 |
| Lucy Frazer MP who joked about slavery |
As usual, her maiden speech was heard without interruption. Like some others, she lightened the tone with a brief joke.
Frazer noted how in the 17th century a general from her constituency had won a battle in England, and transported the captured English soldiers into slavery. Frazer noted that this approach could be a solution to the current tensions between England and Scotland, albeit not one that she would approve of.
The reaction was predictable. The Daily Mail and the Daily Telegraph carried her remarks as minor items on the front page, expanded inside with quotes from outraged English MPs. The Daily Express made her remarks their lead story, under the banner headline "Enslave the English, says Scottish MP", while their leader column said "Stop the Hate". Across England, radio phone-ins invited callers to express their outrage ... and journalists flocked to Edinburgh to demand that the First Minister of Scotland denounce Ms Frazer for her abuse of the privilege of an uninterupted maiden speech.
Of course, it didn't happen quite like that. The offending remarks were indeed made by the newly-elected MP, Luzy Frazer, but she is an English Tory. She thought it funny to joke that her South East Cambridgeshire constituency:
was the home of Oliver Cromwell, who defeated the Scots at Dunbar, incorporated Scotland into his protectorate and transported the Scots as slaves to the colonies. Now, there is an answer to the West Lothian question—but not one, of course, that I would recommend.
— Hansard, HC Deb, 4 June 2015, column 827
So that's alright then.
That's why there were no newspaper headlines, no phone-ins, no demands for apology.
