Andrea Jenkyns’ letter of no confidence in Rishi Sunak is so badly written it’s brilliant – and Laurence Fox made it even better

As sure as night follows day, Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet reshuffle which saw Suella Braverman sacked and the unexpected return of David Cameron has been followed by the first Conservative MP’s vote of no confidence in the so-called PM.

Step forward Dame – Dame! – Andrea Jenkyns, you remember, the one who stuck her middle finger up to the crowds on her way to Boris Johnson’s leaving speech as PM.

Ministers aren’t expected to be perfect.

But is it really too much to ask that they don’t treat the public like this? pic.twitter.com/LcA11oh09W

— Bridget Phillipson (@bphillipsonMP) July 8, 2022

And we mention it because Jenkyns’s letter to the 1922 committee is quite the read. And when we say quite the read, it really is quite the read.

Enough is enough, I have submitted my vote of no confidence letter to the Chairman of the 1922. It is time for Rishi Sunak to go and replace him with a ‘real’ Conservative party leader. pic.twitter.com/yJmGc14d75

— Andrea Jenkyns MP (@andreajenkyns) November 13, 2023

And just in case that’s tricky to read in full …

And there was lots to digest from a political standpoint, obviously.

The nutters are going nuts… https://t.co/tZeOYUvzq1

— James Mitchinson (@JayMitchinson) November 13, 2023

babe there’s no-one left https://t.co/Ck0d2yxMnW

— Mollie Goodfellow (@hansmollman) November 13, 2023

It starts https://t.co/3nrGKIPirb

— Robert Peston (@Peston) November 13, 2023

But what really caught people’s attention is the the grammar. Or grammer, as Jenkyns presumably prefers. And these responses surely said it best.

1.

This person was briefly an Education Minister and writes a letter that would embarrass most eleven year-olds. Quite incredible. Is there no one in her office who could have edited it for her? Absolute cretin. pic.twitter.com/HciJNPFTyd

— Brendan May (@bmay) November 13, 2023

2.

This MP was an education minister. Read this and wonder what mark she’d have got in GCSE English for this appalling effort.. pic.twitter.com/ZMixy7Bgsa

— Richard Murphy (@RichardJMurphy) November 13, 2023

3.

A complete sentence by Andrea Jenkyns, verbatim: “Yes Boris, the man who won the Conservative Party a massive majority, was unforgivable enough.” She’s right you know. https://t.co/miJvYMWvQi

— Tom Hamilton (@thhamilton) November 13, 2023

4.

This letter is from a former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills, Further and Higher Education.
If any English teachers follow me, I would like to see your critique on the standard of writing. pic.twitter.com/MilbB11Akn

— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) November 13, 2023

5.

Hey ChatGPT write a letter to the 1923 committee chairman in the style of a drunk five-year old … https://t.co/5nvhPWcUpo

— Trumpton (@Trump_ton) November 13, 2023

6.

Brilliant. From the hilarious idea of a “barnstorming” King’s Speech, to the verbless sentences and other grammatical howlers, to “accidentally” describing Johnson as “unforgivable”. At least one Tory MP has a job (in satire) waiting for her after the election. https://t.co/1xYc3tEDVY

— George Peretz KC (@GeorgePeretzKC) November 13, 2023

7.

Enough is enough – like ‘boys will be boys’ and ‘it is what it is’ – is a stupid phrase indicating utter vacuity.

Also: the grammar in this letter is demented. https://t.co/juCZTDpIbR

— Dr Adam Rutherford (@AdamRutherford) November 13, 2023

8.

Why does my 8-year-old have to do Michael Gove’s “fronted adverbial” nonsense yet Michael Gove’s own colleagues can’t write a grammatically correct sentence https://t.co/RYdI0juc16

— Anita Singh (@anitathetweeter) November 13, 2023

9.

The apostrophe out of place in MPs makes my teeth itch. Every single time someone in this Government speaks, they show us that the detail to them matters not a jot. https://t.co/tZeOYUvzq1

— James Mitchinson (@JayMitchinson) November 13, 2023

10.

This woman was the Education Secretary. What an appalling word salad this is.

Although there is one sentence I fully agree with: “Yes Boris, the man who won the Conservative Party a massive majority was unforgiveable enough.” https://t.co/TYddqGdVe6

— Matt Lambert (@EmJayLambert) November 13, 2023

11.

Honestly, I thought the letter was a spoof! https://t.co/GBnGNqqlYO

— Anniesomeone (@Anniesomeone1) November 13, 2023

And the cherry on the icing on the cake was surely this, the approval of this guy.

Andrea is a brave woman. She is a tireless public servant and she is not a Lib Dem conservative.

She is an actual one. https://t.co/cXUulcdumF

— Laurence Fox (@LozzaFox) November 13, 2023

She certainly is a one, he’s got that right.

Source @andreajenkyns