'In the name of God, go!'

Today's Prime Minister's Questions was definitely a dramatic affair - the weekly spectacle has become more entertaining than any fiction. Although the behaviour of MPs in the Commons is often an embarrassing display of cheering and paper waving, every now and then there's a moment which goes down in history. Sometimes history appears to repeat itself, no doubt that is what David Davis will be hoping happens after invoking this most famous (or infamous) parliamentary quotes:

'You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go'

Boris Johnson claimed not to recognise the quote, which is ludicrous (not the most ridiculous lie he's been accused of this week) given its history. It's no secret that Boris views himself as a modern Churchill, he's been obsessed with him since childhood and even wrote a rather bombastic biography of his hero in a not so subtle attempt to draw parallels between himself and the wartime leader. That's why him not recognising the quote is hard to believe, considering its last delivery in the Commons led to his hero's ascendance to number 10.

Between 7th and 9th May 1940, the most important debate in the twentieth century was raging in the House of Commons. The Norway debate as it has been dubbed started with questions on the conduct of the war and ended with a vote of no confidence in the PM's leadership which saw Chamberlain out and Churchill in. In April Denmark and Norway had been swiftly invaded despite Chamberlain claiming that Hitler had 'missed the bus' at succeeding in further military campaigns - the invasion caught the allies off guard and the Prime Minister was forced to the Commons to explain the failure. Towards the end of the first day Leo Amery got to his feet, a long term opponent of appeasement and Chamberlain's leadership he delivered a damning speech which condemned the government and invoked another momentous day in parliament:

'This is what Cromwell said to the Long Parliament when he thought it was no longer fit to conduct the affairs of the nation: "You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go".'

Cromwell was the first to speak these words in parliament in 1653, but not in the direction of a Prime Minister but rather the parliament itself - or at least those who were left after parliament was last purged. That had been in 1648 when those who wished to continue negotiating with King Charles I instead of putting him on trial were forcibly removed and detained. By 1653 those who were left (the Rump Parliament) found themselves on the raw end of Cromwell's disapproval. While the achievements of the Rump is the subject of much debate amongst historians, Cromwell had become increasingly dissatisfied with the pace of religious reform and the viewed the Rump as only interested in its own survival. As Cromwell's troops poured into the Commons to remove the members he proclaimed:

"You are no Parliament; I say you are no Parliament; begone, and give place to honester men"

You can certainly see the parallels between the two previous times this quote has been directed at those in power at parliament. Only time will tell if the outcome is similar, will Johnson, 'in the name of God', go?