Were you offended?

He said
"You have got a swarm of people coming across the Mediterranean, seeking a better life, wanting to come to Britain because Britain has got jobs, it's got a growing economy, it's an incredible place to live,"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33716501

He told the BBC "everything that can be done will be done to make sure our borders are secure and make sure that British holidaymakers are able to go on their holidays".

His thinking seems to be of an amorphous mass that is a threat to the UK. He has no thought of the people as individuals, yet the only way to deal with them has to be as individuals.

If there was some sort of world crisis that caused huge numbers of British ex-pats to try to return to the UK, all at once, would it be acceptable to call them a swarm?

with adverbial] Move somewhere in large numbers:
‘protesters were swarming into the building’ ( from the Oxford dictionary.)

So, yes it would.

No, I wasn't offended.

He did make it seem as if the plague was to hit the country. I wasn't offended he didn't insult me, I felt deeply for the human beings he referred to , but he is rather fond of opening mouth before brain in gear. Who can forget 'calm down dear' to a fellow MP because the MP was female

Good point Far North, thanks.

Anniebach it was a joke based on the Michael Winner advert and many people were using the phrase at the time.

I think we live in a world where every word uttered can be misconstrued as being used in a pejorative way when that was not the intention of the person who uttered it. Any large body of people could be referred to as a "swarm" I think I and others would use that term about the volume of people on the London underground when I worked up in town, something along the lines of "it's swarming with people today" I'm sure many would use this about a large crowd gathering for the first day of sales or spectators coming out of a football stadium or large numbers attending a venue such as Glastonbury it simply conjures up a vision of "numbers" that's all.

Gagagran, the Winner advert was 2003 , surely it wasn't being used in 2011, and if so amusing why did Cameron choose to say it to a woman not a man?

Perhaps swarm is a London term?

Where have you been all your life, soon? You must have heard of swarms of bees in the countryside and sometimes even in London! On the news, we sometimes hear of swarms of locusts destroying crops in developing countries. I've even encountered a swarm of ladybirds.

As someone educated in a top public school, Harriet Harman knows perfectly well that referring to a swarm of people is a totally acceptable expression as defined in all dictionaries. To express such outrage is clearly ridiculous and makes her efforts to score political points, as that's all it can be, look completely pathetic. FGS, Labour go from bad to worse!

It's all a load of rubbish, the media once again trying to decide things for us and whip up a bit of controversary. Most people would agree with the use of the word, not an insult to anyone, just a fact, there are swarms of people trying to come here.

Agreed nigglynellie, just cheap point scoring, the equivalent of going ' nan na
Nana na!'

We mustn't forget in the midst of all this, that many more immigrants settle in each of Germany, France and Italy, than ever come to the UK. So perhaps the word was a little hysteria inducing.

Spot on, nigglynellie. You have to be so worried about which words public figures use but you can ignore the meaning. Harriet's joining in the game of uproar again.

No!

Good point JBF. To me the issue is the demonising of groups. I would agree that this was more careless than by design but do I really want a careless PM? Add to that the track record of the Conservatives in demonising groups in order to appear to be the saviours of those who worry a little about those groups and I do think it is reasonable to challenge DC and for us to expect him to be more judicious with what he says.

Oh come on GG, just another Tory dig!

not careless or demonising, they are media frenzy words.

It wouldn't matter to me who had said it, from whatever party .

I wish the Tories would get a grip on the weather, it is so changeable at the moment, not at all like July. They are so careless about the comfort of their citizens - I bet it will fine for the glorious 12th, though!.

For July read August - they can't even get the calendar right!

I have never heard the term as regards people though annodomini? Have you?

Elegran.
I have always thought the weather would be better if they really tried harder.

Gracesgran. I do think though it is impossible to get a person, any person, to be 100% perfect in words. And also since words have different meanings in different parts of any country.