Interel has assembled the best gaffes and awkward moments “that our politicians would rather you forgot in 2014” in their festive Politiclols - Big Quiz of the Year.
Click on any image to visit the Big Quiz of the Year. There is a bottle of champagne on offer for the best score, so make sure to tweet your scores or send an email to Interel and they will add you into their prize draw.
[Note from the Interel editor: we’ve hidden the names of a few Christmas tunes in this post – find them all, send them over to us for another chance to win our Christmas prize!]
2014 has been a game-changing year in British politics, and as Christmas approaches it seems a good time to reflect on some of the big moments that have stood out for us in the Interel UK office – both for the right and wrong reasons.
In September, former PM Gordon Brown stepped in at the last minute with a heartfelt plea to save the Union, and Scotland decided to stay another day. The political leaders of Westminster breathed a sigh of relief, David Cameron would not be the Prime Minister who lost Scotland. Alex Salmond immediately resigned and was swiftly replaced by Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and Scotland’s First Minister, only to announce his intention to stand as a candidate in the 2015 Election. A no vote was clearly not enough to stop the cavalry of the Scottish nationalists.
Another force intent on destroying the Fairytale of Westminster has gone from strength to strength this year. UKIP surged to victory in May’s European elections and were then legitimised in the House of Commons by two convincing by-election wins following Reckless and Carswell’s defections. UKIP are no strangers to a political gaffe, but they seem to brush them off far more easily than the other parties. Strange, considering barely a few days go by without someone related to UKIP saying or doing something bizarre or offensive.
2014 hasn’t been the most peaceful year for the Labour Party’s leadership. The Scottish branch of the Party was thrown into turmoil by Johann Lamont’s shock resignation, and Miliband hasn’t exactly had a better time of it at home in Westminster. Plagued by leadership doubts and trying to smooth over a slip-up in some form or another on an almost daily basis, I’m sure all Ed wants for Christmas is a bit of peace and quiet.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats seem to be preparing to part ways and the gloves are off for the run up to the General Election. Nick Clegg may well be lonely this Christmas, given his choice to stay away from Chancellor George Osborne’s Autumn Statement. Osborne will have been hoping that his Christmas giveaways would bring joy to the world, but a critical report from the IFS and even their Lib Dem partners mean it was more like bah humbug. Both parties are throwing insults at each other at every opportunity – Cameron has said the Lib Dems are ‘all over the place’, whilst Danny Alexander has accused the Tories of wanting to inflict ‘unnecessary pain’. With all this bickering going on, do they know its Christmastime at all?
Unfortunately for certain politicians, in the Interel office we have also been keeping a close eye on any awkward and embarrassing moments they might have found themselves in, and whilst 2014 has been a year for big political stories, there have also been a few that those in Westminster would rather we forget. Fortunately for you though, we have immortalised these moments into a quiz, and to add to the excitement you could win a bottle of champagne for taking part! Just tweet at us with your scores, or send us an email and we’ll be in touch. With a prize like that, I’m sure you are all wishing it could be Christmas every day.