12 Of The Most Unexpected Moments In British Politics From 2024

There’s no doubt that 2024 was another bewildering year for British politics, particularly now there’s a new government and a new set of MPs in Westminster.

Plenty has happened in the last 12 months – so HuffPost UK has gone on a trip down memory lane to relive some of the most dramatic moments of the year.

1. Lee Anderson quits government, then loses the whip, then crosses the floor

Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith shocked Westminster when they resigned together at the Tory deputy chairmen in January.

They quit so they could back an amendment which called for the plan to deport “illegal” asylum seekers to Rwanda to be toughened up.

That was not the end of Anderson’s time in the spotlight, though, as he went on to cause further chaos for then-PM Rishi Sunak.

Anderson was suspended by the Tories after he refused to apologise for claiming Islamists have “got control of” Sadiq Khan.

He soon crossed the floor to become Reform’s first ever MP – despite previously claiming anyone who defects to another party should be kicked out of parliament.

He is now one of five Reform MPs, all of whom were elected in July.

Meanwhile, Clarke-Smith lost his seat to Labour in the general election and the Rwanda plan ended up being scrapped altogether.

2. Liz Truss fronts a movement called Popular Conservatism, loses her seat – and goes on a bizarre press tour

The former PM, who was in No.10 for a record-breaking stint of just 49 days, fronted a movement called Popular Conservatism – despite remaining incredibly unpopular just before its launch.

PopCon, as the movement was quickly dubbed, claimed it would “restore democratic accountability to Britain and deliver popular conservative policies”.

In her opening speech, Truss boldly claimed there were many “secret Conservatives” across the UK who just do not want to admit it.

And that was not her only headline-grabbing moment for the year, either.

She announced a book called Ten Years To Save The West in February – which was met with complete ridicule – and later endorsed Donald Trump to be the next US president.

Truss was also one of the Tories who lost their seats in July, but somehow still claimed they would have performed much better if they had stayed under her leadership.

Let’s not forget how she furiously stormed off the stage when a poster with a lettuce crashed her pro-Trump event in the autumn either.

3. Maverick George Galloway gets elected to parliament in Rochdale – for four months

Who can forget when Galloway returned to Westminster in a shock twist earlier this year?

The controversial figure has been in and out of Westminster since 1987, having fought in 15 elections over the years and stood for three parties.

The pro-Palestine figure notably received a Palestinian passport from Hamas leader in 2009 in honour of his support for the cause.

He has also called for the boycott of Israel, and when MP for Bradford West, declared his constituency would be an Israel-free zone in 2014.

Galloway has always denied accusations of antisemitism, but he was sacked from his role at TalkRadio in 2019 after the station described some of his comments as antisemitic.

He became the Workers Party of Britain’s first – and only – MP when he won the Rochdale by-election in March, and quickly claimed his victory was “for Gaza”.

The surprise election result transpired when Labour’s candidate Azhar Ali was dumped by the party during the campaign after a recording of him making anti-Israel comments emerged.

But, Galloway was soon slammed for not lobbying for the Middle East once he was in parliament, and was kicked out of his seat after just 126 days in the role.

He didn’t even turn up to hear the result.

4. Rwanda plan becomes law – for three months – but deports no asylum seekers

The Rwanda plan finally got through parliament after months of delay this year, despite fears over human rights violations and reports that even then-foreign secretary James Cleverly had called it “batshit”.

Former PM Rishi Sunak suggested the UK could leave the ECHR – the European Convention on Human Rights – just so the government could deport asylum seekers who have come to the UK via “illegal” means.

The Rwanda plan ended up costing £715m, and was scrapped by Labour in July after sending just four volunteers to the African country.

Current home secretary Yvette Cooper has since claimed the Tories planned to spend up to £10bn on the scheme.

5. Rishi Sunak calls a snap election while standing in the pouring rain without an umbrella

The prime minister decided to call a snap election amid a sudden cloud burst in May, despite having a press room inside No.10 – and presumably a raincoat.

His words were not only drowned out by the rain, but a protester playing the D:Ream song Things Can Only Get Better, which was the soundtrack to Labour’s 1997 landslide election win.

Strangely, Sunak’s announcement came just weeks after his party received a battering at the local elections.

Two Tory mayors have even pretended not to be Tories during their local election campaigns by leaving their party name off their campaign merchandise.

It only got worse from that point onwards for Sunak. He was cornered by a student on the campaign trail and asked why he “hates young people” over his pledge to introduce national service.

He was also asked on Loose Women why he “hates pensioners”.

6. Nigel Farage suddenly decides to run for parliament after Piers Morgan showdown

The Reform Party leader told the media he was not going to try and get a seat in parliament (having been unsuccessful on seven previous attempts) this election.

However, he suddenly U-turned in June after a strange showdown with Piers Morgan on BBC Question Time, where the broadcaster accused him of “bottling it”.

