As a serious recession hit Britain, with many businesses folding and jobs being lost, Parliament itself decided to cut about 500 MPs, in a bid to reduce costs.
'It had to happen', the Speaker of the House, Sir Reginald Gourmet, said, 'Parliament has simply got to cut its overheads. Most MPs do and say absolutely nothing, except shout 'Hear! Hear!' once a week at Prime Minister's questions, but still cost the nation millions of pounds.'
'So now we are considering wielding the axe, and many MPs must pack their bags and head straight for the Dorchester Hotel, for an expenses-paid 5-course lunch with me to discuss the proposals. And then decide on firm action, even going so far as to forming a committee to discuss the cuts. Over the port.'
As millions of Britons were struggling with the so-called credit crunch, and tightening their belts for what may be a difficult time ahead, they were impressed that MPs were actually practicing what they preached, and not endlessly running up huge bills on taxpayers' money while doing nothing at all to help the country.
'I'm impressed', said London fishwife Mrs Gordon Darling, 'good to see the government sorting themselves out, we was starting to think Parliament was just a giant trough that MPs stuck their snouts into every day.' And security guard Alistair Brown added: '500 less MPs? What on earth will we do without them? Hahahaha!'
Rumours that Oliver Cromwell was right all along about Parliament, and that it would do the long-suffering British people a favour if it voted itself out of existence before the public closed it for them, or even that the EU now makes the only decisions that matter nowadays in the country, were strongly agreed on by all non-MPs and all MEPs.
'Any MPs that lose their jobs will be welcome in the European Parliament', said MEP Glennock Kinnes, 'we need experienced politicians to milk the wine lakes and drive the gravy trains, that's why I'm here. And the chances of any job cuts here are about as likely as Gordon Brown not reading speeches written for him in Washington DC.'
Westminster Job Centre staff are bracing themselves for an influx of unemployed MPs.
