IT’S been a rollercoaster 12 months for Britain and the world.
From war in Ukraine, to the World Cup, a looming recession and the death of the Queen, life changing events came in thick and fast.
It’s been a wild year in Westminster
But some of the most intense drama and turmoil was found in Westminster, where iconic gaffes and embarrassing bust-ups became an almost daily occurrence.
In 2022 Brits were led by three Prime Ministers, voted in a handful of by-elections and watched as ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock ditched his constituents to seek reality TV fame.
Politics is never smooth sailing, but it’s fair to say this year was one of the bumpiest and frankly, most crazy, in recent history.
Here are 10 of the wildest moments that took place.
April 30 – Ex-MP Neil Parish says he accidentally watched porn in the Commons because while trying to search for tractors
Neil Parish stood down as an MP after he was caught watching porn in the Commons chamber
In April jaws across Britain collectively dropped as a group of female Tory MPs confessed to having seen a male colleague watch porn in the Commons.
For days journalists and members of the public scrambled to uncover who is the “porn MP”?
Eventually his identity was revealed by The Telegraph as Environment Committee chairman and keen farmer Neil Parish.
Mr Parish soon after announced he’d stand down from his Tiverton and Honiton seat, paving the way for a new Lib Dem MP.
The entire episode was crazy – but overall it’s Mr Parish’s justification for watching porn that caused the most gasps.
The country man claimed he had in fact stumbled across porn while trying to look up Dominator tractors online.
Dad-of-two Mr Parish said: “The situation was, funnily enough, it was tractors I was looking at, so I did get into another website with sort of a very similar name and I watched it for a bit, which I shouldn’t have done.
“My crime — my biggest crime — is that on another occasion I went in a second time — and that was deliberate. That was sitting waiting to vote.”
July 1 – Tory Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher resigns after allegedly groping two men ‘because he drank too much’
Chris Pincher resigned as Deputy Chief Whip on July 1
Tory Deputy Chief Whip Chris Pincher sensationally quit on July 1 after allegedly groping two men while drunk.
In a bombshell resignation letter, revealed exclusively by Trending In The News, Pincher admitted he had “embarrassed myself and other people” after a boozy session.
Several Tory MPs complained to the whips’ office about his behaviour.
Shamed Pincher started his resignation letter to Boris Johnson by admitting: “Last night I drank far too much.”
Pincher told the PM: “I’ve embarrassed myself and other people which is the last thing I want to do and for that I apologise to you and to those concerned.
“I think the right thing to do in the circumstances is for me to resign as deputy chief whip.”
July 6 – Boris tells senior MPs at a committee hearing he won’t stand down as PM while his government collapses all around him
Boris Johnson seen giving evidence to the Commons Liaison Committee while his government collapsed
On the penultimate day of his premiership, a defiant Boris Johnson sat down in the Commons to be grilled by senior MPs on the Liaison Committee.
Like something out of a fever dream, the PM answered questions on Ukraine, the economy and his plans for Britain’s future as if everything in his life was completely normal.
But outside the committee room, just metres away, members of his Cabinet were discussing how to force him out of No10.
Despite dozens of ministers having resigned from BoJo’s government a day earlier, the PM point blank refused to admit his career was in crisis.
He claimed he would be in No10 for years to come, though it was painstakingly obvious the game was up.
One day later Boris resigned as Tory leader, paving the way for Liz Truss to take over as PM.
July 11 – Little-known backbencher Rehman Chishti joins the Tory leadership race
Rehman Chishti briefly threw his hat in the ring to be Tory leader
In early July, the first and maddest of two Tory leadership races this year kicked off.
Expected big names threw their hats in the ring, including Rishi Sunak, Nadhim Zahawi and Sajid Javid.
But taking the term wild card contender to a whole new level, unknown backbencher Rehman Chishti decided to have a go also.
The MP for Gillingham and Rainham launched his campaign with a bizarre video filmed on an iPhone and posted to Facebook.
In a countryside field Mr Chishthi claimed: “For me it’s about aspirational conservatism, it’s about fresh ideas and then it comes down to having a fresh team.”
The backbencher’s dream of being PM was crushed in just one day after he failed to get a single MP to back his leadership campaign.
Mr Chishti admitted: “My campaign was a bottom-up campaign with very few resources.”
October 14 – Humiliated Kwasi Kwarteng learns he’s been sacked as Chancellor on Twitter
Kwasi Kwarteng puts on a brave face outside his South London home just two days after he was fired as Chancellor
Kwasi Kwarteng was flying at 36,000ft over the Atlantic when the axe fell on his short time in No11.
