In a lighter mood, I wandered through the Internet looking at the crass, stupid or unfortunate things people say and are then remembered for. Strange how politicians always rise to the top of the heap!
Winston Churchill on democracy:
“The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.”
Boris Johnson on cake:
“My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it.”
Jo Moore on news:
On September 11, 2001, as the United States (and the rest of the world) was dealing with the terror of the attacks, spin doctor Jo Moore sent out an email to her government department saying it was “a very good day to get out anything we want to bury. Councillors’ expenses?”
Boris Johnson on how to vote
“Voting Tory will cause your wife to have bigger breasts and increase your chances of owning a BMW M3.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg on the increased take-up of food banks in the UK:
“I think is rather uplifting and shows what a good, compassionate country we are.”
Boris Johnson on drugs:
“I think I was once given cocaine but I sneezed so it didn’t go up my nose. In fact, it may have been icing sugar.”
The Duke of Edinburgh on other races:
He once told an English visiting student in Japan, “Don’t stay here too long, you might go all slitty eyed.”
Nigel Farage on leaving the European Union:
“We wouldn’t want to be like the Swiss, would we? That would be awful! We’d be rich!”
Boris Johnson on rich people:
“We should be helping all those who can to join the ranks of the super-rich, and we should stop any bashing or moaning or preaching or bitching and simply give thanks for the prodigious sums of money that they are contributing to the tax revenues of this country, and that enable us to look after our sick and our elderly and to build roads, railways and schools.”
Jeremy Corbyn on anti-semitic art:
“I sincerely regret that I did not look more closely at the image I was commenting on, the contents of which are deeply disturbing and antisemitic,”
Boris Johnson on why he voted for David Cameron:
“I’m backing David Cameron’s campaign out of pure, cynical self-interest.”
The Donald on gay marriage:
“It’s like in golf… A lot of people – I don’t want this to sound trivial – but a lot of people are switching to these really long putters, very unattractive… it’s weird. You see these great players with these really long putters, because they can’t sink three-footers anymore. And, I hate it. I am a traditionalist. I have so many fabulous friends who happen to be gay, but I am a traditionalist.”
Boris Johnson on being a journalist:
“It is possible to have a pretty good life and career being a leech and a parasite in the media world, gadding about from TV studio to TV studio, writing inconsequential pieces and having a good time.”
Paddling 