Another arrogant MP.

JO4 the police note said it was a "public order offence". For the effing, I expect.

If the present cabinet are natural born leaders, I'm a Dutchman! I don't regard anybody as my superior or inferior - I just judge people by the way they behave. I believe that many people who attend private schools do feel an innate sense of superiority but it is often entirely unjustified.

D'you think the police (or at least the high-ranking ones) think of some members of the public as 'plebs'?

I think the distinction would be with patrician rather than "posh". I would say that it is entirely about attitude, which may be fed by parenting, education, wealth or all three.

Ana no just chavs Although I am not sure of the difference.
I thought that plebian meant common man as apposed to uncommon I suppose, whatever that means.

I think some private schools may engender a feeling of superiority, but many / most people manage to shake it off when they get out into the real world. Sadly, some don't.

Strictly speaking, as a member of the House of Commons Andrew Mitchell is a pleb. Perhaps someone should remind him.

Meanwhile, back at Thrasher Hall.
Nanny: Little Lord Betterthanme has been a naughty boy.
LLB: Yes Nanny
Nanny: Little Lord Betterthanme must be punished.
LLB: Yes please Nanny. Will you use the whip? Will you use the big whip?
Nanny: I shall use the Chief Whip.
LLB: Oh Nanny!

glitabo

And he's tried the same thing again today. He obviously likes to be right.

Sorry, I misheard the report. The original row must have been last week and he tried the same thing the following day.

Glitabo...publish!

glitabo I love it!!

Yes, he is a monster that man - product of an elitist school of course, like most of that lot of arrogant pigs in parliament. Worst of all, they'll look after their own and ensure he gets away with it.

He said he'd had an extremely frustrating day, or words to that effect, in his statement to the media yesterday. He added ' . . . but of course that's no excuse'. Why say it in the first place then?

Not so much posh or pompous, just idiotic, he seems to me.

Well..... We just use pleb as another word for idiot in our family, and while you can read a whole lot into that if you like, it doesn't actually mean a lot nowadays as far as I know and I would imagine most people who use it don't actually think about the historical context. It's just kinda rolls off the tongue easily!!

Four letter words to a copper is a public order offence. I know cos my dad watches a whole lot of Friday night brawl stuff on various cops and robbers programmes and I get drawn into them by him shouting " lock them all up" at the tv. They often get hauled to police stations for foul language.. falling down drunk..taking a swing at all and sundry..and peeing in the street! Now THEY really are plebs!

Not all plebs are idiots, or slobs, or thugs, but some MPs manage to be all three on occasion.

Rinky, how words are used matters. Mitchell was abominably RUDE.

One of the tabloids was claiming that this long difficult day included lunch at a posh indian restaurant.
If a teacher behaved like that after a long difficult day, and swore at a parent, say, can you imagine how much trouble they would be in.

It is interesting to read the letters people are writing to newspapers about this incident. There are some who think that the police were in the wrong and should have opened the main gates for him and even suggest that the police have no right to refuse an instruction from the Government Chief Whip. There are some who claim to be acquainted with Andrew Mitchell who insist that he is charm and courtesy personified and would never say such things. There are those who think this is part of an on-going war between the police and cyclists and others who think that if a senior member of Government is so humble and self-effacing as to ride a bike, then he a) should have the gates opened for him and b) couldn't possibly be rude. It's all very entertaining.

Yes, he did try it again the next day (they said so on R4 this morning). So he must really feel he is in the right. Can't be just down to a bad day.

Mind you, I think he is in the right too.

I heard on the radio this morning that some newspaper has done a 'Who Do You Think You Are' investigation on Mr Mitchell. Some of his ancestors were servants, though the ones he probably wants to acknowledge were wealthy wine merchants. So who's a pleb?

Mr Cameron looked him in the eye, and Mr Mitchell solemnly declared that he was innocent of the charges, and Mr Cameron announced "I believe him"

You would have thought that Mr Cameron would have learned from Mr Coulson's declaration of innocence wouldn't you? How gullible is he for heavens sake. I hope no-one announces to him solemnly and "truthfully" that under no circustances would they attack the UK.

Whether he was right or not about the gate is not the question. It is how he handled the issue.

glitabo - one of my grand-daughters posts 'How to be a teenager' posters on Facebook - the latest said 'Disagree with people just to annoy them'. Hm....