Uncouth Angela Rayner doing Labour no favours

You can do quite a lot about your voice, actually. I believe the Queen was taught to modify her voice from the rather high squeaky one she had when young to the more moderated version we hear today. I think Margaret Thatcher made some modifications too (though I don’t think they were very successful in her case).

I think we are allowed to prefer some accents to others, aren’t we? Some people like Liverpool but not Birmingham, or prefer Edinburgh to Glasgow - or vice versa. Having a preference isn’t bigotry.

Lindsay Hoyle is a infectum Lactuca

Curlywhirly

Kali2

Agreed. And I will admit that I truly don't like her voice and accent.

Hmm, what on earth can anyone do about their voice! You are born with it, just as you are born with a big nose, or small eyes, you can't change it. And as for not liking her accent - oh dear, that's just bigoted.

No actually, not at all. You obviously have not read my posts.

Lindsay Hoyle has been mentioned - he has very poor diction and projection, lovely man that he is.

eazybee

Elocution lessons to provide clear diction and projection.

AR has very clear diction and projection - there is no misunderstanding what she says!

You may not like her accent or choice of words but she has no problem with communication.

I think you've lived a sheltered life if you haven't heard the word scum used as an insult. I imagine Angela has been called much worse. People on Gransnet were being polite mentioning her lifestyle choices for example.

I agree other women are a woman's worst enemy. It's a shame

She’s likeable, but certainly not up to being a leader. She would not last on the world stage at all. She has good intentions.

Elocution lessons to provide clear diction and projection.

Kali2

Agreed. And I will admit that I truly don't like her voice and accent.

Hmm, what on earth can anyone do about their voice! You are born with it, just as you are born with a big nose, or small eyes, you can't change it. And as for not liking her accent - oh dear, that's just bigoted.

Agreed. And I will admit that I truly don't like her voice and accent.

In my humble opinion , to say what she did in public , as an MP , would be
inexcusable in any accent ,dialect or whatever. Most professional people adapt their language to suit the occasion .

She was not referring to one person but many.

Sparklefizz

I can't imagine her on the world stage.

Well, to be honest, lots of people couldn't imagine Boris on the world stage either!

No nor can I.

I can't imagine her on the world stage.

"It's a phrase you would hear very often in northern working class towns, that we'd even say it jovially to other people, we say it's a scummy thing to do.

You really wouldn't. I don't know where she hangs out but the word scum is vile and not one I've heard in Northern working class towns.

Also this wasn't the best speech she'd done

'I'm sick of shouting from the sidelines, and i bet youse lot are too.

We cannot get any worse than a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, mysoginistic, absolute pile …of banana republic…Etonian…piece of scum…and I held back a little…that I have ever seen in my life'.

Forsythia

When I look at some of these politicians I think to myself whether I could see them running the country, in a position of power. Try as I might, I cannot see Angela Rayner running anything but into the ground. Nothing to do with her accent either. Both my parents were Labour and I was brought up in A working class household so no accusations of snobbery please. you can be an authentic Labour politician without resorting to her behaviour and language. In my view.

Well you can imagine what they would do, with the Tories you can actually see them running the country into the ground, no imagination required.

Casdon

She said more than just ‘scum’ though didn’t she, and not clothed in any pretence of politeness. I think we could do with Nye Bevan back.

Well she said racist and Johnson has said racist stuff so that was appropriate. Can't remember what else she said.

I find the sneering and jeering that routinely goes on in the House of Commons just as nasty and unprofessional as AR's performance. Much of the time, the insults are not expressed in words, but the sentiment behind them is clearly no different from that expressed by AR.

Why is one accepted and the other not?

Is it because one of these practices has been around so long in politics that it is accepted as 'normal' and 'acceptable' (after all, politics was traditionally the realm of our 'betters'!), while the other hasn't?
Ah, the good old British class system!

Quite honestly, I am not trying to defend AR here, but it seems to me that a lot of people are more bothered by actual words (and perhaps who says them?) than by equally nasty forms of insult.

trisher. You seemed bothered, comparing Rayner with Nye
Bevan and calling Gordon Brown a Tory.

Best you calm down ?

Casdon

She said more than just ‘scum’ though didn’t she, and not clothed in any pretence of politeness. I think we could do with Nye Bevan back.

Oh I agree with that Casdon

She said more than just ‘scum’ though didn’t she, and not clothed in any pretence of politeness. I think we could do with Nye Bevan back.

It was just a word comparison Bevan said "vermin" Rayner said "scum". Both accurate and appropriate.

Are you Welsh Lincslass ?

Casdon

In fairness there is no comparison between Nye Bevan and Angela Rayner though trisher. He was from a working class background, but from an early age he was an orator, he had a fantastic way with words (and of course the Welsh accent did help because it’s for whatever reason not seen by the English as ‘common’, whatever that means). He didn’t use bad language or rudeness to get the result he wanted.
I didn’t have an issue with her performance in the House of Commons at PMQ, but I think she got carried away and strayed too far into insults yesterday, and that wasn’t professional behaviour from any politician in my view.

I have never heard any English person call the Welsh language “common”. Personally love to hear it spoken.