Brown calls Labour voter a "bigot"

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

Yes I agree but there is a serious problem with some of them who believe that immigrants are swamping the country.

 

Why is this a serious problem for people?

 

We were told 13,000 would arrive and a million or so did. That had repercussions for people's job security particularly at the lower end of the scale. It also put a downward pressure on the rate of pay for people. Their children had to be educated (which meant interpreters were needed at great expense), it put massive pressure on resources for hospitals, policing etc. I think the old dear was right to raise the issue. I reccomend that you read the Daily Mail more because the Guardian won't tell you this.

[dune]

We were told 13,000 would arrive and a million or so did. That had repercussions for people's job security particularly at the lower end of the scale. It also put a downward pressure on the rate of pay for people. Their children had to be educated (which meant interpreters were needed at great expense), it put massive pressure on resources for hospitals, policing etc. I think the old dear was right to raise the issue. I reccomend that you read the Daily Mail more because the Guardian won't tell you this.

 

Gillians views are widely held views.

[John B]

Yes I agree but there is a serious problem with some of them who believe that immigrants are swamping the country.

 

Why is this a serious problem for people?

 

We were told 13,000 would arrive and a million or so did. That had repercussions for people's job security particularly at the lower end of the scale. It also put a downward pressure on the rate of pay for people. Their children had to be educated (which meant interpreters were needed at great expense), it put massive pressure on resources for hospitals, policing etc. I think the old dear was right to raise the issue. I reccomend that you read the Daily Mail more because the Guardian won't tell you this.

 

That is one of the problems I agree the Daily Mail/The Sun do not give an unbiased report of the situation

 

But I did say the problem should be dealt with because it is an issue which is festering

 

I know in Slough nearby there have been a large influx of Eastern Europeans

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

It was a big issue and handled very badly. Our economy is knackered and so is the pound so many have now gone home. You and Gordon are wrong to label people bigots without looking at the full picture.

[John B]

It was a big issue and handled very badly. Our economy is knackered and so is the pound so many have now gone home. You and Gordon are wrong to label people bigots without looking at the full picture.

 

Who has labelled them bigots on this forum

 

I said

 

Yes I agree but there is a serious problem with some of them who believe that immigrants are swamping the country.

 

 

There has been an influx of Eastern Europeans but most seem to pay tax and do a reasonable job in fact a pub I go to is run by a Polish family.

 

 

We need to be in Europe as it is our largest trading partner and equal number of Brits go to work and live in Europe.

 

 

So the attitude of this voter may have come to a be a complete surprise to Brown who got frustrated by it

 

I think he should have addressed her concerns and not apologised because bigot was not the right word ill informed might be.

[Thorpe-le-Saint]

Umm Gordon did voice his opinion and exposed what he thinks of ordinary people who are worried about everyday issues that effect their day to day lives.

 

He also gave us some insight into the way he treats his staff - someone was going to cop it for letting him see that biggoted woman. 'Ridiculous' and then we heard a very telling thud!

 

Real pantomine stuff - 'he's behind you!!!!'

 

Apologies, I only heard it on 5Live on the way home and they made no mention of his previous comment.

[dune]

Watch the Polls...

 

Tonight we should have YouGov in the Sun, the regular ComRes for ITV and the Independent, and a new marginals poll. Bear in mind that all the fieldwork for ComRes, and the vast majority of the fieldwork for YouGov, will have been conducted prior to Gordon Brown’s unfortunate encounter with Mrs Duffy. So to see how bigotgate has affected Labour the acid tests will come in polls released after tonights.

[bridge too far]

You can, however, see minute-by-minute reactions from Tweet etc. on this chart:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/

[scotty]

Of course, the predictablity of all this is that we'll get non-Labour people saying this is a major gaffe, we'll get labour people saying it's a minor lapse but the simple bottom line is it will cost him votes. That's what happens in politics.

 

It was funny as all hell tho, I almost plssed myself in the car today. First 5-live went to the interview saying it was breaking news, Brown confronted by old lady etc etc, then ten minutes later hes cracked completely and called her a bigot on an unsecured mike. Moment of the campaign methinks

[dune]

You can, however, see minute-by-minute reactions from Tweet etc. on this chart:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/rorycellanjones/

 

Why is there a big dip in the Labour flow chart?:confused:

[bridge too far]

Why is there a big dip in the Labour flow chart?:confused:

 

You mean the dip that's now recovered?

