The general election campaign has managed to produce some jaw-dropping gaffes and viral moments of ineptitude from our leading politicians. Here’s a selection of the video moments of the campaign:
Rees-Mogg sparks fury with Grenfell comments
The Conservatives got off to a terrible start when Jacob Rees-Mogg explained that it was just common sense to have ignored the warnings of the emergency services at Grenfell Tower during the horrific fire. He was forced to apologise and kept a low profile for the remainder of the campaign, barely being seen outside his own constituency.
Johnson heckled in Yorkshire
Boris Johnson was heckled several times when he went to visit people affected by flooding in Yorkshire. “You took your time, Boris” and “Where’ve you been?” were some of the kinder remarks directed at the Conservative leader. One woman went viral on social media after telling a reporter she thought Johnson was an “arsehole”.
Farage and Brexit party back down
After building up the expectation the Brexit party would stand nationwide, Farage unilaterally decided to withdraw candidates who were fighting against the Conservatives. Had he overplayed his hand in asking for an electoral pact the week before?
Patel says government not to blame for poverty
Priti Patel astonished observers by claiming that poverty wasn’t caused by Westminster. A feature of the Conservative campaign was of MPs talking as if the party had not been in power for nine years. The ascension of Boris Johnson to the top job might have been year zero for those he had put in office, but it wasn’t for a country that has experienced a decade of austerity politics.
Morgan fails her maths
Nicky Morgan came a cropper on live TV when she tried to defy basic arithmetic and explain that 19,000 people not leaving their jobs was the equivalent of 19,000 more people being in those jobs. The Good Morning Britain hosts were having none of it.
Raab and McDonald face off over debates
The debate over who was, or wasn’t, going to appear in election debates and interviews – basically everybody on everything except Boris Johnson – overshadowed the debates themselves which were fairly anodyne. One highlight, though, was a spat between the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, and the shadow transport secretary, Andy McDonald, after Johnson and Corbyn had clashed in the ITV debate.
Raab was captured on camera in another testy confrontation when he spoke angrily to the grieving father of Harry Dunn before a local hustings meeting.
Corbyn refuses to apologise over antisemitism
The television low point for Jeremy Corbyn was undoubtedly when he repeatedly refused to apologise to British Jews for the handling of antisemitism in the Labour party when interviewed by Andrew Neil. Corbyn did apologise for the party’s handling of the antisemitism crisis at other times in the campaign – but not during the prime-time interview watched by 3.2 million voters.
Johnson dodges questions about his children
Johnson had his fair share of awkward topics during the campaign. It seems inconceivable that a woman could ever run for the highest office of the land without disclosing the number of children she’d had with different partners, but on LBC Johnson, once again, evaded the question.
Stanley Johnson’s Pinocchio moment
Johnson’s father also had his moment in the sun. The day after he turned up at Channel 4 with Michael Gove for the climate crisis debate, where they tried to muscle their way on screen, Stanley Johnson appeared to reveal an absolute contempt for the cultural knowledge and spelling abilities of the Great British public.
Austerity an uncomfortable topic for Swinson
Jo Swinson’s toughest moments came when she was pressed about her record of propping up Tory austerity policies, including the bedroom tax, which she now wants to scrap, but which she voted to support nine times while in government.
Andrew Neil challenges Johnson
Johnson’s failure to agree to a TV interview with the BBC’s interrogator-in-chief, Andrew Neil, led to the broadcaster recording a direct challenge to the prime minister to appear. The video went viral and, of course, Labour’s social media teams capitalised on its popularity. But to no avail. Johnson never did the interview.
Sturgeon glides along
Social media means politicians can now post their own videos to help shape their image during a campaign. Nicola Sturgeon managed to glide mostly serenely through a gaffe-free campaign – sometimes even literally gliding.
I’d actually forgotten until today how much I love ice skating (@DerekMackaySNP isn’t too bad at it either!). A good fun day on the #GE19 campaign trail but with a serious message - Johnson’s chance of a majority is on thin ice and voting @theSNP can help lock the Tories out. pic.twitter.com/X6fMYxv5zr
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) December 7, 2019
Others were less fortunate. Did the world really need a video of the Conservative MP Johnny Mercer complaining that someone had spray painted “twat” over one of his election posters? Or Rees-Moog quoting an old song by the Wurzels in front of some standing stones while wearing a ludicrously oversized rosette? Or Matt Hancock standing in shock like he had never seen a real live woman before?
Corbyn compares himself to Marmite
One theme that emerged during the campaign was Labour candidates in the north of England claiming that the joint proposition of Labour’s position on a second Brexit referendum, and leadership, of Jeremy Corbyn, were proving a difficult sell on doorsteps. Pressed on his likeability, Corbyn memorably opted to allude to himself as marmite.
Johnson pockets a reporter’s phone
It was at the end of the campaign that Johnson’s greatest clangers came. He may have hoped that a video of him bursting through a polystyrene wall in a Tory donor’s digger to demonstrate he was going to break the Brexit gridlock would dominate the airwaves. Instead it was a clip of him seizing ITV journalist Joe Pike’s phone, rather than look at the picture of a sick child sleeping on the floor of an NHS hospital, that went viral.
A fridge and an f-bomb on Good Morning Britain
Johnson compounded his sheepish reputation for avoiding scrutiny by retreating into a fridge when ambushed by Good Morning Britain reporters for a live interview with Susanna Reid and Piers Morgan. One of his aides managed to drop the f-bomb live on ITV’s flagship breakfast show, compounding the misery of it all.
