After the whittling down of hopefuls, Liz Truss (remember her?) and Rishi Sunak spent August parading up and down the country delivering the same speeches to party members. Highlights included protestors interrupting proceedings and Truss claiming the “jury’s out” on whether French President Emmanuel Macron was a British ally (yes, really).
2021: Afghanistan exit chaos
The U.K.’s almost 20-year presence in Afghanistan drew to a sudden close as U.S. President Joe Biden withdrew American troops and the Taliban returned to power. Both the House of Commons and Lords were recalled in mid-August to debate the situation, and then-PM Boris Johnson announced the U.K. would accept up to 5,000 refugees.
Then-Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab was heavily criticized for being on holiday in Crete as Afghanistan chaotically shifted back to Taliban rule, only returning to the U.K. after Kabul had fallen. The Sunday Times reported that Johnson allowed Raab to stay on holiday for an extra two days. Raab was demoted to justice secretary the following month. Thanks, boss!
2019: Brexit prorogation nation
Boris Johnson’s first weeks as prime minister of a country still agonizing over Brexit were dramatic. Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg met Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral in August to request she prorogue (effectively, shutter) parliament for five weeks — a bid to stop plotters opposed to Johnson’s Brexit program.
The move to shut down parliament was highly controversial. Then-Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn even wrote a protest letter to the monarch, arguing the action was “not on.”
In September, the drama continued as the government’s decision faced legal action in Scotland and London. Eventually, the Supreme Court ruled the decision unlawful — right in the middle of Labour’s annual conference.