 

Oh and it's not a flow chart BTW

[dune]

You mean the dip that's now recovered?

 

Yes that dip that's all now gone away.

[Mao Cap]

Arg, the bloody fool. He actually is the proverbial bloke who fell in a barrel of tits and came up sucking his thumb.

 

James Purnell and the others who tried to oust him a while back knew their stuff, I suppose.

[dune]

Gordon goes back to grovel in person to life-long Labour grandmother he called a 'bigot' for complaining about immigration

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1269486/Election-2010-Gordon-Browns-bigoted-woman-insult-Gillian-Duffy.html#ixzz0mQCuIvvb

[dune]

Reading the full transcript it all becomes crystal clear - it was all Sue's fault. Brown was also right about the press going with this story.

 

Gordon Brown: That was a disaster...should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that?

 

Aide: I don't know, I didn't see her.

 

Gordon Brown: Sue's I think. Just ridiculous.

 

Aide: Not sure that they'll go with that one.

 

Gordon Brown: They will go with that one.

 

Aide: What did she say?

 

Mr Brown: Everything, she was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.

[View From The Top]

Why is this a serious problem for people?

 

We were told 13,000 would arrive and a million or so did. That had repercussions for people's job security particularly at the lower end of the scale. It also put a downward pressure on the rate of pay for people. Their children had to be educated (which meant interpreters were needed at great expense), it put massive pressure on resources for hospitals, policing etc. I think the old dear was right to raise the issue. I reccomend that you read the Daily Mail more because the Guardian won't tell you this.

 

That bit is bull.

 

All lessons are in English and no interpreteurs are employed.

 

I'm in the business.

[dune]

Rochdale under pressure: How the Home Office was warned Gillan Duffy's town is at risk of race riots

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/election/article-1269581/Warning-Gillan-Duffys-home-town-Rochdale-risk-race-riots.html#ixzz0mQIgWT4z

[Barney Trubble]

I'm surprised that anyone is surprised!

 

The bloke is a Class A idiot and one of the main reasons why I'm not, for the 1st time in a national election, voting Labour.

 

Spot on. He's actually become an embarrassment to the Labour party. He's starting to get slapstick and watching him perform reminds me of the sort of show I'd expect from Groucho Marx

 

Sure, we all don't like people, no harm in that I guess but it's the act of a Buffoon to think out loud and make derogatory remarks with such an important few weeks ahead, even more so as she was one of Browns own party supporters.

 

Dear, dear, you couldn't make it up could you.

 

Brown is indirectly becoming a massive marketing tool for the Lib Dems, give it another few days of him blithely stumbling from one mistake to another and he'll single-handedly gain more votes for the Lib Dems. All he has to do is keep revealing his real self and with each day, as sure as night follows day, more votes will be taken from the Labour party.

 

Was it Bo Selecta that used to keep that bloke locked up in a cupboard? I'd be inclined to do that with Brown until after the election:p

[CB Saint]

This did make me chuckle.

 

Well at least Gordon managed to get the Hung parliament debate off the front page.

[John B]

Spot on. He's actually become an embarrassment to the Labour party. He's starting to get slapstick and watching him perform reminds me of the sort of show I'd expect from Groucho Marx

 

Sure, we all don't like people, no harm in that I guess but it's the act of a Buffoon to think out loud and make derogatory remarks with such an important few weeks ahead, even more so as she was one of Browns own party supporters.

 

Dear, dear, you couldn't make it up could you.

 

Brown is indirectly becoming a massive marketing tool for the Lib Dems, give it another few days of him blithely stumbling from one mistake to another and he'll single-handedly gain more votes for the Lib Dems. All he has to do is keep revealing his real self and with each day, as sure as night follows day, more votes will be taken from the Labour party.

 

Was it Bo Selecta that used to keep that bloke locked up in a cupboard? I'd be inclined to do that with Brown until after the election:p

 

I think he was unlucky that he was recorded no doubt Clegg and Cameron have had similar spats with their aides.

 

 

I think Brown had a point the Aides did not seem to have found a voter to assist the Labour cause.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

That bit is bull.

 

All lessons are in English and no interpreteurs are employed.

 

I'm in the business.

 

Its true I read it in the Daily mail. So how do you teach Polish kids?

[dune]

I think he was unlucky that he was recorded no doubt Clegg and Cameron have had similar spats with their aides.

