Related News
UK politician under fire for alleged 'pleb' remark
Source: Agencies |
September 25, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IN class-conscious Britain, a Cabinet minister is in trouble over a four-letter word: pleb.
The single syllable was reportedly not the most profane part of Andrew Mitchell's tirade at police officers who asked him to get off his bicycle as he passed through the gates of Downing Street. But it is the most incendiary - a pejorative term for the working class with a whiff of contempt that is bad news for a government often characterized as elitist.
Class distinctions are the great elephant in the room in British society, ever-present but rarely discussed. It's a topic that proves a minefield for any politician keen to appeal to a wide range of voters. The four-letter clanger attributed to Mitchell lands as a thudding reminder that class is still a potent and divisive aspect of British life.
Last week's altercation between the minister and police officers guarding the approach to the prime minister's residence has been seized on by the media and political opposition and escalated into a political tempest with its own title: "Gategate."
Mitchell yesterday apologized for the incident, in which - according to press reports - he told the officers "Best you learn your (expletive) place. You don't run this (expletive) government. You're (expletive) plebs."
The Metropolitan Police force has not officially confirmed the account, but says it has launched an investigation into how internal police information was leaked to the press.
Mitchell conceded he had lost his temper at "the end of a long and extremely frustrating day."
"I didn't show the police the amount of respect I should have done," Mitchell said. But, he added: "I want to make it absolutely clear that I did not use the words that have been attributed to me."
Mitchell's reported word choice is a blow to attempts by UK Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led administration to downplay its image as a privileged club.
Pleb - short for plebeian - comes from the Latin plebeius, the mass of ordinary citizens apart from the elite of upper-class patricians.
First recorded in the late 18th century, "it has always had quite strong pejorative overtones," said Denny Hilton of the Oxford English Dictionary. The dictionary notes that pleb is often used to mean "an unsophisticated or uncultured person."
Mitchell's showdown with police also came days after two unarmed policewomen were shot dead in Manchester, with public sympathy and admiration for officers riding high.
"The timing is almost indescribably bad," said Steven Fielding, director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Nottingham.
Worse, he said, is the message the term pleb sends ordinary voters: "This government is not one that's interested in people like you."
"It's got connotations that are unfortunate and draw attention to a certain kind of Conservative, a certain image of the Conservative Party, which David Cameron has been trying to move the party away from," Fielding said.
Cameron, who has aristocratic origins and is distantly related to Queen Elizabeth II, has worked to overcome the Conservatives' traditional image as the party of the ruling class. But opponents point out that half the members of his Cabinet went to private schools - which educate about 7 percent of all Britons - while two-thirds are millionaires.
Both Cameron and Treasury chief George Osborne attended Eton, the most exclusive of all private schools, which counts Princes William and Harry among its alumni.
The single syllable was reportedly not the most profane part of Andrew Mitchell's tirade at police officers who asked him to get off his bicycle as he passed through the gates of Downing Street. But it is the most incendiary - a pejorative term for the working class with a whiff of contempt that is bad news for a government often characterized as elitist.
Class distinctions are the great elephant in the room in British society, ever-present but rarely discussed. It's a topic that proves a minefield for any politician keen to appeal to a wide range of voters. The four-letter clanger attributed to Mitchell lands as a thudding reminder that class is still a potent and divisive aspect of British life.
Last week's altercation between the minister and police officers guarding the approach to the prime minister's residence has been seized on by the media and political opposition and escalated into a political tempest with its own title: "Gategate."
Mitchell yesterday apologized for the incident, in which - according to press reports - he told the officers "Best you learn your (expletive) place. You don't run this (expletive) government. You're (expletive) plebs."
The Metropolitan Police force has not officially confirmed the account, but says it has launched an investigation into how internal police information was leaked to the press.
Mitchell conceded he had lost his temper at "the end of a long and extremely frustrating day."
"I didn't show the police the amount of respect I should have done," Mitchell said. But, he added: "I want to make it absolutely clear that I did not use the words that have been attributed to me."
Mitchell's reported word choice is a blow to attempts by UK Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservative-led administration to downplay its image as a privileged club.
Pleb - short for plebeian - comes from the Latin plebeius, the mass of ordinary citizens apart from the elite of upper-class patricians.
First recorded in the late 18th century, "it has always had quite strong pejorative overtones," said Denny Hilton of the Oxford English Dictionary. The dictionary notes that pleb is often used to mean "an unsophisticated or uncultured person."
Mitchell's showdown with police also came days after two unarmed policewomen were shot dead in Manchester, with public sympathy and admiration for officers riding high.
"The timing is almost indescribably bad," said Steven Fielding, director of the Center for British Politics at the University of Nottingham.
Worse, he said, is the message the term pleb sends ordinary voters: "This government is not one that's interested in people like you."
"It's got connotations that are unfortunate and draw attention to a certain kind of Conservative, a certain image of the Conservative Party, which David Cameron has been trying to move the party away from," Fielding said.
Cameron, who has aristocratic origins and is distantly related to Queen Elizabeth II, has worked to overcome the Conservatives' traditional image as the party of the ruling class. But opponents point out that half the members of his Cabinet went to private schools - which educate about 7 percent of all Britons - while two-thirds are millionaires.
Both Cameron and Treasury chief George Osborne attended Eton, the most exclusive of all private schools, which counts Princes William and Harry among its alumni.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
