Colourful Language
The Stoke-on-Trent Central by-election is being held today (23 February) having been triggered after the sitting Labour MP Tristan Hunt decided to take up a new career as the director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Labour chose what they thought was a 'safe pair of hands' to fight the seat which they would normally be expected to win at a canter, but Gareth Snell (a Newcastle councillor) has really livened up the contest with a series of unflattering comments directed at various women, apparently while watching TV and the BBC's Question Time in particular.
In another tweet about Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, during an appearance on Question Time, Snell tweeted: “Diane, you are great, then you say something incredibly arsingly stupid.”
Now I don't know the identity of the "speccy blonde girl" from The Apprentice, but telling her to "piss off" is hardly a hanging offence.
Technically, Mr Snell is correct about the ability of university students to claim Educational Maintenance allowance, so while he lost the rag a bit that's a big point in his favour.
As far as I'm concerned his comment about Diane Abbott is spot on, apart from the reference to her being "great" which is clearly bonkers.
Gareth's inner 'Mr Hyde' surfaces again with his comments about Janet Street-Porter although the words "polished turd" and "Shiny and shit" are at least gender neutral.
Apparently Mr Snell also tweeted that Brexit "is a pile of shit" and for that he goes up another notch or two in my book, even if the Labour leadership won't be too happy as they are all firm Brexiteers these days.
