Return of the rabbit - Nadine Dorries

For – as the well-known rabbit catchphrase goes – overseas readers and the terminally inattentive, the above person is named Nadine Dorries. She is a Conservative MP and until fairly recently was basically known for being very right wing and very anti-abortion (before anyone comments to say so, yes I know these are not necessarily the same thing).

Anyway, again for overseas readers there is a British occasion called Prime Minister’s Questions. It takes place weekly when Parliament is in session and the theory behind it is that it is an opportunity for legislators to hold the executive to account and – well – ask the prime minister questions. In practice is is a mindless shouting match that goes something like this:

Leader of the opposition: ‘Won’t the prime minister admit that he is a drivelling idiot who couldn’t make a half way competent job of wiping his own bottom?’

Cue huge noise from opposition MPs.

Prime Minister ‘On the contrary it is the right honourable gentleman who is a simpering imbecile and everything is the fault of the last Labour government’ etc etc

Cue huge noise from government MPs

Other MPs get to join in the fun and government MPs get to ask sycophantic planted questions. One interesting thing is that ‘Dave’ Cameron – a prime minister – gets genuinely as opposed to synthetically angry at Prime Minister’s Questions as if anyone insolent enough to criticise him is contradicting the natural order of things. Without permission.

In any event, some months ago Cameron in the course of Prime Minister’s Questions called Dorries – who is a member of his own party – ‘frustrated’. Presumably as in sexually. You don’t need to be a particular fan of Dorries to find this sort of witless patronising sneer – and Cameron has form for this sort of thing – unattractive.

Now the thing about insulting people is that they tend not to like it. And if they can get their own back on you they usually will. Dorries recently characterised Cameron - who is presently in huge amounts of trouble politically - and Chancellor Gideon ('George') Osborne 'two arrogant posh boys who don't know the price of milk'. The comment has resonated hugely.


Basically because it's so true.


Cameron needed this comment- which went viral in the British media - like a hole in the head. Dorries has put the boot in again, pointing out darkly that it only takes the signatures of 46 Conservative MPs to trigger a leadership election. Being sitting prime minister doesn't prohibit this - it is how Thatcher met her downfall. This again has gone viral in the British media. Now Dorries is undoubtedly a loose cannon but the moral of the story is that it is perhaps best not to make more enemies than absolutely necessary. 


I've been meaning to post this song for some time but now the context seems right. New Riders of the Purple Sage with Kick In The Head.