Gordon Brown's 'bigot' gaffe
Caught on tape calling an elderly voter "bigoted," the British Prime Minister is scrambling to save his bid for re-election. Watch the video
An embarrassing microphone mishap may have sunk British Prime Minister's chances of winning next month's general election. Moments after speaking to Labour voter Gillian Duffy on the street, the prime minister was caught on tape calling her a "bigoted woman," apparently in response to her views on Eastern European immigrants. Brown, leader of the Labour party, has since apologized to Duffy. Sorry, too late, says Benedict Brogan at the Daily Telegraph: "[This] might finish off Mr. Brown altogether. He’s just insulted a 66-year-old widow without cause." Can we all just calm down, asks Mehdi Hasan in the New Statesman, and remember that the P.M. has survived bigger disasters. "Public opinion is not the same as pundit opinion." Watch Brown's indiscretion here:
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