AS if the re-branding of George Osborne as a centrist-dad podcaster wasn’t torture enough.
During the latest episode of the Political Currency podcast – which Osborne presents alongside fellow milquetoast political casualty Ed Balls – Osborne recounted how he fumbled the pronunciation of a Scottish town name.
“My first speech as shadow chancellor in the House of Commons, I got up.
“Gordon Brown was the chancellor. He’d seen off, I think, six or seven former shadow chancellors. People like Michael Portillo and Francis Maude and Michael Howard, who were big figures as I was only 33-years-old.
“I got up and I thought I’d start on a really, sort of, friendly gesture, which was to congratulate him on being the MP for a new constituency, which I called Kirk-caldy and Cowdenbeath.
“It’s Kirkcaldy you Southern tw@t!” - How @George_Osborne’s first speech as shadow chancellor backfired.
— Political Currency (@polcurrency) December 2, 2023
🎧 Listen to Political Currency: https://t.co/TeZdSYV87C pic.twitter.com/Ex28p2Uc6K
“I said: ‘Can I congratulate the Right Honourable gentleman on becoming the new MP for Kirk-caldy’ “At which point a Labour MP shouted out: ‘It’s Kirkcaldy you southern t**t’.
“And that was the end of my speech as shadow chancellor.”
It seems that Osborne did learn how to correctly pronounce Kirkcaldy.
READ MORE: Alba announce plans to stand in at least 12 seats at General Election
However, if his Scottish accent is anything to go by, he has never bothered to visit.
Now, The Jouker has no issue with folks attempting a Scottish accent (although it is notoriously difficult not to butcher).
But perhaps Osborne should stick to his day job of attempting to re-brand as a fuzzy podcast host rather than the dead-eyed chancellor who seemed to relish enforcing austerity.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel