Political speak/phrases

Well if politicians stopped all this kicking and dealt with the issues concerned we wouldn’t have to criticise them for doing the kicking would we?

I don't watch political programmes but I can honestly say I've never heard either of those sayings.

"Going forward into the future" is pretty annoying. One can hardly go forward into the past – at least, not without a flying DeLorean. A simple "in the future" would do.

More annoying, I think, is the phrase "lessons have been learned"

Richard North, of the EU Referendum blog, persists in mangling the 'kicks it down the road' into 'kick the cannery down the road'. As far as I'm aware the original phrase was 'kick the can down the road' and I think one would have a huge problem in trying to kick a canning factory anywhere at all. It makes me wonder about his ability to grasp detail.

The all time most annoying (and sinister) phrase around at the moment is 'the will of the people'.

Oldwoman70 Indeed yes because we all know lessons have been ignored.

BTW. What discussion about grammar & spelling is the OP referring to?

Perhaps Grammar and spelling on “Chat” ?

Thanks, MawBroon

I think the most overused phrase which politicians use is "absolutely clear" as in "the Prime Minister has made it absolutely clear that..." or "we've been absolutely clear that..." followed by meaningless jibbersish, usually as clear as as mud.

Oh how I hate 'going forward' and starting sentences with 'Clearly' when its anything but. I look for 'I'm glad you asked me that' the favourite stalling for time gambit to watch them squirm and the interviewer get all fired up.

Yes - “going forward”, “ the will of the people” (well 37% of the electorate) and “I’ve made it absolutely clear that....” all drive me mad too.

I so agree that 'Lessons must be/have been learned' is an incredibly irritating sentence mainly because THEY NEVER ARE!!!

Look,
It is the right thing to do
It is a tough decision

I hate it when they change their mind and call it 'a clarification' of what someone said. I mean, what's wrong with them? Why can't they speak with clarity in the first place

Why, when we do something outrageous like vote for the other party (any other party; they all do it), do they say "We failed to get our message across" rather than admit that the message actually didn't appeal to people who understood it perfectly well?

I'm looking forward to the day when someone manages to kick the can down the road into the long grass! Very much so .... to quote another phrase I detest.

Let me be clear.....
The PM/ Leader of the Opposition has already stated.....
We will roll out...... ( what, the barrel?)
I haven’t seen that, so really can’t comment......
I didn’t know that ....... ( yes you did!)

I agree with you lemon about "roll out".

Another silly cliche which has been around for a while now is "deliver" as in "we will deliver these policies", not "deliver the milk"

Why is everything they do or promise to do described as "an initiative"?

Let's not forget the political apology. This is usually something along the lines of, "I am sorry about what happened", as if whatever it was had nothing to do with culprit's own actions and choices. The other favourite is, "I am sorry if anyone was offended" as if this is a generous acknowledgement of excessively delicate sensibilities rather than an apology for straightforward and wholly unacceptable bigotry.