News
Louis Staples
Apr 23, 2020
Jessica Taylor
Parliament reopening is normally an occasion of much pomp and fanfare.
But this time, for obvious reasons, there was no Queenie or Blackrod in attendance. Parliament reopening in the midst of a pandemic was no normal affair.
MPs sat two metres apart and some phoned in via video link, for the first time ever, as Keir Starmer grilled acting prime minister Dominic Raab for the first time. Strangely, it felt as though the dusty halls of Westminster might actually be crawling into the 21st century and it was fascinating to watch.
House of Commons photographer Jessica Taylor was on hand to capture the historic day, and people on social media marvelled at her photos.
Here's a few of my snaps from the first PMQs/Ministerial statement since the House approved a motion to allow parti… https://t.co/uDV8KDU5VS— Jessica Taylor (@Jessica Taylor) 1587574620
But there was one image in particular which garnered particular attention.
Absolutely lovely photo by @Jess__Taylor__ https://t.co/lcX1o8CQYp— John Rentoul (@John Rentoul) 1587575369
Yup, you’ve guessed it, it was this snap of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who made his return to the chamber to watch Starmer in action.
In case you hadn't noticed, Corbyn is a fairly divisive figure in UK politics. Some people love him, while others really don’t.
But when ITV’s Peston asked people on Twitter to think of captions for the photograph, they were flooded with positive replies about the Labour leader.
Caption this photo by @Jess__Taylor__ and we'll RT the best ones in the run up to the show. LIVE @ 1045 | @peston… https://t.co/lc0KxzSFXp— Peston (@Peston) 1587578732
There were plenty of compliments for Corbyn as he resumed his usual place on the back benches.
An honourable decent man who wanted to do the best he could for people and the country he loves... https://t.co/e7FV1FdpLr— Angela Rayner (@Angela Rayner) 1587583219
The greatest prime minister we never had. https://t.co/XE9F5ukCkK— Kerry-Anne Mendoza 🏳️🌈 (@Kerry-Anne Mendoza 🏳️🌈) 1587588789
Man Does Job. https://t.co/aOYgBigzRn— Craig Fairbairn (@Craig Fairbairn) 1587587329
But some did question whether Corbyn should be there anyway, given he's over 70 and government guidelines advise older people to be at home right now.
@itvpeston @Jess__Taylor__ @Peston @ITV NHS guidelines for septuagenarians? What NHS guidelines?— Tom Harwood (@Tom Harwood) 1587583318
Once again not working from home, in contradiction to vital guidelines intended to keep over-70s safe. https://t.co/5XtbfMFbNJ— James Ball (@James Ball) 1587558261
Regardless, surely one thing we can all agree on is that it's an incredible photo, right?
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