Menu

Topics

Connect

Comments

Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.

‘Sit up, man!’: U.K. lawmaker becomes a meme for chilling at Brexit debate

WATCH: The leader of Britain's House of Commons, Jacob Rees-Mogg, riled up lawmakers as he adopted a laid-back posture on the benches on Tuesday during a debate to take control of parliamentary business in order to legally rule out a no-deal Brexit – Sep 4, 2019

A British lawmaker has been immortalized in meme form after he treated the front bench of Parliament like the couch in his living room, lounging during a debate over the U.K.’s ever-deepening Brexit fiasco.

Story continues below advertisement

Jacob Rees-Mogg, Leader of the House of Commons for the governing Conservative Party, decided to take it easy on Tuesday while his party’s majority collapsed.

Photos and video from a late-night Brexit debate show Rees-Mogg slouching against the armrest of his front-row bench, with his body draped across the seats and his legs crossed.

Rees-Mogg’s casual posture ignited fury on the other side of the aisle, prompting several opposition Members of Parliament to heckle him.

Green Party lawmaker Caroline Lucas described Rees-Mogg’s posture as “contemptuous,” prompting a chorus of shouts from other lawmakers.

“Sit up, man!” they yelled. “Sit up straight!”

Story continues below advertisement

Lucas described Rees-Mogg’s posture to ensure that it would be written down in the parliamentary record.

“The Leader of the House has been spread across around three seats, lying out as if [Brexit] was something very boring for him to listen to tonight,” Lucas said.

Rees-Mogg simply raised his eyebrows and adjusted his glasses during her tirade.

Rees-Mogg’s indifference triggered a flood of memes online, where many Brits suggested that he was emblematic of the self-destructive Brexit process.

Others used Photoshop to edit Rees-Mogg into various ridiculous situations, including a Simpsons couch gag.

Story continues below advertisement

Rees-Mogg’s ruling Conservative party later collapsed after 21 of its MPs rebelled in a vote over a no-deal Brexit. The rebellion effectively destroyed U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson‘s majority and his plans to force through no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31.

Johnson is now seeking a snap election in hopes of winning back a majority that can push through with its Brexit plans next month.

WATCH: Boris Johnson plans to call snap election

In other words, Rees-Mogg ended up slouching through a debate that tore his party — and the U.K. government — apart.

Advertisement
Advertisement

You are viewing an Accelerated Mobile Webpage.

View Original Article