‘Do up your tie’: The petty, mean and deliciously rude ways British politicians insult one another
In Britain’s Parliament, the ongoing debate about leaving the European Union has descended into ugly insults and jeers. For example, on Tuesday, Jeremy Corbyn, leader of the opposition Labour party, was telling his fellow lawmakers about a recent trip to Europe. “Last week I was in Brussels,” Corbyn began, “meeting European leaders and heads of socialist parties. And one of them said to me. . .”
Out of nowhere, a Conservative Member of Parliament shouts: “Who are you?” Britain’s most important politicians descended into a wave of giggles at the insult. Corbyn was unable to continue speaking for another 30 seconds.
I know what my mother would say. She’d look across the dispatch box, and she’d say, ‘Put on a proper suit, do up your tie, and sing the national anthem!
That wasn’t an isolated incident. On Wednesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron was talking about the impact of proposed budget cuts when a Labour MP shouted at him: “Ask your mum!” It was a reference to the fact that Cameron’s own mother had signed a petition opposing the cuts her son, the prime minister, supported.
Cameron quickly fired back with an insult to Corbyn’s attire, even though Corbyn himself had not actually mentioned his mother. “Ask my mother?” the prime minister responded quickly. “I know what my mother would say. She’d look across the dispatch box, and she’d say, ‘Put on a proper suit, do up your tie, and sing the national anthem!’”
Even Boris Johnson, the media-savvy Conservative MP and mayor of London who has endured years on various British comedy panel shows, found himself on the receiving end this week. As Johnson, a major voice in the campaign to leave Europe, stood up to speak on Tuesday, he was greeted by a wave of moans and an obnoxious order: “Tuck your shirt in, Boris.”
An outsider might wonder what exactly was happening here: Has the bitter debate over a “Brexit” from the EU finally broken down British manners?