Special edition: #bigotgate

…and remove any microphones you may have attached to you

Down and out on the campaign trail

The day began so inauspiciously. The IFS blandly pointing out that none of the main parties have said remotely enough about their plans for spending cuts. The SNP losing its legal challenge to the live televised leaders’ debates. The Alliance Party in Northern Ireland launching its manifesto. All in all, a typical election campaign day.

But then came news of a political earthquake in Rochdale of all places. No, make that a tsunami. Wait, an earthquake and a tsunami, that’s more like it. Really? In Rochdale? Yes.

The BBC News 24 BREAKING NEWS alert announced that during one of Gordon Brown’s walkabouts in the key Labour target seat, he had called a woman “bigoted” as he departed in his car, unaware that his microphone was still dutifully reporting his every word. This followed a conversation he had had with a 66 year-old woman – Gillian Duffy – who had been heckling him, but which Brown had dealt with well; she herself told reporters she would still be voting Labour. But, sensing a story, Sky News played her back a tape of Brown’s unguarded comments and suddenly Ms Duffy was at the centre of a media storm.

The comment already had its own Twitter hashtag, ‘#bigotgate’ within minutes and Brown was promptly ambushed by Jeremy Vine on Radio 2. His response was to telephone Ms Duffy to apologise, before going back to Rochdale to apologise in person.

And so the analysis begins. How much does it matter? Does it actually matter? Should it matter? One thing is certain however, tomorrow’s papers will be full of ‘bigotgate’ coverage despite the infinitely duller topic of spending cuts being infinitely more necessary. The IFS may not have a vote in the election but then again, nor do the papers.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

Gillian Duffy: “You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're ... all these Eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?”

Gordon Brown: “A million people come from Europe but a million people, British people, have gone into Europe. You do know that there's a lot of British people staying in Europe as well?”

Gordon Brown [later in car]: “…she's just a sort of bigoted woman, said she used to be Labour. It's just ridiculous.”

THE GREASY POLL
Lab 29, Con 35, LibDem 29 (Independent/ITV/ComRes)