As the House of Commons rises for a premature Easter recess, coronavirus continues to dominate all parliamentary business. However, today also marks Jeremy Corbyn’s final day in parliament as Labour leader – he put in his last Prime Minister’s Questions opposition performance this lunchtime.
While many in Corbyn’s own party won’t be sad to see him go, Jacob Rees-Mogg appears to take a different view. The Leader of the House gave an unlikely tribute to the departing Labour leader:
‘I perhaps have a particular admiration for him which may surprise him. When I was first elected to parliament, there was a distinguished figure who sat at the far end of the opposition benches – was in parliament the whole time, spoke very regularly and was a very very committed parliamentarian.
And then he became leader of his party – as a new MP I sat on the far side of my own benches observing affairs and though I do not have the level of ambition of honourable gentleman, I too ended up on the frontbenches so it seems that those corners are good ones to sit in.
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