Famous Non-PC

DJ Norman Jay was asked in an interview what he would do if he was a politician and he said, "... ban political correctness"!

Simon Cowell gave an interview saying, “There is too much tolerance in Britain. We have to get tough. What we have to do is bring a sense of competition back into schools. When people say competition sports are wrong, that’s crazy – kids have to learn that life is competitive."

"We’re too politically correct, it’s ridiculous. We have to stop all this PC nonsense.”

In an excellent article for The Times, Jeremy Clarkson ponders the reason England is in the mess that it is in! Click here for the article on The Times website.

In an interview with the Daily Mail over proposals to make "homophobic" comments a serious criminal offence", Christopher Biggins said, "The Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, tried to present this as another milestone on the road to equality. Well, I can tell you, Jack, it is nothing of the sort. This proposal is the very opposite of freedom. If enacted, it will amount to a disastrous attack on one of our most basic liberties, the right to free speech. It is a charter for nosy-parkers and bully-boys, for prigs who find offence at every turn and bores who want to impose their narrow, self-righteous opinions on the rest of us. I despair at the mood of edict issuing, word-censoring dreariness that seems to have overtaken the leaders of the gay rights movement. They, more than anyone, should be on the side of flamboyance, eccentricity, laughter and earthiness. Instead, they are acting like old commissars of some Eastern bloc regime or a bunch of Victorian moral puritans, clamping down on politically incorrect words."

He went on to say, "The Government is now attempting to create a new type of thought crime, where people are criminalised for their words and thoughts rather than their actions. That sort of politically correct engineering belongs in the realms of Orwell's 1984, not in the dear old live-and-let-live Britain I have always loved. Yet that is the trend of our times. Over the past few years, I have seen some alarming signs of how the modern, ultrapoliticised state wants to take a hard line with voices of dissent or humour."

"This is a dangerous road to go down. The endless search for offence can only divide us, and promote the very intolerance that the Government hopes to abolish. We should be moving in exactly the opposite direction: celebrating freedom, diversity and humour. If there is one thing I have learned in my career in entertainment, it is that there is no greater unifying force than laughter."

In a recent interview, Simon Weston said, "But now we’ve gone down that road where you couldn’t even restrain a kid in school that could be trying to slash out with a knife and kill some other kid. We’ve gone completely the wrong way but we tend to do that because people get so politically correct that they use it against those who are trying to improve it.

Giving talks to schools, Simon says, "If I’m allowed to do the thing I do best – which is to say it as it is – it tends to be great because you can tell by the question and answers at the end of it. We can’t always improve by being too soft. There’s as much love sometimes in punishment as there is in giving someone a hug and telling them it will be all right and you’ll take care of it. Sometimes you’ve got to do the right thing and the right thing quite often is by setting a stringent boundary, which is where we’ve gone wrong with schools."

When asked how we change the present state of affairs he said, "Slowly. If people don’t like it, well, tough. We have to shelve a lot of the political correctness. If you say something and it’s right, no matter how offensive, why is it always treated as racist or sexist or homophobia?

He credits his Mother for putting him back on track after he escaped alive from the bombing of the Sir Galahad in the Falklands war in June 1982. His Mother didn’t recognise him, so bad were his burns.

Simon said, “She walked into the hospital in London in Woolwich, because we were lucky enough to have military hospitals, and she said, ‘Well Simon where do we go from here, because the world doesn’t owe you a living?’”

Winner of the Orange prize for fiction says it is now correct to despair of political correctness
28 November 2006

In her opening address at the Brisbane Writers Festival this year, author Lionel Shriver (winner of the Orange Prize for fiction) made the point that political correctness has become so tired that "it's now correct to despair of political correctness".

Terry Wogan on why Red Dragon sausages are a real sign of the times
26 November 2006

Terry Wogan also criticised the three quarters of firms who don't put up Christmas decorations in their offices for fear of causing offence (05.12.06).

The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said that "illiberal atheists" were aiding the "systematic erosion" of Christianity in public life.

Dr Sentamu called for a rediscovery of English pride, warning that a zeal for multi-culturalism sometimes "seemed to imply, 'let other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture at all tell us its glories.'"

Fern Britton introduced Peter Andre and Katie Price on This Morning as "Mr and Mrs Peter Andre" which is an absolute no-no according to most language guides we have seen - e.g. take the recent example from Glasgow City Council - click here for the link to their website and their guide "Language Matters" - which says:

"Don’t use the nineteenth century custom of addressing a woman by her husband’s name as in Mrs John Chambers. Nor should you refer to Mr and Mrs John Chambers. Women have names too! Ann and John Chambers is quite acceptable."

In a recent interview, asked what he would like to hurl into Room 101, JPR Williams said, "Political correctness. It's no longer possible for a schoolmaster to put his arm around a child to comfort him - how sad is that?"

Claiming to weigh more than 17 stone, Boris Johnson said he wanted to reclaim the word "fatso" from the politically correct brigade. He said, "I think we are in danger of airbrushing the word fat out of the English language...I think we should worry less about using these words. You get in terrible trouble if you say fatso."

Jim Davidson has been told that his politically incorrect act is welcome in Preston after all. Preston's Deputy Mayor Coun Bhikhu Patel said he would not go to one of Davidson's shows himself, but added: "My personal view is that it is up to the public if they want to attend a show. I don't think anyone should dictate who should come and who should not come to the Guild Hall."

In the face of appalling taunts from football "fans", former West Ham boss Glenn Roeder said, "I do feel that in this politically correct world of ours, the majority stay silent and we let ourselves be controlled by the loud minority." Click here or the full story in the Guardian.

