What A Cock & Bull Story: British Minister Admits Her Speech To Parliament Was All Part Of A Dare
If you always suspected that politicians spoke a load of nonsense, then here is your proof that some of them do. Penny Mordaunt is a British minister for the UK Conservative party, the party the British prime minister heads up, and she's also a reservist for the Royal Navy.
In a speech she gave to parliament in March 2013 she snuck in the word "cock" six times as well as the words "lay" or "laid" five times as part of a dare. The speech appears to be about the poor way chickens are treated, but that's all just a ruse so Mordaunt could go through with her dare, which came about through her navy colleagues, as she tells The Telegraph:
The MP for Portsmouth North said: "Some of my Marine training officers in Dartmouth thought it would be a good idea to break my ladylike persona by getting me to yell particularly rude words during the most gruelling part of our training.
"They failed but during our mess dinner at the end of the course, I was fined for a misdemeanour. The fine was to say a particular word, an abbreviation of cockerel, several times during a speech on the floor of the Commons, and mention all the names of the officers present."
Reactions to her spoof speech have been mixed. Some people are happy for ministers to show a sense of humor.
Good to have a Member of Parliament & Minister in @PennyMordauntMP #PennyMordaunt with a sense of humour who doesn't take herself seriously.
Others were outraged, not only at Mordaunt but also that a councillor (above), a member of local government, would endorse her behavior.
#PennyMordaunt People fight for a voice in gov daily-when someone has that privilege and uses it for an "in" joke #stingsabit
@CllrJohnWall Outrageous endorsement of #PennyMordaunt precontrived speech as part of a 'bet' Would you do the same?
What do you think? Is this acceptable behaviour, just a bit of fun, from the political class or an abuse and total waste of her time?