Just 12 days after the 45p U-turn, the ex-Chancellor raced back to Westminster early from high-level talks with finance ministers in Washington DC.
But by the time he reached the British tarmac, Liz Truss had decided to brutally sack him after just 38 days — making him the second shortest serving Chancellor in history.
The firing came amid the fallout over the disastrous mini-Budget.
Ms Truss desperately needed a big name to take the fall for soaring mortgage rates and the plummeting pound.
On the car journey from Heathrow to Downing Street, Mr Kwarteng learnt that man was him.
October 17 – Penny Mordaunt clarifies to the world that Liz Truss isn’t hiding under a desk
As chaos and turmoil in the Tory party peaked, Penny Mordaunt sought to assure the country that Liz Truss was not hiding under a desk
In mid-October as post-mini budget turmoil in the Tory party reached boiling point, Penny Mordaunt stepped in for Liz Truss at the dispatch box during an urgent question.
There, the Commons Leader sought to reassure the country everything was totally okay and Ms Truss was not running scared from the Commons by clarifying: “The prime minister is not under a desk.”
When Ms Truss appeared on the green benches later that day, sitting silently next to the Chancellor as he ripped up her mini-Budget while condemning ‘Trussonomics’ to an early grave.
October 18 – Suella Braverman blames annoying Just Stop Oil protests on tofu eaters
Suella Braverman blamed Just Stop Oil protests on the “tofu-eating wokerati”
Suella Braverman risked a fresh war with vegetarians in October as she blamed disruptive eco-protests on people who eat tofu.
In a Commons debate about the government’s Public Order Bill, Ms Braverman hit out at those she believed were trying to block the police from locking up disruptive activists.
The Home Secretary blasted: “Yes, I’m afraid, it’s the Labour Party, it’s the Lib Dems, it’s the coalition of chaos, it’s the Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati, dare I say, the anti-growth coalition that we have to thank for the disruption that we are seeing on our roads today.”
October 19 – Tory chaos during fracking vote as Chief Whip Wendy Morton quits – but then doesn’t
A photo taken by Labour MP Chris Bryant allegedly shows MPs being harassed in the division lobby
The day before she resigned, a Commons mutiny forced Liz Truss into another humiliating U-turn after she tried to make her MPs back fracking.
Discipline broke down in the Tory ranks as allegations were made of an MP being physically manhandled to vote.
A photo showed wavering MPs being allegedly harassed by members of the government, having earlier been told the vote was one of “confidence” — meaning the Government could fall if they lost.
Ms Truss looked on ashen-faced and remained tight-lipped as chaos reigned.
Just minutes before MPs were due to vote, Climate Minister Graham Stuart indicated there had been a major climbdown and it was not a confidence vote.
But less than an hour later No10 said this wasn’t the case.
There was confusion over whether Chief Whip Wendy Morton and her deputy Craig Whittaker had quit their roles amid the voting muddle.
Mr Whittaker came out of the voting lobby and was reportedly heard saying: “I am f***ing furious and I don’t give a f*** any more.”
Downing Street later confirmed that both Ms Morton and Mr Whittaker remained in post.
October 20 – Liz Truss resigns as PM after 44 days in office
Liz Truss resigned as PM in October after lasting just six weeks in the top job
One of the wildest moments of 2022 was the dramatic resignation of Liz Truss, who lasted just 44 days in office.
The embattled leader made a solemn speech outside Downing Street confirming the astonishing turn of events.
Ms Truss’ six weeks in office made her the shortest serving premier the UK has ever had.
Her downfall began just days into her premiership, when the disastrous mini-Budget was announced.
The £45bn tax bonfire sent mortgages soaring and the pound plummeting.
It caused uproar among Tory MPs who questioned why the then-PM was cutting taxes for the rich as hard up Brits suffer a crippling cost of living crisis.
November 11 – Matt Hancock munches on a camel’s penis and a sheep’s vagina on I’m A Celeb
Matt Hancock takes a bite of camel penis on national television
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more weird, in November Matt Hancock repulsed the nation by eating a camel’s penis and a sheep’s vagina on national TV.
Earlier in the month Trending In The News exclusively revealed Mr Hancock would abandon his constituents to take part in I’m A Celeb.
The MP, who announced he’ll stand down from his West Suffolk seat at the next election, ended up coming third after giving it his all during every grim, Bush Tucker trial.
But his enthusiasm did not go down well with animal rights activists.
Slamming the move, Kate Rae of the Wild Camel Protection Foundation told Trending In The News: “Why would anyone want to eat a penis from any animal?
“I think things like this will encourage people to think these animals can be killed and eaten.
“And you would expect MPs like Mr Hancock to be setting an example — but this is abhorrent and just odd.”