Former Eastender Shaun Williamson says that those who promote political correctness should be put in the stocks
22 September 2006

In answer to the question "Who would you send to the tower/put in the stocks" during a Sheffield Star interview, former Eastenders star Shaun Williamson ("Barry") said:

"Anyone who promotes political correctness which lacks common sense. They shouldn't be pandered to. It was in the news recently that they're not going to show a cartoon of Tom and Jerry smoking any more because one person complained – they'd go straight in the stocks."

Speaking to the Times newspaper, 22 year old rapper "Plan B" attacked institutionalised political correctness saying that it has merely conspired to bring out the worst in people. He told the Times, “Our lollipop lady used to wear a Santa hat in the run-up to Christmas. One year, it was decided that it was offensive to people of certain faiths. Now, you start taking those sorts of complaints seriously and you’re practically encouraging people to harbour a grudge. And because of what? Because of a Santa hat? Do me a favour. If we start taking offence at that s*** there’s gonna be a civil war.”

In her column in the Daily Mail today, Amanda Platell says that the decision to award compensation of £800,000 to a woman for workplace harassment "shows that we have plumbed new depths in the descent towards a victim-centred nation". Her article explores the whole matter of huge payouts to female workers and sums the situation up perfectly. She says, "Whatever sex you are, you still have to earn your place through resilience and endeavour" and "we also have to take responsibility, to stand up for ourselves and to deal with infantile confrontations in a mature way".

To read the whole article in the Daily Mail click here (pdf format)

Bruce Forsyth said he wanted to get down to the "nitty gritty" on the live programme "Dancing In The Street" whilst talking to Jonzi D (pictured above). Brucey was being a bit politically incorrect here and not bowing to pressure to avoid using this phrase as its origins are said to have come from the slave trade. The police are one of the groups of people who are not allowed to use this phrase.

Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield attack non-competitive sports days
14 July 2006

Whilst hosting an end of series "sports day", Fern Britton and Phillip Schofield both attacked non-competitive sports days in schools saying it was ridiculous not to have competition - especially when it often gives children who are not academically gifted the chance to shine.

In advance of publishing his book "Home from Home" about immigration to the UK, BBC News Presenter George Alagiah said, "I'll be comparing my experience, the integrationalist approach, with the experience of immigrants who come here and grow up in a community that is somewhat removed from the mainstream of British society." He goes on to say, "Parts of the book are going to be controversial because it questions multi-culturalism. Given what happened in London last July, a lot of people are beginning to question where immigration has got us," he said.

To read his interview in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday click below or here for a pdf version of the article.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Lord Carey, has said that he thinks that "political correctness could stifle religious expression".

Sir Cliff Richard attacked political correctness today in an interview for Sky News saying, "This whole PC thing bugs me like mad". Don't think that too many of us reading this disagree!

To see the story on Sky's website or watch the clip of the interview click here.

Richard Madeley, co-presenter of the Richard and Judy show based locally in Kennington, has said in a statement: "I'm absolutely delighted and extremely flattered to have been asked to switch on Kennington's Christmas lights as well as being relieved that we don't have to call them Kennington's Winter Lights. I hope the display will help boost trade in the area and along with Judy wish all our neighbours in this part of London a happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year."

On a reunion programme for the Australian show "Neighbours", presenter Andi Peters (pictured below) said that he wanted to get to the "nitty gritty" of the matter. We have had many reports of people using this phrase and being told, for example, in council meetings that they "can't say that". The reason given is that it could cause offence to people who do not have white skin. We cannot thank Andi Peters enough for wittingly, or even unwittingly, using this everyday phrase today as surely the same people who told the councillor not to use the phrase would not call Andi Peters racist? Those who try to act as "language police" by interfering and creating language codes are actually the ones creating tensions amongst people with different skin colours!

Prince Charles is the latest high profile figure to attack political correctness in a memo read at a tribunal hearing yesterday. He said:

"This is all to do with the learning culture in schools - the child-centred learning emphasis which admits of no failure and tells people that they can all be pop stars or High Court judges, or brilliant TV presenters - heads of state! - without ever putting in the necessary work or effort, or having the natural abilities.

"What on earth am I to say to Elaine (the woman at the centre of the enquiry) in reply? She is so PC it frightens me rigid."

The Campaign Against Political Correctness is delighted to welcome Jane McDonald's comments on ITV's Loose Women today. Jane said, "We're losing Britain" and then went on to say that anyone who tries to speak out about the loss of our British culture is classed as "racist" in the name of "political correctness." She was called "racist" by another Loose Women panellist for simply stating this view proving the difficulty of speaking your mind in these politically correct times.

Trevor McDonald says "If you don’t want to integrate, why come to Britain?”
25 July 2004

Trevor McDonald has added his voice to those attacking anti-British migrants and political correctness. The Sunday Times interviewed Trevor McDonald and a small extract is set out below:

"I would say something even stronger: if you don’t want to integrate, why come to Britain?” It is a deadly simple point but one white politicos are too politically correct to utter. “I am an unashamed integrationist.”

Trevor McDonald is only saying what the majority of people think and the Sunday Times have very helpfully given his views a public airing. If you missed the article and would like to read it you will find the full version here.

Phillip Schofield and Lorraine Kelly opened This Morning today by attacking those who call the flying of the St George's Flag "racist". They dismissed this as nonsense and the Campaign Against Political Correctness is delighted to hear this open display of common sense. The Campaign Against Political Correctness would like to take this opportunity to wish the many people up and down the country who are celebrating St George's Day today a great time. Reports on all events would be very welcome.