Sometimes politicians clash, or bond, with other high-profile people. Either way, it’s usually very embarrassing. Here’s a few we can recall from 2015:
Chris Bryant and James Blunt
The Labour MP for Rhondda dared give an interview to the Guardian about privilege in the arts and evoked the full wrath of crooning neo-Cockney Rhyming Slang vehicle James Blunt.
“You classist gimp…” Blunt began in a letter to the MP. “Perhaps what you’ve failed to realise is that the only head-start my school gave me in the music business, where the VAST majority of people are NOT from boarding school, is to tell me that I should aim high. Perhaps it protected me from your kind of narrow-minded, self-defeating, lead-us-to-a-dead-end, remove-the-‘G’-from-‘GB’ thinking, which is to look at others’ success and say, “it’s not fair.”
Bryant responded by telling the singer not to be so “blooming precious”.
Photo: Getty
Alexis Tsipras and Hugh Laurie
The new Greek Prime Minister (and House fan, apparently) sent his first post-election win tweet to Hugh Laurie.
@hughlaurie Thank you Dr.
— Alexis Tsipras (@atsipras) January 25, 2015
Aw.
Jim Murphy and JK Rowling
Harry Potter’s creator took pity on the then Labour frontbencher Jim Murphy, who lost his seat to the SNP in the general election. So she gave him a place in Gryffindor.
For showing unbelievable guts in the face of impossible odds, @JimForScotland, get in Gryffindor. #NotMuchBloodyComfort
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 8, 2015
Photos: Harry Potter screengrab & Getty
Sajid Javid and Mary Beard
The jovial classicist and twitter fiend Mary Beard bluntly but fairly pointed out a rather embarrassing mistake in a Times article by the then Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid:
whoops. I’m all with this sentiment, but..err .. Socrates didn’t write anything (that’s the point of Plato). pic.twitter.com/SyIIIlH23h
— mary beard (@wmarybeard) January 11, 2015
Jeremy Corbyn and Donald Trump
OK, Trump’s a politician too now apparently (I just don’t want to admit it to myself), but this one still counts. The rabidly rightwing Republican presidential hopeful was duped into retweeting a picture of Jeremy Corbyn, in the belief that he would be voting Trump.
“@HamishP95: @realDonaldTrump My Dad is thinking of voting for the first time ever for you. pic.twitter.com/1u9qi8qUPc” Great.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 12, 2015
David Lammy and Lenny Henry
The Labour MP for Tottenham jumped on ITV News’ shameful error in which it used footage of Ainsley Harriott in a piece about the comedian Lenny Henry receiving a knighthood. In a simple yet effective move, he tweeted:
Congratulations @LennyHenry on your Knighthood. You look younger too! @itvnews pic.twitter.com/vCtpKnx4LQ
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) December 4, 2015
Lots of awkward politicians and Russell Brand
A series of videos released on the terrifying YouTube channel of the Charles II-cum-Casanova scarecrow comedian revealed multiple politicians valiantly battling through the most awkward and least appropriate interview of their lives. Here’s the Ed Miliband one, for old times’ sake:
Ah, remember the weird accent he slipped into? “It’s sorta one rule for the richest”; “it’s just, like, wrong”; “Northern Rock an’ all tha’”; “Yeah we gotta deal with that”; “it ain’t gonna be like that”.
No it ain’t Ed, it really ain’t.
The Northern Powerhouse and Johnny Marr
Yeah, yeah it’s a political concept rather a politician, but still worth remembering. The Smiths’ guitarist slammed George Osborne’s great plan for the north as being “patronising and thick”.
Do Cameron & Osborne actually think that people in the north are ok with the term “Northern Powerhouse ?”. Patronising and thick or what ?
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) July 8, 2015
Nicola Sturgeon and the Daily Show’s Jon Stewart
The First Minister was a hit on the popular US comedy fixture, making so many quips about its host Stewart’s relentless teasing that he conceded: “See that? You are a comedian!”
“So you think you’re Saddam Hussein? You get 99 per cent?” asked Stewart.
“I think you should always aim for more,” Sturgeon fired back.
In another humorous exchange, Stewart asked his guest how much oil Scotland has: “How much are we talking about here? May we invade you?… How much oil are we talking about?”
Sturgeon replied, facing the audience: “I think this is progress because you just heard there Jon, presumably on behalf of the United States, asking permission to invade an oil-producing country. It doesn’t usually work that way.”
Oh, Nicola.
Ed Miliband and Aardman
Years of Wallace-shaming led to the animations company giving the former Labour leader a sneaky cameo in its Shaun the Sheep film. We’re pretty sure it was supposed to be him:
Photo: Shaun the Sheep movie still
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