Gay vote defence was just gibberish
SO Conservative MP Charlotte Leslie lacked the conviction to vote either for or against gay marriages.
In attempts to placate any of her electors who might have been perplexed as to her indecision, she gave an over-lengthy explanation in an "On the house" article (The Post, February 8). In this piece, her political "fence-sitting" was exemplary.
I have never read such a load of convoluted gibberish in my life. In attempts to avoid upsetting both gay and straight voters, Ms Leslie linguistically twisted and turned as she tried to bury her actual position in verbiage which Lewis Carroll would have been proud of.
An illustration of her nebulous expertise of "fence-sitting" can be gleaned by quoting from the article. Namely: "The institution of marriage, being part objective remit of the state (legal and tax affairs), and part subjective (commitment and declaration of love, often in front of a "higher authority") is a unique and odd institution for state debate". and "With all this in mind, I felt that the only honest thing to do was to abstain; to positively register support for the principle of equality but opposition to some of its unintended consequences".
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Humpty Dumpty in Carroll's Alice's (or should it be Charlotte's) Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass would I am sure have been impressed with her undoubted ability to emulate his dictum: When I use a word, Humpty Dumpty said, in rather a scornful tone, it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.
Likewise Ms Leslie's use of the word "abstain" obviously means just what she chooses it to mean – neither more nor less.
One can only hope for Ms Leslie's sake that the electorate do not abstain from voting for her at the next election because they are unsure of her fictional relationship with Humpty Dumpty.
R L Smith
Knowle
2 Comments
by CraigF
Monday, February 18 2013, 7:22AM
“No, we deserve MPs who consider legislation carefully and make the right decisions for the long term. Too many just vote yes or no based on their party political dogma without considering the consequences. Thankfully, politicians like Charlotte Leslie and George Ferguson seem to be above the pettiness of most of the others. As for dear old RL, I've just re-read it and I think the statement was perfectly clear - not sure which bit he didn't understand????”
by A_Mushroom
Friday, February 15 2013, 2:23PM
“I quite agree. We deserve MPs who have a spine.”