I can tell you exactly what Gillian Duffy was saying, because I took notes at the time.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Are you sitting comfortably?
She told Gordon Brown the government was going to cut the winter fuel allowance, because her friends said so ("I talk to people my age and they say they’ll be knocking it off.")
He said they weren't going to cut it & mentioned free bus passes, eye tests, prescriptions...
He said they weren't going to cut it & mentioned free bus passes, eye tests, prescriptions...
She said "How are you going to get us out of all this debt, Gordon?"
He said they had a plan. She got bored after a couple of sentences and interrupted him.
He said they had a plan. She got bored after a couple of sentences and interrupted him.
She said: "There were three things that were drummed in to me when I was a child: education, health service and looking after people who are vulnerable."
He started to say that he agreed with all of that, but she interrupted him again.
He started to say that he agreed with all of that, but she interrupted him again.
She said: "There’s too many people now who aren’t vulnerable but they can claim and people who are vulnerable who can’t claim, can’t get it."
He started to point out that life on the dole was pretty shit under Labour (cheers, Gordon!), but she interrupted him yet again.
He started to point out that life on the dole was pretty shit under Labour (cheers, Gordon!), but she interrupted him yet again.
She said: "You can’t say anything about the immigrants. All these eastern Europeans what are coming in – where are they flocking from?"
He pointed out that British people had freedom of movement as well, and tried to go back to the bit about education, health and helping people.
He pointed out that British people had freedom of movement as well, and tried to go back to the bit about education, health and helping people.
She interrupted him for the fifth time and said,
"What are you going to do about students who are coming in now and all this that you’ve had to pay? You’ve scrapped that, Gordon."
"What are you going to do about students who are coming in now and all this that you’ve had to pay? You’ve scrapped that, Gordon."
So there you go: the Thoughts of Gillian Duffy. They're cutting too much, and they ought to cut more because it's too expensive, and you need to fund the NHS, and you need to kick the unemployed, only not the vulnerable ones, and bring back student grants.
Oh, and "you can't say anything about the immigrants".
Three guesses which bit of that Rentoul thinks we should have listened to.
Three guesses which bit of that Rentoul thinks we should have listened to.
Perhaps we've missed the point of Listening To The Voters a la Nandy; perhaps the point is, just, to give people a chance to completely ignore evidence and reasoned argument, and just attack you from multiple different angles and interrupt whenever you try and defend yourself.