 

I doubt Clegg and Cameron have paddys like Clown does. He has form when it comes to his temper tantrums and todays gaffe only serves to remind the public what sort of man he really is. When he got in the car the first thing he did was to look for someone to blame and poor Sue was the target.

[Barney Trubble]

I think he was unlucky that he was recorded no doubt Clegg and Cameron have had similar spats with their aides.

 

 

I think Brown had a point the Aides did not seem to have found a voter to assist the Labour cause.

 

I take your point John and I am sure they have said similar things, no doubt about it. I'd say Brown was more careless than unlucky and it's certainly not the first time he's been that. This is where his short fuse let's him down, for one reason or another, she rattled him and he let that frustration out via his aides.

 

He may have had a point, I wouldn't dispute that, however if you choose to go to areas where people may not be able to express themselves as eloquently, such as poor, traditional working class council estates[not saying this was the case in Rochdale] then this is what you may expect to get. If you can't deal with it, then avoid it.

 

A better leader would have risen above it all but he doesn't seem to handle being challenged very well, it's a definite weakness, I think if you pushed him hard enough he'd lose it, I think he's mentally fragile at the moment.

[John B]

I doubt Clegg and Cameron have paddys like Clown does. He has form when it comes to his temper tantrums and todays gaffe only serves to remind the public what sort of man he really is. When he got in the car the first thing he did was to look for someone to blame and poor Sue was the target.

 

Well I think a lot of people would react in the same way

[aintforever]

Regardless of wether his treatment of his Aide or what he said was wrong, the fact that he got caught saying this stuff because he forgot he had a TV microphone on shows him up for being the fool he is.

 

Brown is an unelectable scottish ****wit.

[View From The Top]

Its true I read it in the Daily mail. So how do you teach Polish kids?

 

In English.

[dune]

Well I think a lot of people would react in the same way

 

A conviction politician would've told Mrs Duffy that they respected her opinion but that they believed she was wrong and then explain why. Brown chose to say one thing to her face and the complete opposite in private.

[dune]

Two Jags Explains The Truth Behind Bigotgate

 

Bigot 'gaffe' is nothing but a Murdoch plot...

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/apr/28/bigot-gaffe-murdoch-john-prescott

[sperm_john]

p.s if anyone is having a gathering/'party' on election night, here's some rules for a group drinking game lol

 

http://10totengrand.blogspot.com/2010/04/below-are-some-suggestions-for-drinking.html

[bridge too far]

A conviction politician would've told Mrs Duffy that they respected her opinion but that they believed she was wrong and then explain why. Brown chose to say one thing to her face and the complete opposite in private.

 

He did tell her she was mistaken. He pointed out to her that as many people left Britain to go to Europe as came in.

 

However, this is likely to change as it seems a lot of British people are coming back to Britain from Spain because the economy is so dire in Spain and their businesses have collapsed.

[TopGun]

I think retrospectively Brown's advisors also may have got the apology business wrong.

 

It may have worked better if Brown had said sorry for his comment but added that many immigrants have added a lot to the economy. Could have appealed well to the Asian vote etc.

 

All a bit kneejerk on all sides IMO.

[dune]

He did tell her she was mistaken. He pointed out to her that as many people left Britain to go to Europe as came in.

 

However, this is likely to change as it seems a lot of British people are coming back to Britain from Spain because the economy is so dire in Spain and their businesses have collapsed.

 

Yes he did, i'll give you that. But do you think it's appropriate for a Prime Minister to be all nice to an ordinary woman to her face and then slag her off behind her back? What does this tell you about Brown as a person?

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

In English.

 

Bit pointless.

[View From The Top]

Bit pointless.

 

Shows how little you know.

 

It actually works a treat. They get extra English lessons and on average within an academic year (under 9) and two academic years (under 16) are up to speed.

 

Even in the area I work, which has a high level of immigration and a politically correct metropolitan Labour council, no concessions are made. It's English only.

 

The same is true of the Tory shire where I live.

 

I visit some schools where some staff speak other languages such as Urdu, Hindi, Polish etc but all teaching is in English at all times.

[buctootim]

Bit pointless.

very like this thread

[AndyNorthernSaints]

Its true I read it in the Daily mail. So how do you teach Polish kids?

 

LOL!!!!!!

[benjii]

Paxman is loving this on Newsnight.

 

Bascially just said he's lying when he said he misheard her.

[Sergei Gotsmanov]

Shows how little you know.

 

It actually works a treat. They get extra English lessons and on average within an academic year (under 9) and two academic years (under 16) are up to speed.

