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thomas davison

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Trump protests, cream ads, Anne of Green Gables, gender-fluid ships, Diane Abbott, racist chocolate ducks� and all that jazz!

By Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail

Published: 22:51, 25 April 2019 | Updated: 03:29, 26 April 2019

Some of us are old enough to remember when Britain was a serious country, a proper democracy, with a sense of proportion.

When becoming a Member of Parliament was a solemn undertaking, when our votes actually counted for something. When MPs felt they had a duty to respect the will of the majority.

There was a time when the laws and rules by which we were governed were decided upon after sober debate and enacted for the benefit of what we used to call the �silent majority�, not the noisy minority.
All you need to know about the mindset of modern politicians is that the Speaker of the House of Commons shows greater respect to a 16-year-old Anne Of Green Gables lookalike than he does to the President of the United States
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All you need to know about the mindset of modern politicians is that the Speaker of the House of Commons shows greater respect to a 16-year-old Anne Of Green Gables lookalike than he does to the President of the United States

That, of course, was before the tyranny of social media, 24-hour rolling news and rent-a-gob radio phone-ins. Nowadays, the so-called moral high ground belongs to whoever shouts the loudest.

Why bother voting when the only surefire way to change the world is by taking to the streets or summoning up a �Twitter storm�? We are governed by knee-jerk over-reaction to single-issue fanaticism.

Corporations are as guilty as politicians of panicking in the face of online criticism. For instance, Waitrose, part of the John Lewis group, recently issued a public apology over a chocolate duck which someone complained was �racist�.
Elsewhere, Natural England has stopped farmers and gamekeepers from shooting 16 species of birds, classed as �pests� and including pigeons and Canada geese, because of a legal challenge from �environmentalists� and a BBC wildlife presenter called Chris Packham [File idiot]
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Elsewhere, Natural England has stopped farmers and gamekeepers from shooting 16 species of birds, classed as �pests� and including pigeons and Canada geese, because of a legal challenge from �environmentalists� and a BBC wildlife presenter called Chris Packham [File idiot]

The dark chocolate duck, labelled �ugly� � in reference to the famous Hans Christian Andersen tale � was part of an Easter range, which included a milk chocolate duck, labelled �crispy�, and a white chocolate duck, labelled �fluffy�.

This was enough, in the warped mind of one individual, to put Waitrose right up there with the Ku Klux Klan.

Instead of laughing it off and telling the complainant to get a life, Waitrose went into headless chicken mode. The duck was immediately withdrawn from sale and the company put out a statement saying sorry for any �offence� which may have been caused.

Never mind the fact that anyone who considers a chocolate duck to be racist deserves to be sectioned under the provisions of the Mental Health Act, Waitrose simply caved in.

Organisations go to absurd lengths to avoid causing offence, even where none is taken or intended.
Corporations are as guilty as politicians of panicking in the face of online criticism. For instance, Waitrose, part of the John Lewis group, recently issued a public apology over a chocolate duck which someone complained was �racist�
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Corporations are as guilty as politicians of panicking in the face of online criticism. For instance, Waitrose, part of the John Lewis group, recently issued a public apology over a chocolate duck which someone complained was �racist�

Here�s another example. The Football Association has announced that the winners of the FA Cup will no longer receive their traditional champagne because it might offend the sensibilities of players whose religion forbids alcohol.

So the victorious team will have to spray themselves with alcohol-free fizz, just in case there are any Muslims in the vicinity. How long before Silverstone follows suit?

Did the FA bother asking the vast majority of players, or the millions of fans who buy tickets and TV subscriptions? Of course not. What�s important is to be seen to be doing the right thing in the name of �diversity�.

Elsewhere, Natural England has stopped farmers and gamekeepers from shooting 16 species of birds, classed as �pests� and including pigeons and Canada geese, because of a legal challenge from �environmentalists� and a BBC wildlife presenter called Chris Packham.

Rather than fight the lawsuit, Natural England threw in the towel and revoked licences to shoot the birds, despite the fact they cause damage to crops and pose a threat to public health.

The National Farmers� Union is outraged, but clearly its opinion counts for less than that of a bunch of self-appointed environmental activists and a bloke off the telly. In Irvine, North Ayrshire, the Scottish Maritime Museum has stopped referring to boats as �she� after signs describing vessels as female were repeatedly vandalised.

So the criminal behaviour of a single nutter obsessed with �gender issues� is sufficient to cancel out centuries of naval tradition.

Meanwhile, Transport for London has banned an advert on the Tube for strawberries and cream because it breaches guidelines on �junk food� advertising drawn up by �obesity campaigners�.

No one actually voted for this ban but, apparently, cream falls foul of so-called healthy eating rules approved arbitrarily by London�s posturing mayor Sadiq Khan.

He�s typical of a generation of politicians in thrall to online activism and street protests.

Look at the way Khan indulged those selfish climate change demonstrators who have brought London to a halt over the past fortnight.

Did he give a toss about the millions of Londoners who were seriously inconvenienced, or lost money, because of this pointless disruption? No, all that mattered to Khan was burnishing his green credentials.