Farage then kicked Reform’s candidate for Clacton out so he could take his place in the election. Farage promised to cover his campaign costs, but was later billed for £8,500 by the ousted candidate.

When he finally announced he was standing in a high-profile event in Clacton, Farage was promptly met with a milkshake to the face.

Still, he was successfully elected just a month later.

7. Tories take lowest number of seats in history in a record-breaking election result

The polls had predicted a poor performance for the Tories in the election, but seeing the Conservatives take just 121 seats (down from 365 in 2019) was still a shock.

That’s a record low number for the party – they last recorded 156 seats in 1906.

There were also more female Labour MPs (189) elected than there were total Tory MPs.

A record number of ministers lost their seats, including education secretary Gillian Keegan, defence secretary Grant Shapps, justice secretary Alex Chalk and transport secretary Mark Harper.

They all joined the very short list of serving ministers who have been kicked out of parliament while holding office.

Between 1900 and 2024, this phenomenon has happened to just 35 ministers – this year’s election takes that total up to 44.

Then-party chairman Richard Holden held onto his seat by just 20 votes, while Liz Truss was also kicked out.

The BBC even rubbed salt in the wound by predicting a humiliating defeat for backbencher and famous Brexiter Steve Baker while he was sat in their studio.

8. Countries start urging their own citizens to be ‘vigilant’ in the UK amid the far-right riots

One of the more alarming moments of 2024 was outbreak of far-right riots in the summer.

It sparked international fear about just how dangerous the UK was after more than 400 people were arrested in the anti-immigration protests.

Australia urged its citizens to “exercise a high degree of caution” if they travel to the UK “due to the threat of terrorism”.  

Nigeria put out a similar warning on X, saying the violence stemming from the Southport stabbings has “assumed dangerous proportions as evidenced by reported attacks on law enforcement agents and damage to infrastructure”.

Malaysia, the UAE and Indonesia all echoed these concerns in statements to their citizens.

9. Kemi Badenoch finds herself in hot water repeatedly  

Badenoch, who claims to never make a gaffe, triggered several rows in her leadership campaign.

She sparked some alarm at the Tory Party conference when she suggested maternity pay is “excessive” – only to later issue a “clarification” and say she was actually talking about the “burden of regulation on businesses”.

She also claimed young Tories are being marked down at university because of their politics, in what she said was a sign socialism had returned to the UK with Labour back in No.10.

Badenoch claimed a tenth of civil servants should be “in prison”, too, and claimed not all “cultures are equally valid”.

Speaking on Christopher Hope’s Political Podcast, Badenoch claimed: “I grew up in a middle class family, but I became working class when I was 16, working in McDonald’s.”

Shortly after that remark, she told the podcast: “I never have gaffes, or apologising for something that I said, [saying] ‘oh that’s not what I meant,’ I never have to clarify, because I think very carefully about what I say.” 

10. Keir Starmer says ‘sausages’ instead of hostages

Labour’s first party conference while in power was a big moment for the PM.

But, unfortunately for Starmer, one of the most memorable takeaways of the event ended up his slip-up about the Gaza conflict.

During his closing speech for the conference, he told the packed room: “I call again for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the sausages — the hostages — and a recommitment to the two-state solution, a recognised Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.”

His remarks lit up the whole internet – understandably.

11. Health secretary’s attempt to start open forum about improving NHS gets hijacked – by the public

Wes Streeting tried to get the nation talking about ways to improve the health service with an open forum, but trolls soon took over and flooded the platform with rather silly ideas.

Suggestions included “waffles for every meal”, a “public BMI test for ministers” and “cinema tickets on the NHS”.

One person, who thought the public should be prescribed taxpayer-funded trips to the movies, said: “Cinemas need a boost – often empty post pandemic. We need hospital beds. People like films. People have mental health issues.

“Solution – the NHS rents out empty seats in cinemas so people can watch a film whilst they’re waiting to be seen or under observations. Win win?”

Another suggestion was to “incorporate Daleks into the NHS” because “they have lots of experience with doctors”.

12. Elon Musk takes a dislike to Keir Starmer and Labour

Ministers were already tying themselves up in knots trying to defend their past criticisms of the US president-elect – the foreign secretary once called him an “odious, sad, little man” – when X tycoon Elon Musk got into a war of words with Starmer.

Musk, who has suddenly has Trump’s ear and will head up the US department of government efficiencies, has become very interested with Labour’s Britain in recent months – and not in a good way.

The tech billionaire has called Britain a “tyrannical police state”, accused Starmer of being “two-tier Keir” over policing, and claimed “civil war is inevitable” after the far-right riots of the summer.

There were even reports that Musk might be giving Reform a $100m donation as a “fuck you” Starmer – sparking speculation Labour might move to cap political donations.

It remains to be seen how this could affect the UK’s relationship with the incoming Trump administration in January.