British Prime Minister Gordon Brown dealt his party’s reelection campaign a massive blow on 28th April 2010, when during a meet-and-greet in the marginal constituency of Rochdale, he was caught on microphone calling one of his own supporters, Gillian Duffy, a bigot.

Duffy had engaged the PM in a long conversation about many things, including local concerns about the influx of migrants to the area and the strain that the increased population was having on the local economy. After he finished speaking with her, Brown was ushered into his car where a microphone picked up his now immortal quote: “That was a disaster... should never have put me with that woman. She was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.”

In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly explain why Brown probably wasn’t going to win the 2010 election anyway; speculate on why a relatively harmless exchange got under the PM’s skin; and recall another spectacularly cringeworthy moment when Brown was unable to name any songs by his favourite band… 

Further Reading:

• ‘Bigotgate’ 10 years on: The full exchange between Gordon Brown and Gillian Duffy’ (The Independent, 2020): https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/bigotgate-gordon-brown-anniversary-gillian-duffy-transcript-full-read-1957274.html 

• ‘Gordon Brown still hasn’t learned his lesson from Bigotgate’ (The Spectator, 2017): https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/gordon-brown-still-hasn-t-learned-his-lesson-from-bigotgate/ 

• ‘Gordon Brown calls Labour supporter a "bigoted woman"’ (Sky News, 2010): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEReCN9gO14 

#2010s #UK #politics

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The Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.

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