disgusted.

We are shamed as a nation by the behaviour of our Parliament. We are shamed as electors by the vicious, hysterical abuse heaped upon the lady by the people we have sent there, both sides of the chamber and even in the middle, by the weasel who somehow wriggled into the Speaker’s chair in place of a much, much better man.

For the last few days we have seen these people show their true colours, Green with envy, White with fear and Purple with anger, hatred even at times. And none of them are beautiful.

We’re big on petitions these days so I would like to start another, demanding that the role of the Committee on Standards on Public Life be expanded to include oversight of parliamentary behaviour and powers of discipline over those who are guilty of discourtesy and personal abuse. If you would sign it, like or share this post.