Lord Chancellor Robert Buckland has been getting into the festive spirit, joining in with civil servants to sing carols at his office Christmas party last night. Wales-born Buckland, is well known for his dulcet tones, having been known to on occasion serenade constituents. Getting Christmas done the right way!
The Lord Chancellor, Robert Buckland, will today reverse the decades-long trend of modernising the role of Lord Chancellor. Robert’s Bucking the trend…
Guido learns that Buckland will be reverting to the full wig, which was ditched in 2013 by Grayling after being told non-lawyers should not wear it.
Buckland will also be reverting to tradition by walking backwards after giving her majesty the speech – part of the ceremony ditched decades ago (however it was brought back by Jack Straw for a few years). Guido’s sure Her Majesty will appreciate it…
UPDATE: Buckland has gone back on his plan to walk backwards, deciding to walk back down the steps not facing the monarch. For shame.
Only five of the 21 expelled Tory rebels still wish to return to the Conservative Party, according to a senior One Nation source. Namely, Amber Rudd, David Guake, Richard Benyon and Stephen and Philip Hammond. You couldn’t guess some of them want to return given how they’ve been behaving since losing the whip…
Whilst it was obvious some of the cohort – such as Sam Gyimah who is now a Lib Dem, and Rory Stewart who plans on standing as an independent – had given up on rejoining to Tory Party’s loving embrace, it was still assumed the majority of independent remainers would look at regaining the whip once Brexit is sorted. It’s also believed that only Rory has any chance of keeping his seat if standing as an independent…
In other wet Tory news, the Tory Reform Group held their one nation drinks reception yesterday, during which Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said multiple times “I am the law” and one member fainted. They’re truly dropping like flies…
UPDATE: A sign of further Tory independents to Lib Dem defections? Anne Milton and Guto Bebb spotted plotting with Phillip Lee and Sam Gyimah in PCH…
Boris got a bit more than he bargained for as his law-and-order week took him to meet prison officers who explained how prisoners smuggle drugs into prison. “A Kinder egg?! … Is that inside the… he’s ingested it… he’s plugged it? … You are joking!” Robert Buckland considers explaining to his boss, before taking the safer route of just nodding along knowingly instead…
The Telegraph is running a story claiming the Justice Secretary “risks Brexiteer anger” after he stated he thinks a No Deal Brexit would be “chaos”. HuffPost ran the same story and Spectator Coffee House leads their lunchtime email with it. The only problem is it isn’t true…
When asked on the Today Programme “do you still believe that the impact of “crashing out” of the EU would be chaos?”, Buckland said:
“I’ve consistently argued that point and I still do that. That’s why I think that the work that is being done by Government to ensure an orderly Brexit is vital.”
“That’s why I’m really pleased that the structure of Cabinet committees, the way in which Government is bearing down upon the issues, shows a sense of urgency and purpose which is absolutely essential if we avoid the sort of disorder I have talked about.”
“Like I’ve said I think there’s a difference between ‘crashing out’ and not achieving a deal.”
At no point did Buckland, as the Telegraph mistakenly reports, claim that a “no-deal will cause ‘chaos'”. He made a clear distinction between his vision of ‘crashing out’ with no planning, and leaving without a deal.
Clearly, Buckland believes that “crashing out” of the EU this instant with no preparation would be chaotic, but that the work the Government is undertaking now will ensure that leaving the EU on 31st October on WTO terms is orderly and managed. The Telegraph trying to spin this as anything other than bang on message is bizarrely inaccurate…
The new Justice Minister did not look too happy to be confronted by the latest General Election polling showing the Tories have now slipped to third place…
