Andrea Jenkins who gave middle finger gesture to electorate is our new Education minister.

She wasn't flipping the bird to "the electorate" she was aiming it at a crowd shouting foul abuse at her - something she experiences on a regular basis both in person and on social media. She has had several death threats, two of them recent and under police investigation. Pretty sure she just reached the end of her tether - she admits she shouldn't have done it but just snapped. Its hardly crime of the century after all. Just another excuse for the left to have a pop at her - politicians have done far worse when provoked, remember Gordon Brown calling that woman a bigot? Two Jags Prescott actually hit someone!

MawtheMerrier

A warning to Education ministers and those who aspire thereto.

Oh, Maw, the final comment and cutting suggestion really made me chuckle: " bathos rarely works. Perhaps wait until your writing skills are better developed ".

(Admittedly, I did have to look up the meaning of bathos, so I learned something from it, too.)

Saetana

She wasn't flipping the bird to "the electorate" she was aiming it at a crowd shouting foul abuse at her - something she experiences on a regular basis both in person and on social media. She has had several death threats, two of them recent and under police investigation. Pretty sure she just reached the end of her tether - she admits she shouldn't have done it but just snapped. Its hardly crime of the century after all. Just another excuse for the left to have a pop at her - politicians have done far worse when provoked, remember Gordon Brown calling that woman a bigot? Two Jags Prescott actually hit someone!

She did it on the way in and on the way out, so she didn't just "snap".

Heather Wheeler has just said in parliament that it was a result of her having many death threats as an MP. Are there any MP’s ( unfortunately) that haven’t had death threats? I remember seeing a picture of all the locks Jess Philips has on her front door to keep her safe and from memory Yvette Cooper said her children feared for her safety. Ditto Anna Soubry who also said she always stood far back on a station platform for fear if someone pushing her onto the track. When Anna was verbally abused outside parliament she didn’t respond in that way. I seem to remember Steve Bray defending her because the people abusing her were quite physical, too, because she asked him not to get involved for his own safety.

Excuses, excuses.
I wouldn't have imagined her gesture has helped in any way with the death threats.

She really doesn't seem to have much common sense.

Would that Tories all disappeared and curriculums and teaching methods were in the hands of the experts the professional teachers.

Well I cannot wait for the next Labour government. I intend to enjoy every minute of it.

The Trans matter will come up and Sir Keir May find he has to recognise the biological differences between men and women. Then there is the problem of free speech and which pronouns are acceptable. I could go on and on. How convenient was it for the Durham Crime Commissioners to be at the working dinner in Durham so the Police acted so differently from the Met. And then there is the rail strike involving a union who give eye watering sums of money to the Labour Party. So will Labour cancel the green agenda and be able to solve the economy crisis? Neither party has tried to do anything about waste in the NHS. France and Germany run reasonable health services and having had double pneumonia plus a heart attack on my 80th birthday in Australia the care given in a small provincial city was exemplary and due to an agreement between Australia and UK for treatment of patients of pensionable age, my bill was less than $40 and the main cost was the ambulance.

Our NHS struggles however much money we give it. But we lack schools, housing and other necessities and governments of both major parties never seem to get to grips
My last upset is for the teacher still in hiding for daring to show an image of Allah. We all know that this is the seat where poor Jo Cox was murdered by some rightist fanatic but even so that teacher has been unable to live normally.

I presume that Jo’s sister, the current MP has been unable to right tnis wrong out of fear. I believe everyone has the right to practice their own religious faith, but there are some influential Muslims who do not accept that we do not have that right and the latest furore over a film accentuates that view.

Maybe those on the left here ( who seem to be the majority) need to realise that some of us are Conservatives. Many regret that the current government has made a Horlicks in dealing with COVID, Brexit and the consequences of the war in Ukraine. However, there is no magic solution and I do not think that Labour is equipped to do a very good job eithet.





Met. And what

Wow! I would never have guessed that you vote Conservative Annie

To be fair growstuff I agree with anniel regarding Starmer's confusion of what a woman is and his apparent lack of understanding basic biology and I'm most definitely not a Conservative voter. I'm now in a political wilderness and have no idea who I could vote for any more. I suspect I'm not alone in that though.

Chewbacca

To be fair growstuff I agree with anniel regarding Starmer's confusion of what a woman is and his apparent lack of understanding basic biology and I'm most definitely not a Conservative voter. I'm now in a political wilderness and have no idea who I could vote for any more. I suspect I'm not alone in that though.

To be honest, I don't think many people care less what Starmer has said about women, especially the way it's been misinterpreted by the anti-woke culture warriors.

You might be right. But I do care.

And then there is the rail strike involving a union who give eye watering sums of money to the Labour Party.

Do you make it up as you go along, anniel. The striking rail union isn't affiliated to the Labour party. Unaffiliated unions don't give money to the LP.
I understand that it has given donations to some Labour MPs. This is not 'donating to the Labour party.

I could indulge in a bit of whataboutery and mention even more 'eyewatering sums' donated to the tory party by businesses, but I assume that's perfectly OK in your book.

Well Majzie D as I read it in a reputable journal I will recheck my information. You

Anniel

Well Majzie D as I read it in a reputable journal I will recheck my information. You

I checked it before I posted.

Anyone daft enough to hand things on a plate to the Tories in a 'culture' war raises my concerns and I am a Starmer supporter.

MissAdventure

Excuses, excuses.
I wouldn't have imagined her gesture has helped in any way with the death threats.

She really doesn't seem to have much common sense.

Yes, common sense comes into it.
There is never an excuse for rude comments or gestures from anyone.

We don't have any choice, we just get another unelected Prime Minister (unless you're a CONservative member of course