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Politics
Kate Plummer
Feb 06, 2022
File:Official portrait of Johnny Mercer (cropped).jpg - Wikipedia
A Tory MP was “so p****d” after he spent the afternoon watching sport he “couldn’t remember what was said” in a phone call between him and Boris Johnson, according to his wife.
Felicity Cornelius-Mercer shared a photo on social media on Saturday of her husband, Plymouth Moor View MP Johnny Mercer, sitting on a sofa with his head thrown back.
She said she was considering "winding him up" about the phone call and called for suggestions of what she could pretend was said.
Reacting to the post, which went viral with over 2,500 likes, some people found the incident pretty funny:
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Felicity, this has to be one of the best threads ever! As a 25 year military veteran, I haven\u2019t laughed so much in ages. My wife, who should also be considered as a 33 year veteran for putting up with my antics, would have done the same! Keep up the good fight Team Mercer\u2026— Mortmeister (@Mortmeister) 1644150236
Brilliant https://twitter.com/mercer_felicity/status/1490072461714628616\u00a0\u2026— Rachel White (@Rachel White) 1644140581
But many found it inappropriate:
is it funny though that the Member of Parliament for Plymouth is so drunk by 6pm that he has passed out?\ni'm failing to see the funny side.— etymologic (@etymologic) 1644100819
So, our country is in ruins, people can\u2019t heat their homes and eat, hundreds are dying every day and you tweet this? \n\nThis is so inappropriate I can\u2019t even begin to fathom it.— Dee \ud83d\udc1d \ud83d\ude37 here for the Science. (@Dee \ud83d\udc1d \ud83d\ude37 here for the Science.) 1644106714
Growing up I thought MPs were supposed to be intellectual power houses driving the country forwards with fresh energy and ideas. \n\nIt seems the Tories prefer boozing, partying and forgetting each other\u2019s calls. \n\nCan we afford to carry them?https://twitter.com/mercer_felicity/status/1490072461714628616\u00a0\u2026— David Chadwick \ud83d\udd36 (@David Chadwick \ud83d\udd36) 1644135591
And other joined in the game and suggested ways in which she could trick him:
\u201cBBC 0800, Sky News 0830, and ITV at 0900. And don\u2019t forget what I\u2019ve told you to say\u2026\u201d\n#YesPrimeMinister— Simon McCoy (@Simon McCoy) 1644100149
Tell him he's chancellor!— Donnchadh Morgan (@Donnchadh Morgan) 1644100268
Tell him he accepted the position of temporary Chief of Staff and he\u2019s got to meet Nadine Dorries at a Toby Carvery for lunch to ask her nicely not to do any more media appearances.— Ali Hughes (@Ali Hughes) 1644098164
And appearing to comment on the saga, Mercer didn't seem too fussed that he had been papped, saying:
In other breaking news, wives have a mind and a life of their own..\n\nShe\u2019s on this nuts journey with me - the highs and many lows. She is more than entitled to take the p**s out of me/the PM/whoever she likes.— Johnny Mercer (@Johnny Mercer) 1644139382
It comes in a tough week for Johnson in which he has faced staff resignations, a damning interim report from Sue Gray over Partygate and amid news that an increasing number of Tory MPs have written letters of no-confidence in him.
With all that going on, it seems that shooting the breeze with a bladdered MP would be the least of his problems.
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