Mike Penning’s fat fingers blunder

There’s a fevered atmosphere within Parliament at present as MPs gather to debate Boris Johnson’s future. The triennial game of ‘pass the crown’ is on again as revelations continue to emerge about what went on at Fabric No. 10 throughout the pandemic. Rumours abound as to whether Tory whips have posted sentries to watch Sir Graham Brady’s office for any MPs submitting letters to call for a vote of confidence, with some handing them to braver colleagues to hand them in. Fortunately for nervy backbenchers, the 1922 committee rules were recently changed to allow letters to be sent via email.

With tensions running high, any sign of MPs breaking ranks could cause the rest of the herd to stampede. So it was with great interest that, scrolling through the MPs who’ve signed a motion last week by Caroline Lucas for a vote of confidence in the PM, Mr S stumbled across the name of Sir Mike Penning.