The stipud things politicians say

[EssexPhil]

It astounds me just how dim many politicians are. By this I don't mean when they make political statements that I personally disagree with. I mean stuff that is just plain dumb. Often caused by a desire to appeal to voters while coming out with pure nonsense. Makes you wonder if any of these people read what they are saying. Not a Party Political thing-there are repeat offenders in senior positions in all Parties. A personal favourite was when "Our Nigel" proclaimed "Up the Ra" without stopping to think what that actually meant.

Today's prize plum? Kemi Badenoch. Who came out with this classic:-

"I rejected God, not Christianity. So I would still define myself as a cultural Christian."

No. You're not. And to pretend otherwise is just plain stupid.

[Enut]

Erm, anything Angela Rayner has said in the last week or so?

Wouldn't it be good if we had a PM who would would just sack MPs who acted dishonestly, IMO we haven't had a genuinely good PM in decades, but I guess if we did we wouldn't have many MPs left.

[RED-DOG]

Which politician claimed to watch "The" Eastenders?

[EssexPhil]

We live in a time where we are far too quick to judge. And to hold others to standards which we would never maintain ourselves.

Rayner? Definitely unlucky.

Starmer as PM? Certainly not made a good start. But when the Daily Torygraph praises his reshuffle, then he must be doing something right.

There have been plenty of good PMs in recent times. It's just been that our terrible Press have always sought to undermine them.

To sum up the most recent PMs:-

Cameron. Very good. Effectively forced out by the Right Wing of his own Party
May. Like Gordon Brown, an effective Politician. But not a good PM. Appointed at the nut worst time-when we most needed a diplomatic PM
Johnson. Good abroad. But at home one of the worst PMs of all time
Truss. Rival to Johnson in the buffoonery stakes
Sunak. A safe pair of hands. Suspect that if he had succeeded Cameron, the World would be a better place. Not given the credit he was due for reversing the terrible immigration policies in relation to legal migration under Johnson
Starmer. Too early to be sure. He is going to be better than Johnson or Truss. I suspect history is going to mark him (like Sunak) as a bit average. His big advantage is that, if that tw@t Farage is the next PM, people will long for the good old days under Starmer and Sunak.

[EssexPhil]

Not strictly a politician, but wanted to highlight the stupid pronouncement of some senior official at Scope, the Charity.

He has been referring to the suspension and then dismissal of the Eastenders actor, Jamie Borthwick. Who has been dismissed for the one-off use of the offensive ableist word "mongoloid". Regardless of the fact that not only was it a one-off, it was not in any way connected to his employment as an actor on Eastenders.

If we are all liable to summary dismissal for using one unwise word, not sure how many people would be in employment. But language changes over time. Words that were once in common usage are now deeply offensive. Which, IMHO, requires education. Not dismissal. But it was the attitude of Scope that particularly rankled. The quote started with:-

"Attitudes and language like this are never acceptable".

So. A word that once had medical connotations relating to Down syndrome. That, over time, became synonymous with an offensive slur that it ceased to be acceptable. Something that not everybody always appreciates.

If only I could think of another word referring to people with Down syndrome. That, similarly, is now no longer acceptable. Which, presumably, that man at Scope believes "are never acceptable".

Scope. Known for 90 years as the Spastic Society. Might have hoped for a little more understanding.

[Jon MW]

Not strictly a politician, but wanted to highlight the stupid pronouncement of some senior official at Scope, the Charity.

He has been referring to the suspension and then dismissal of the Eastenders actor, Jamie Borthwick. Who has been dismissed for the one-off use of the offensive ableist word "mongoloid". Regardless of the fact that not only was it a one-off, it was not in any way connected to his employment as an actor on Eastenders.

If we are all liable to summary dismissal for using one unwise word, not sure how many people would be in employment. But language changes over time. Words that were once in common usage are now deeply offensive. Which, IMHO, requires education. Not dismissal. But it was the attitude of Scope that particularly rankled. The quote started with:-

"Attitudes and language like this are never acceptable".

So. A word that once had medical connotations relating to Down syndrome. That, over time, became synonymous with an offensive slur that it ceased to be acceptable. Something that not everybody always appreciates.

If only I could think of another word referring to people with Down syndrome. That, similarly, is now no longer acceptable. Which, presumably, that man at Scope believes "are never acceptable".

Scope. Known for 90 years as the Spastic Society. Might have hoped for a little more understanding.

This makes it sound like it's a word that's only recently changed meaning

For comparison spastic was being used in a medical sense well into the 1990s

Whereas mongoloid stopped being a medical term in the 1950s

Whether people should have a 1 strike and you're out rule is another issue but this actor was born in the 1990s - he has only ever known it as an offensive term. It's possible his parents have only ever known it as an offensive term.

[EssexPhil]

Both the M-word and the S-word have been common terms of abuse for at least 50 years.

It is true to say that the term "spastic" was a common medical term until the 1990s. It is also true to say that, at the time Scope chose to change its name to The Spastic Society it was medically proved that a considerable majority of CP people did not meet that definition. It is also true to say that in 1984, some 10 years before Scope got around to changing their name, their magazine made the choice to remove the name "spastic" from their name.

The last Charity report for Scope makes interesting reading. Full of stuff about how well they are doing in difficult times. And how they have rewarded their 7 Senior Executives (CEO, CFO and 5 Directors) with pay rises, meaning their combined pay (18 months ago) was roughly £1 million.

Fast forward to 2025. Announce that they are closing 90% of their shops. Placing 33% of jobs at risk. Intend to make 20% of jobs redundant this month. Together with lots of volunteers. Freely admit that many disabled people will lose their jobs.

I have in the past carried out lots of these sorts of reviews. Made thousands of people Redundant. But surprisingly few CEOs, CFOs, or Heads of HR (in this case someone who has been promoted from Head of HR to "Executive Director of People").

Charities are marvellous things. Sadly all too often run by less marvellous people. Who might care to sort out their own shortcomings rather than picking on an uneducated Actor.

[Pokerpops]

Not strictly a politician, but wanted to highlight the stupid pronouncement of some senior official at Scope, the Charity.

He has been referring to the suspension and then dismissal of the Eastenders actor, Jamie Borthwick. Who has been dismissed for the one-off use of the offensive ableist word "mongoloid". Regardless of the fact that not only was it a one-off, it was not in any way connected to his employment as an actor on Eastenders.

If we are all liable to summary dismissal for using one unwise word, not sure how many people would be in employment. But language changes over time. Words that were once in common usage are now deeply offensive. Which, IMHO, requires education. Not dismissal. But it was the attitude of Scope that particularly rankled. The quote started with:-

"Attitudes and language like this are never acceptable".

So. A word that once had medical connotations relating to Down syndrome. That, over time, became synonymous with an offensive slur that it ceased to be acceptable. Something that not everybody always appreciates.

If only I could think of another word referring to people with Down syndrome. That, similarly, is now no longer acceptable. Which, presumably, that man at Scope believes "are never acceptable".

Scope. Known for 90 years as the Spastic Society. Might have hoped for a little more understanding.

This makes it sound like it's a word that's only recently changed meaning

For comparison spastic was being used in a medical sense well into the 1990s

Whereas mongoloid stopped being a medical term in the 1950s

Whether people should have a 1 strike and you're out rule is another issue but this actor was born in the 1990s - he has only ever known it as an offensive term. It's possible his parents have only ever known it as an offensive term.

Ever the voice of reason Mr MW.

The one strike rule is interesting in that whichever inappropriateness us being reported it is always claimed to be a ‘single occasion’. Seems more likely it was just the first time someone who had scruples heard it.