The world of politics and the relationship betweewn newspaper columnists and the politicial process were overturned this morning.
In the normally staid British world, where all players on all sides are likely to have attended the same schools, the same universities, and at times shared bodily fluids, there are certain rules about how columnists should approach politics.
These rules have now been ripped up in one of the most egregious and unusual political outbursts of modern times.
Ed Miliband is right: fairness in capitalism matters
The entire political and media world is in turmoil at the excetionally strong stance being taken here. Polly Toynbee? Agreeing with a current Labour leader?
What is the world coming to all are asking?
Hands up everyone against fairness.
Of course, Polly’s friends will get to define what “fairness” means, comrade.
Fairness means campaigning against global warming whilst being able to fly to one’s villa in Tuscany four times a year…
Is sarcasm a symptom of mine slag poisoning?
On having read that miserable excuse for an opinion column, I take back my previous comment. The only appropriate response is vicious, biting sarcasm and derision. It’s a meandering wander through the orchards of discredited ideas, picking “facts” that seem to agree with her prejudices. Assembled almost exclusively from concern based buzzwords, to ascertain a coherent argument would require more alcohol than my liver could handle (and I anchored the boat races for my uni halls).
Even for Polly that steaming turd of a column is inexcusable. As a primary school essay, it would receive a failing mark. As
a therapy exercise in a care home for mid stage dementia patients, it would be returned with “unacceptable, do better next time”.
Having wasted almost as much time venting a rather put upon spleen as I did filling it up with that bile in the first place, the first stage of my own therapy is complete. I shall now drink until any brain cells exposed to that drivel are dead.
Matthew
Thanks for saving me the trouble. It is obviously just as I would have expected.
Oh dear, time to eat another baby. Would you like the ribs?
If you are below your quota for head shaking, desk thumping, white knuckled mouse squeezing or weeping inconsolably for the human race, then by all means read it. Otherwise you’ll do more good to society by getting lagered up and mugging someone instead.
Matthew L
I’m stupid.
I went and looked. A peek wasn’t enough.
Thanks for trying to keep me virginal.
Why doesn’t she just go and put the kettle on?
I see she has finally got over her crush on Gordon Brown.
The writing is of a rare quality, almost upo to the standard of
http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/conference/2007/09/labour-majority-increase
I’ve long suspected Toynbee of being a fifth columnist. Her whole life is just too fascinating to invent. She preaches the virtues of state education despite having never experienced one; she also believed it to be beneath her own children. She has a country estate in Sussex, an Islington towhouse and a villa in Tuscany. She is a multi-millionaire. She could voluntarily donate an extra percentage of her income to the Treasury should she desire to. If she wants a 65% tax rate, she should donate 65% of her income to the taxman. Then I’ll start respecting her opinion; perhaps.
Polly’s Tartuffery knows no bounds. And thinking back to when the dreadful old baggage was a regular on the Beeb, her hangdog miserableness always brought to mind Auden’s quip about his face looking like “a wedding cake left out in the rain.” Ungallant of me, perhaps, but her invincible wrongheadedness makes me spit nails.
Thanks, Lads. For concise but colourful bile, this is a fine comment thread.
A small bleg: does anyone know where that Tuscan villa is, precisely? I should like to be sure that the little apartment where I now live is nowhere near, and that I will never have to apologise to my Italian friends and neighbours for La Toynbee.
Josh
I’m sure she only thinks that the rich should pay 65% tax. The rich, of course, being all those people with bigger Tuscan villas than her.
(Note, however, according to wikipedia (I know, I know) she went to a state comp because she failed the 11plus)