“In my right hon. Friend's reply to the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition, was he not rather unsympathetic, especially now that she appears to be the last pro-Marketeer in Britain? Is not this disturbance manifested by her use of the word "abrasiveness"? For the right hon. Lady to protest a dislike of abrasiveness is rather like Count Dracula professing a distaste for blood. Will my right hon. Friend give an undertaking to increase his abrasiveness until he rubs out altogether the common agricultural policy?”

—  Neil Kinnock

Speech in the House of Commons http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1979/mar/15/tuc (15 March 1979).

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "In my right hon. Friend's reply to the right hon. Lady the Leader of the Opposition, was he not rather unsympathetic, e…" by Neil Kinnock?
Neil Kinnock photo
Neil Kinnock 29
British politician 1942

Related quotes

Enoch Powell photo
Enoch Powell photo

“Does the right hon. Lady understand—if she does not yet understand she soon will—that the penalty for treachery is to fall into public contempt?”

Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician

Question http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1985/nov/14/engagements in the House of Commons (14 November 1985) to Margaret Thatcher the day before she signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement
1980s

Margaret Thatcher photo
Enoch Powell photo

“Could my right hon. Friend explain why the increase in oil prices is deflationary but the increase in all other international prices has apparently been inflationary?”

Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician

Question http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1974/feb/06/industrial-and-economic-situation#column_1232 to the Chancellor of the Exchequer Anthony Barber in the House of Commons (6 February 1974)
1970s

Richard Cobden photo
Enoch Powell photo

“Will the right hon. Lady take the opportunity today and every day to make clear to the country, as only she can, that the courses that are being commended to her by the official Opposition and by many other voices mean nothing but a deliberate return to hyper-inflation?”

Enoch Powell (1912–1998) British politician

Question http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1980/jul/22/prime-minister-engagements#column_267 to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the House of Commons (22 July 1980)
1980s

Margaret Thatcher photo

“The right hon. Gentleman is afraid of an election is he? Oh, if I were going to cut and run I'd have gone after the Falklands. Afraid? Frightened? Frit? Couldn't take it? Couldn't stand it? Right now inflation is lower than it has been for thirteen years, a record the right hon. Gentleman couldn't begin to touch!”

Margaret Thatcher (1925–2013) British stateswoman and politician

Prime Minister's Questions (19 April 1983) http://www.margaretthatcher.org/speeches/displaydocument.asp?docid=105294. The use of 'frit', an unusual Lincolnshire dialect abbreviation of 'frightened' which Mrs Thatcher evidently recalled from childhood, was missed by MPs in a noisy chamber but heard very distinctly on the audio feed from the chamber.
First term as Prime Minister

Michael Foot photo

“The right hon. Member for Heseltine—[Laughter. ]—well, that is what he is; he sticks to that principle more than he does to Henley.”

Michael Foot (1913–2010) British politician

Speech http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1991/mar/26/community-charges-general-reduction-bill in the House of Commons (26 March 1991), referring to Michael Heseltine. MPs are referred to in the House by the constituency they represent rather than by their name, so Mr Heseltine would be "Rt. Hon. Member for Henley". Whether by accident or intent, Foot mixed this up in a way which clearly amused other MPs.
1990s

P.G. Wodehouse photo

Related topics