"Why did he do it? We were all told it would be the autumn and were hoping that by then we could turn things round. It is very perplexing," said one former minister, frowning. Others said they were simply not ready to fight a campaign and that they couldn't raise the money in time.
It was all too frantic and at the same time too final for some to take. Tearful MPs - mostly Tory - were saying their goodbyes in the lobbies knowing they would not return. Grandees in the Commons were delivering stirring farewell speeches in the chamber after long and august careers, Harriet Harman and Theresa May among them.
At the same time staff were pulling out all the stops, dispatching messages by hand, trying to salvage important legislation that they had been poring over for weeks, months, even years.
Sunak's decision to go to the country on 4 July had created legislative turmoil. It meant parliament would shut down later that day, several weeks earlier than expected.
Some laws that had been passing through their later legislative stages were saved and rammed on to the statute book in double quick time. But others that were not so advanced -including one to stop smoking and another to end no-fault evictions that Sunak had said would form key parts of his legacy - had to be dropped.
In the Lords, peers stood up to bemoan the fact that important laws affecting the City of London had been ditched, at least for the time being.
Tories were dismayed. "It just shows how well No 10 had thought this through," said one senior Conservative MP. "We have been talking about these bills for months. Stopping young people smoking was one of Rishi's things. Now he has killed one of his legacy bills off just in time for the campaign. Brilliant." It was an extraordinary end to the life of a parliament, and in all probability, to 14 years of Tory rule.
この記事は The Guardian Weekly の May 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Guardian Weekly の May 31, 2024 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
If kids get protected from online harm, how about the rest of us?
The Australian government has proposed a ban on social media for all citizens under 16.
'It's not drought - it's looting'
Spain is increasingly either parched or flooded - and one group is profiting from these extremes: the thirsty multinational companies forcing angry citizens to pay for water in bottles.
Life in the grey Zone
Neonatal care has advanced so far that babies born as early as 21 weeks have survived. But is this type of care always the right thing to do?
Out of tune? Band Aid under fire for Africa tropes as it turns 40
Forty years ago this month, a group of pop stars gathered at a west London studio to record a single that would raise millions, inspire further starry projects, and ultimately change charity fundraising in the UK.
Deaths shine spotlight on risks of drinking on party trail
Vang Vieng is an unlikely party hub. Surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves in central Laos, it morphed from a small farming town to a hedonistic tourist destination in the early 2000s.
Different strokes My strange and emotional week with an AI pet
Moflin can develop a personality and build a rapport with its owner - and doesn't need food or exercise. But is it comforting or alienating?
Strike zone Waking up to the rising threat of lightning
When the Barbados National Archives, home to one of the world's most significant collections of documents from the transatlantic slave trade, reported in June that it had been struck by lightning, it received sympathy and offers of support locally and internationally.
Cheap pints and sticky carpets: the old-school pub is back
In the Palm Tree pub, east London, barman Alf is taking only cash at the rattling 1960s till.
Brain gain Can a radical tax scheme convince the country's brightest to stay?
In the autumn of 2018, I moved to Lisbon for a month-long course at the Universidade .de Lisboa.
Fear and sympathy in small town divided over asylum camp
A year after anti-immigration riots, a site for asylum seekers faces hostility while some locals try to help new arrivals
