I turned on my radio this morning to hear that Margaret Hodge could well be the country’s greatest MP for years; is this a ridiculous comment, or the voice of the collective?
As our cartoonist was unavailable to paint a picture of this article, I began to re-create my own example of satirical drollery, a botched picture of Winston Churchill, fingers aloft, with the head of Margaret Hodge sitting on his burly shoulders. The reality of such an image was far too disturbing for human eyes however, so I hastily decided to get rid of it (replacing Winston with the Churchill dog from the insurance ads was also no improvement).
Margaret Hodge: ‘I don’t want scalps, I want to get at the truth’
If you ask me, anyone who has to reassure a nation that they don’t ‘want scalps’ is a force to be reckoned with…
From calling the boss of Google ‘evil’ to heralding the BBC as ‘liars’, it comes as no surprise that Margaret Hodge is being called “the nation’s favourite battle-axe”. Her comments bring press rooms to rapturous applause, and reduce business moguls to snivelling schoolboys, and the word on the street is… it’s about bloody time.
The Margaret Hodge Effect is being felt by all at present, her pantomime theatrics being stuff of both blather and debate, the media having a field day with the once labelled ‘Champagne Socialist’, and her beloved PAC (Public Accounts Committee).
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has hardly been the stuff of controversy over the many years that it has been in operation (since 1861 to be precise), its activities barely gracing our headlines in its 152 years of operation. This was until 2010 however, when up stepped Margaret Hodge. With a reputation of a North London bruiser to shake off, and retribution on her mind, business giants such as Google, Starbucks, Amazon and now the BBC, didn’t know what they were in for.
“I really don’t think about my performance” Hodge told BBC correspondent Rachel Cook in a recent candid interview, being frank about her political stance and blunt approaches to subjects such as tax avoidance, further adding that she ‘couldn’t resist’ baiting the European Boss of Google, accusing him of ‘doing evil’.
What are our thoughts on Margaret Hodge? Well the once not-so revered figurehead for council constabulary seems to have won over the nation’s hearts, her underdog bouts with big businesses making for a David and Goliath tale to be proud of, and after enduring considerable flack over the years (even surviving gossip of accused sympathy of the BNP), for better or worse, the Labour MP has certainly become a household name. As for the greatest MP of the generation? We’ll have to wait and see about that.
I think you had the correct sentiment in the sentence “her pantomime theatrics being stuff of both blather and debate”.
Hodge was never quite so keen on the truth as a Minister, nor as the leader of Islington Council. Especially with reference to child welfare.
If she is the greatest MP of a generation, we will have reached a new low.
Indeed, and her own family’s tax affairs don’t stand up to scrutiny either. Her family’s business paid just 0.01% tax on a profit of £65M….
As with most MPs, she is a know-nothing hypocrite.
Agree entirely with B Lloyd. A quick google of Margaret Hodge and Islington children will illuminate the real tears behind the pantomime.