Fresh from the media storm of not showing up to vote on the Privileges Committee in the Houses of Parliament, the influential and exclusive Jilly Cooper Debating Club has publicly criticised Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s failure to attend a pivotal AGM meeting. Officials on the committee are looking at punitive actions, which could lead to him stepping down and losing all perks, such as free horse riding lessons and new gold-plated new editions of books.
In a series of angry email exchanges that have been shared with News Biscuit, it is evident that the Jilly Cooper Debating Club committee had been putting on pressure last week for Sunak to miss the vote in Parliament, for which Sunak argues that as a PM leading on integrity, he needed to be there. The committee in the email exchange fired back that attendance at the Debating Club AGM was mandatory, which they had forced Sunak to put into his work contract when he became PM.
In May this year, Sunak admitted to the world his love of Jilly Cooper books in a TV interview, but sources close to the Debating Club were angry that he didn’t consult them on what he would say. Many were disappointed at how Sunak came across, positioned these books as light reading in the public eye and only used this as a political distraction tactic.
Angry exchanges were reported at the AGM, as an empty chair was left out for Sunak in the hope that he would turn up and waste of resources on permissions for air space clearance for his hoped arrival by private plane. The vote on which books to debate in the autumn, from the shortlist of The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous, Wicked or Prudence went ahead without him.
Supporters of Sunak, say this story supports the fact that he would have ordinarily attended the vote on the Privileges Committee, and wasn’t due to lack of leadership, or standing up to Boris Johnson as some commentators and MPs are alleging. Downing Street has not responded to where Sunak was earlier this week if he was not in Parliament or at the Jilly Cooper Debating Club AGM. Since his failed appearance at either event, a photo on Instagram has been posted of Sunak's butler rearranging his Jilly Cooper study guides collection.
In an extraordinary statement released by the Jilly Cooper Debating Club saying their needs trumped political commitments, they said, ‘Rishi Sunak’s actions confirm to our members that he is a literary lightweight, having used politics to get out of an important AGM meeting. We are sorry to those that feel he must set public standards in politics and support the Privileges Committee. In our eyes, Jilly Cooper fans would sell their soul to be on this exclusive debating club, and any Prime Minister has a shelf life whereas being a Jilly Cooper fan is a lifetime commitment. He needs to remember which side his bread is buttered, with the 1% elite, or the 5% that read Jilly Cooper books.”
Sources close to the author, Jilly Cooper, said she does not comment on politics but is looking forward to seeing the PM at the summer Shetland Pony Polo Tournament on the island of Lilliput in a few weeks.