 

Even in the area I work, which has a high level of immigration and a politically correct metropolitan Labour council, no concessions are made. It's English only.

 

The same is true of the Tory shire where I live.

 

I visit some schools where some staff speak other languages such as Urdu, Hindi, Polish etc but all teaching is in English at all times.

 

The Poles in our area got a special english teacher at primary school. The ones that left their children behind received child benefit for their children in Poland. Now if we invite them over then I do not begrudge that in part because they pay their taxes but we should have been a lot more organised when we allowed this to happen. The Poles gave our economy a boost but I can see why people at the bottom of the pile felt priced out.

[scotty]

When mandelson described someone as a c**t, the next day he said that he'd been misheard and actually called them a chump.

 

If only he'd got his head in gear he could have told brown to say he hadn't called her a bigoted woman but a bighearted woman.

 

I remember that, and I also remember thinking how ironic was that, p*ter ma*de*son referring to anybody else as a c*nt, the slippery, brazilian-sh*gging two-faced tw*t

[Johnny Bognor]

Paxman is loving this on Newsnight.

 

The funniest bit was when the Lib Dem woman said that one thing we won't hear Gordon say in tommorow's leader debate is "yesterday, I met a woman from Rochdale...."

 

:smt043:smt043:smt043

 

 

Meanwhile, tomorrow's Sun headline is:

"She only went out for a loaf of bread and came back with BROWN TOAST"

 

:smt043:smt043:smt043

 

 

I am struggling to remember a funnier day in politics!

Edited 28 April, 2010 by Johnny Bognor

[Johnny Bognor]

Serious question:

 

Is expressing concern about immigration more or less bigotted than promising British jobs for British workers?

 

Discuss.

[buctootim]

Less bigotted imo. Its unfortunate that immigration control cant be discussed without accusations of racism, when it is a real issue for an overcrowded island in a recession.

[Jonnyboy]

Well I think a lot of people would react in the same way

 

he sounds like my boss

[Jonnyboy]

Yes he did, i'll give you that. But do you think it's appropriate for a Prime Minister to be all nice to an ordinary woman to her face and then slag her off behind her back? What does this tell you about Brown as a person?

 

mind you i do the same thing with my customers (if they are being difficult)

[Rut]

Funny. This even made the last story on the evening CBS News here in the USA. Think BBC 6pm news. They laughed at it.

 

Laughing cos they couldn't believe a politician could be so naive to say something bad on mic.

 

All politicians are 2-faced c***s. Even the one *you* like. This tw*t just got caught out. I actually think he was lucky in that he got caught saying something not *too* bad. Could have been a lot worse.

 

At least he said 'bigot' and not 'northern'.

[trousers]

 

The funniest bit was when the Lib Dem woman said that one thing we won't hear Gordon say in tommorow's leader debate is "yesterday, I met a woman from Rochdale...."

 

:smt043:smt043:smt043

 

 

Meanwhile, tomorrow's Sun headline is:

"She only went out for a loaf of bread and came back with BROWN TOAST"

 

:smt043:smt043:smt043

 

 

I am struggling to remember a funnier day in politics!

 

The tragedy for me is that when you see Mrs Duffy walking back home after the friendly chat with Mr Brown, she has no loaf of bread. Givem that's all she went out for, what a wasted journey.

[trousers]

Slightly interesting observation....

 

I didn't see Cameron on TV on the campaign trail at all yesterday. I'm surprised the media didn't seem to squeeze a quote from him on the Brown faux pas. I guess the Tories are taking the view that less is more in terms of the impact of their reaction to yesterday's events

[CB Saint]

Slightly interesting observation....

 

I didn't see Cameron on TV on the campaign trail at all yesterday. I'm surprised the media didn't seem to squeeze a quote from him on the Brown faux pas. I guess the Tories are taking the view that less is more in terms of the impact of their reaction to yesterday's events

 

What's the point in getting involved at this stage. It has enough momentum at the moment. DC and NC will comment when it looks like the fires need fanning.

[trousers]

 

What's the point in getting involved at this stage. It has enough momentum at the moment. DC and NC will comment when it looks like the fires need fanning.

Aye.

 

Sweepstake on the number of times brown utters: "I'm only human" in tonight's debate?

[CB Saint]

I see that Mrs Duffy now has a PR firm advising her.

 

I reckon that this could be snapping at GB's heels for longer than he might like.