Daniel Kawczynski: duplicitous or just a bit dim?

February 19, 2009 6:14 pm

By Tom GuiseDaniel

There have been rumblings in the press and on the blogs this week about Daniel “Tallest MP in the House” Kawczynski, the Conservative MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, after he advertised for a new intern to replace the one he allegedly fired, blaming her for handing over a constituent’s letter after police raided his Parliamentary office recently.

One might be tempted to regard 6’8″ Kawczynski as a follower in the noble and distinguished line of lofty British funny men, in the vein of a sort of modern Rodney Trotter or political Keith from The Office – he’s certainly acted as a foil for some of the most stinging one-liners in this parliament and on the blogs.

I give you Bob Grant, in The Spectator, 26th July 2008:

“Mr Kawczynski’s first problem is that he is, by general cross-party agreement, the stupidest MP in the present House of Commons, arguably the stupidest ever. His second problem is that, unlike many stupid people, he doesn’t appreciate how stupid he is.”

However, having managed to upset everyone from the Speaker of the House to Melanie Phillips and Simon Hughes, Kawczynski would be dangerous if anyone took him seriously.

Fortunately Kawczynski’s public attacks (unfounded, unsubstantiated or incorrect) on members of the police force and the Post Office have twice brought nothing more than the scorn of the Commons and advice from Michael Martin that he perhaps might like to, ‘give himself a breather’ before disparaging professional people.

For brevity, I have whittled my list of Kawczynski Clangers down to a top five, but please feel free to share any memories you have of the man whose judgement seems to be continuously questioned.

1: Daniel Kawczynski voices accusations that Post Office workers are involved in political corruption.

2: Daniel Kawczynski forced to apologise after making a fool of himself with comments regarding Melanie Phillips.

3: Daniel Kawczynski belittles the struggle of hundreds of thousands of oppressed people throughout history by describing Otis Ferry as a ‘political prisoner.’

4: Daniel Kawczynski accuses the police of underhand tactics after they apparently outwitted him by ‘making an appointment with him and asking him a question.’

5: Daniel Kawczynski blames his intern (always someone else’s fault, Daniel?) for making a fool of himself in handing over letters to police, then forces his staff to sign a confidentiality agreement and is now advertising for a new intern.

Comments are closed

Latest

  • Comment Housing upheaval can be traced back to Thatcher

    Housing upheaval can be traced back to Thatcher

    If further evidence was needed that the Government is destroying our communities then it came by the bucket load with proposals to relocate hundreds of housing benefit claimants. Councils across London desperately searched for a solution to the housing benefit cap that made it impossible for some of the capital’s poorest residents to stay in their homes. First we heard of plans to move residents to Darlington, Stoke, Hull and parts of Yorkshire. But the revelation that Westminster Council planned [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured The austerity consensus has collapsed

    The austerity consensus has collapsed

    There is no alternative: the only way out of Britain’s current economic plight is massive cuts to public spending. Taxes on the wealthiest must be slashed: they are blocks on aspiration and economically counterproductive. Austerity is the only game in town. Or so we have been told ever since the Coalition was formed in the rose gardens of Number 10 Downing Street. The overwhelming majority of the media has gladly reinforced the Government line, and those voices calling for an [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Should Labour go further on football reform?

    Should Labour go further on football reform?

    “As a party, Labour should take great pride in the fact that we initiated Supporters Direct, but now is the time to go further.” These sentiments, expressed in a recent article for Progress by Steve Rotheram MP, hark back to a time where the landscape was somewhat different for the Labour party, but similar in many ways to that faced by football supporters in 2012. The Football Taskforce was established soon after Labour came to power in 1997, with the [...]

    Read more →
  • Comment Making Labour Policy: Who calls the tune?

    Making Labour Policy: Who calls the tune?

    Excellent election results and rising polls have brought a mood of unity and created space and time for serious work on policy. Francois Hollande’s victory shows that austerity is not the only option, and Labour must start to develop an alternative agenda, rejecting the Tory politics of resentment and division in favour of policies which are fair, principled and credible: on housing, crime, transport, health, schools, higher education, manufacturing, tax, defence, social care, equality, employment rights and the environment. We [...]

    Read more →
  • News It’s the budget what won it…

    It’s the budget what won it…

    Why did Labour win the 2010 local elections so convincingly? It’s the budget right? This graph of polling from TNS BMRB certainly suggests that. Labour’s slim lead extends rapidly following the budget (highlighted) – and current stands at 12 points (42/30). And as for why Labour did better in 2012 compared to the 2011 elections – just compare May and May 2012. A year is a long time in politics…

    Read more →