Usually when Theresa May makes an important speech the pound tends to plummet scarily on international markets and confidence in Britain falls even further.
But you know it’s been a good speech when everyone’s favourite political farce The Thick Of It starts trending on social media before the speech is even over.
Still it’s not like this lot have anything more complex to negotiate apart from getting through a week in Manchester without any more gaffes…
In a crisis-ridden Conservative Conference with a poll of Tory party members revealing that only 30% of Conservative Party members believe Theresa May SHOULDN’T quit, and revelations that party membership is at an all time low, the pressure was on our beleaguered Prime Minister to deliver a corker of a keynote speech to Conference.
Especially with all the resentment of her party over the snap election that she arrogantly called that has left the Conservatives in a fragile minority government relying on an pro-life anti-gay creationist party they had to bribe £1bn.
(Notice nobody said “strong and stable” any more at the conference.)
But as the beleaguered Prime Minister battled with coughing fits to deliver a rather underwhelming speech the loudest response from the party faithful gathered was when prankster Lee Nelson somehow managed to walk up to her and hand her a P45 form.
The comedian said “Boris asked me to give you this,” and as he was being escorted out of the building, people were already starting to compare the omnishambles of the Tory Party Conference to political satire The Thick Of It.
https://www.facebook.com/TheLondonEconomic/videos/1356721201106026/
So here are some of the highlights, or rather lowlights, that have turned a calamitous Conservative Conference into more of a farce than actual farce The Thick Of It:
- Just when you thought Treeza’s address to the Conservative Party Conference couldn’t get any more embarrassing, Amber Rudd was forced to tell off giant man baby Boris Johnson for not standing and applauding:
Amber Rudd telling Boris Johnson to stand for May pic.twitter.com/VGYeb5CroR
— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) October 4, 2017
- This unfortunate letter falling off :
This is the best episode of The Thick of It in years pic.twitter.com/uPUzTmvI7i
— David (@davidclewis) October 4, 2017
- Conservative message falling apart LITERALLY, as MORE letters fall off:
(Bring back “strong and stable”!)
- Banging on about how brilliant Capitalism is in a Communist bracelet:
Can I just point out that Theresa May is wearing a bracelet of Frida Kahlo, a member of the Communist party who LITERALLY DATED TROTSKY pic.twitter.com/CR13geaO7n
— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) October 4, 2017
- Boris Johnson’s own party colleagues calling for his resignation after the Foreign Secretary quips about clearing Libyan dead bodies to make a nice beach resort:
https://www.facebook.com/TheLondonEconomic/videos/1356213294490150/
- Damien Green trying to defend Boris Johnson quipping about clearing Libyan dead bodies to make a nice beach resort:
The Tories have completely ruined The Thick of It. They're so unbelievably preposterous, the series looks tame when you watch it back. https://t.co/IIDOXDf5BN
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) October 4, 2017
- Philip Hammond warning Boris Johnson is “sackable” in the same interview he admits “the more we can show unity, the stronger our negotiating position” for Brexit.
Philip Hammond tells Boris Johnson that 'everyone is sackable' after his latest Brexit inter https://t.co/T2UmYrfDE5 pic.twitter.com/IZeSNG2ffn
— BI UK Politics (@BIUKPolitics) October 2, 2017
- Jeremy Hunt trying to pretend to the Conservative Party that they founded the NHS they actually voted against and he is doing his best to destroy:
Yes he actually said that: https://t.co/o5bAnC4EeE
— Ben Gelblum (@BenGelblum) October 4, 2017
- The tumbleweed reaction of the Conservative Party as the sound clip Jeremy Hunt has dug up to evidence his bizarre claim breaks as he unconvincingly pretends that they founded the NHS they actually voted against:
https://www.facebook.com/NyeBevanNews/videos/2007318782815384/
- While Theresa May is urged to stand up to Boeing as it threatens thousands of UK jobs at Bombardier by urging the US to impose tariffs on the smaller aircraft manufacturer, turns out Jeremy Hunt is guest of honour at a “Drink Tank” Boeing are sponsoring.
Jeremy Hunt due to swig drinks on Boeing's while our Bombardier workers worry about thier jobs. Whose side Tories on? #backBombardier pic.twitter.com/NA2cZisZLY
— Unite Politics (@UnitePolitics) October 1, 2017
- Eton-educated worm eater Bear Grylls turns up to Tory party conference, leading to speculation that he is there to show “an endangered species how to survive the forthcoming winter”.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/bear-gets-social-media-grylling-appearing-tory-party-conference/03/10/
- Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson appears to be the only person coming out swinging at conference, only she’s swinging for her own party accusing it of having a “nervous breakdown” and telling it to “man up.”
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/ruth-davidson-tells-conservative-party-man-get-nervous-breakdown/03/10/
- Jacob Rees-Mogg appearing to have a nervous breakdown:
https://twitter.com/JamesMelville/status/915513180482424832
- #Moggmentum :
This is the queue to get into the Jacob Rees Mogg fringe at #cpc17 pic.twitter.com/AKvUP9jeDF
— Andrew Sinclair (@andrewpolitics) October 3, 2017
- All the empty seats:
This afternoon is clearly expected to be riveting. The swathes of blackness are empty seats.. #CPC17 pic.twitter.com/5YRumNEBW5
— MagsNews (@MagsNews) October 2, 2017
- Lots of empty seats:
"Why it's not I but Nicola Sturgeon who is out of touch with the common people!" screams David Mundell to an empty room. #CPC17 pic.twitter.com/8bzLGtruHA
— Steph Paton 🇵🇸 (@stephenpaton134) October 2, 2017
- Maybe next year they should hire a smaller venue:
https://twitter.com/EmptyBlueSeat/status/914937708899913728
- All of this making attention-seeking hate preacher Katie Hopkins turning up at the Conference wearing her wedding dress seem quite normal:
https://twitter.com/60Billion/status/914896748933472257
- Oh, and it turns out that speech that Theresa May got handed a P45 in was plagiarised from hit TV show The West Wing:
What could make the worst car crash speech ever even worse? Finding out they nicked lines off TV shows for the speech!#CPC17 #TheresaMayP45 pic.twitter.com/T4kmof1Ue4
— Devutopia (@D_Raval) October 4, 2017
Remember the one bit of Theresa May's speech that wasn't coughing, hateful or P45-related?
Yup, it was stolen from #WestWing#CPC17 pic.twitter.com/G0qxTADuBM— El Christo (@ElRaynerista) October 4, 2017
- Oh and I also think you owe a Mr Miliband an apology for plagiarising the main policy announcement from a policy you always derided him for:
I’m sure I’ve missed some omnishambling out – there’s just too much – please comment below with any Conservative Party Conference 17 highlights I missed !
NB: UPDATE:
- Even the theme tune – somehow very ironic !!!
Today's use of 'You've Got The Love' at the Conservative party conference was not approved by us nor would it have been had they asked.
— florence welch (@florencemachine) October 4, 2017
- Oh, and how could we forget South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay – with an election fraud trial looming in May over the 2015 General Election, you could forgive him for being preoccupied. But he tried to channel Norman Tebbit’s advice to millions of unemployed people under Margaret Thatcher’s government in the in the 80s, telling a fringe event on Monday that unemployed Glaswegians should “get on your bike” and “come down to the south to work for a farm for the summer with loads of gorgeous EU women working there.” – So many levels of crass there…