Sunday, May 04, 2008

Gordon Brown's Ancestor Was ... A Salesman!

The new Labour attack line against the Conservative leadership is to deride them as "Salesman". They use the word in a pejorative manner, unlike most normal people who regard salesmen as a vital part of the economy. One of my readers, Auntie Flo, has just sent me a readout from the 1851 census...

Gordon Brown's maternal great great grandparents' (salesmen) and family

Name: Will Souter
Age: 76
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1775
Where born: Insch, Aberdeen
Parish Number: 212
Civil Parish: Kinnethmont
County: Aberdeenshire
Address: Piper Will
Occupation: **Merchant Grocer**

I assume Gordon Brown would not deride his great great grandfather in the way he seeks to deride David Cameron.

22 comments:

Chris Paul said...

How is a merchant grocer equivalent to a flim flam snake oil man?

Come on Iain ... this is puny.

Anonymous said...

This just gets better and better. Where is Chris Paul's sense of wonder at chickens coming home to roost, being 'bit in the butt' or irony. Congrats to Auntie Flo for unearthing this one. The implosion of the Labour Party is wondrous to behold.

Anonymous said...

Coming from the leader of a party that spun it's way to power, criticism of salesmen is a bit rich.

wonkotsane said...

How did he manage to whitter on without making a point for so long? He failed to answer any question.

Anonymous said...

BBC Newsreader on the 'Politics Show' news bulletin stated: Brown started his 'counter-attack' today.44% of the nation will feel pleased to be under attack from the Prime Minister.

Electro-Kevin said...

A digression if I may, Iain,

I still haven't a clue what David Cameron stands for but am glad that Nu Lab are getting a drubbing.

Why is Brown (through the Beeb)getting away with claiming that this is about the 10p tax rate ?

Voter rebellion is about a plethora of issues. The main one is Nu Lab's persecution of the motorist: petrol tax, speed cameras, congestion charges, vehicle excise duty, punitive parking costs ... bogus green issues...

Readers, think about what is irking you most day-to-day and I bet for most it's the simple issue of trying to get from A to B in a modest, functional car.

Tory activists and politicos, keep the pressure on Nu Lab on this one issue and you can utterly destroy them.

Gordon Brown is a loser - he'll never be able to throw off that image. I don't even know the names of most of the cabinet - they're all pigmies. Nu Lab will be history ... a bad dream.

A good bank holiday weekend to all - except the Labourites.

Anonymous said...

"I assume Gordon Brown would not deride his great great grandfather in the way he seeks to deride David Cameron."

Gordon Brown would disinterr his great great grandfathr live on national tv and set fire to the remains, if it would bring in votes...

Paul Burgin said...

At least Juliam, he didn't go and set a small carbon footprint on the way to Norway for a photo oppurtunity
Basically there are salesmen and salesmen. Labour's use of such a word on the Tories is with the Arthur Daleys in mind and we have had that view for years. Denis Healey once accused Margaret Thatcher of having the economics of Arthur Daley, lovable rogue that the Londoner is ;)

Anonymous said...

Iain, this info isn‘t really earth-shattering and certainly not the basis of a killer PMQ riposte. Not that I want to take sides with the mucus-munching mutant weirdo, but it seems a reasonable method of attack to liken a party leader to a well-known dodgy end of a profession (he said a slick salesman), especially if it implies a nature unfitting in an aspirant PM. Not sure it insults the profession itself much. Try: unscrupulous estate agent, second-rate politician etc. (this is probably a crap argument –sorry, have vile hangover).

If you can turn up a long history of mental illess in Brown's family, ideally including say, an axe-murderer, it would be much more interesting.

Anonymous said...

Paul Burgin,

You work in a newsagent's kiosk, so that should give you plenty of opportunity to read what just about every paper is saying:

KEN LIVINGSTONE IS HISTORY

GORDON BROWN IS TOAST

LABOUR IS FINISHED

The people have spoken and you lefties don't like it, do you?

Anonymous said...

Iain, you seem to have hit a raw nerve with Bob Piper (who the heck is he anyway?!). See here: http://www.bobpiper.co.uk/2008/05/in_defence_of_robber_barons.php

Anonymous said...

A shopkeeper is not the same thing as a salesman. Sales people are horrible little creeps; despicable and despised.

Anonymous said...

The Souters were salesmen (and saleswomen, since Gordon's mother, Jessie, was a director of the Souter's family company too) for hundreds of years, generation after generation.

They also farmers and land owners.
However, it seems Gordon's family eventually lost their persuasive talents as Gordon's uncle's company eventually went into liquidation.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
A shopkeeper is not the same thing as a salesman. Sales people are horrible little creeps; despicable and despised.


So, tell me, Anon, what exactly is it that shopkeepers - and shop assistants - do? Do they not use their persuasive powers to sell to punters? How is that really any different from salespeople?

'Horrible little creeps', what a nasty way to describe hard working sales people.

You should show more respect for working people, anon, salespeople do essential jobs, without them there'd be nothing in the shops and no one to sell it anyway.

What part of nulab's political bubble dreamworld do you work in then?

You just have to be a nulab.

Anonymous said...

Haven't nulab also used a perjorative 'Grocer' to attack Conservatives too?

Pot to kettle, Mr Brown

Paul Burgin said...

Bye bye Gordon you really understand the meaning of the words 'humility' and 'graciousness' in victory don't you! Still I suppose I and others have broken the first rule of defeat 'Don't let the enemy see you bleed!' so touche

Anonymous said...

By they are insulting shallow salesmen not good salesman.

PS Did the media nottice that Cmaeron said the public should give Brown a good kicking. Not very polite considering the PM lost an eue form being kicked in the head in a rugby match.

I hiope the tory leader did not mena this as a slight,

Anonymous said...

Paul Burgin,

Only winding you up! After 11 years, surely we're allowed a couple of days of feeling triumphant.

I still think that Gordon's toast.

Paul Burgin said...

Fair enough Gord

Anonymous said...

Gordon Brown must be a salesman.

Who else could manage to shift so much gold onto the markets.

Roll up Roll up, special offer today!

Due to massive overstocks...

Firesale...

Half of it must go...

You won't see an offer like this repeated again...

75% off the aftersale price!

Anonymous said...

I should add...

whilst he could sell the gold, he cannot sell his policies, so yes he is a salesman - just a very poor one.

Anonymous said...

,Auntie Flo' said...

"So, tell me, Anon, what exactly is it that shopkeepers - and shop assistants - do?"

They work in shops.

"Do they not use their persuasive powers to sell to punters?"

No. They do honest work.

"'Horrible little creeps', what a nasty way to describe hard working sales people."

Only stating what most people feel.

"salespeople do essential jobs, without them there'd be nothing in the shops and no one to sell it anyway."

Even if that were true, they're still horrible people having necessarily divested themselves of human sentiment to lust after money.

"You just have to be a nulab."

Wrong.