News
Becca Monaghan
Mar 22, 2022
Independent TV
Oliver Dowden followed in Boris Johnson's footsteps with "gloriously bad" comments in a bizarre attack on the left hailed the "calm suburbia of Hertfordshire".
During a speech at their spring conference in Blackpool, the Chairman of the Conservative Party launched into the virtues of "the privet hedges of suburbia".
He said: "As I walk with my children through the calm suburbia of Hertfordshire, its values so derided by the left, I actually reflect on the great fortune we have to live in a nation defined by stability, security… and, yes, Conservatism.
"For me, the privet hedges of suburbia are the privet hedges of a free people. And I will make it my mission as Chairman to defend those values and those freedoms".
Inevitably, social media mocked Dowden for his out-of-touch comments, with one describing the speech as "astoundingly embarrassing."
I find this speech by \u2018Olive\u2019 Dowden astoundingly embarrassing.pic.twitter.com/ifSYETYdc7— Jake Richards (@Jake Richards) 1647714726
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One joked: "Oliver Dowden thinks socialists are after his hedge. I don't think we should have people in government suffering such weird paranoia."
Another furious Twitter user said: "Ukraine is under attack.Petrol prices are surging. People are unable to afford the weekly shop. And Dowden is withering on about a proven hedge!!?? Give me strength...Who scribbled this utter tripe??"
A third added: "And this absolute idiocy makes me want to throw Mr Dowden over the nearest fkn privet hedge for being so deluded and completely blind as to what a depressing worrying state the country currently is in."
Privet hedge responds to Oliver Dowdenpic.twitter.com/Cj5uyysftS— Emma \ud83d\udc3c\ud83d\udc37\ud83e\udd94 (@Emma \ud83d\udc3c\ud83d\udc37\ud83e\udd94) 1647771820
Privet hedges: the untold Brexit opportunity.— Laurence Unboxed (@Laurence Unboxed) 1647817549
\u201cThe privet hedges of suburbia are the privet hedges of a free people.\u201dpic.twitter.com/zsc9UCxY5q— Brendan May \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Brendan May \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1647878190
Privet hedges respond to speech by Conservative Party Chairman.pic.twitter.com/aQiUJYax74— Jonathan Easton (@Jonathan Easton) 1647780098
That's me that is, always deriding the privet hedges as I walk through my suburban neighbourhood in Hertfordshirepic.twitter.com/xrWZrOQRu3— Sid \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Sid \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1647766463
Some are born into a privet hedge, some achieve a privet hedge, and some have a privet hedge thrust up them.pic.twitter.com/e8DixhgLVM— Laurence Unboxed (@Laurence Unboxed) 1647806013
I\u2019m the proud owner of a privet hedge. Actually it\u2019s my neighbour\u2019s but I\u2019m so grateful to him as otherwise I couldn\u2019t be part of Oliver Dowden\u2019s wee club. Also I live in Devon so maybe that counts me out. No wait- he meant HEDGE FUND didn\u2019t he. I\u2019m so disappointed. #ToriesOutpic.twitter.com/HG3sM0n2Ac— Christine Hardy\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa (@Christine Hardy\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83d\udc99\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa) 1647866182
Spent lots of the weekend removing a privet hedge in the garden and now constantly terrified Oliver Dowden is coming for me.— David Shervington (@David Shervington) 1647936570
I can assure you every privet hedge I know outsmarts Dowden everytime!— James Johnson (@James Johnson) 1647815489
You heard it here first. Dowden promises to defend privet hedges. \nThank goodness for that. I don't give a toss about fuel poverty or hungry children but it makes my heart soar to see a nice privet hedge...https://twitter.com/g_gosden/status/1505435770106089475\u00a0\u2026— Marchioness Eva Feltham \ud83d\udc99 3.5% REJOINER FBPE FBPA (@Marchioness Eva Feltham \ud83d\udc99 3.5% REJOINER FBPE FBPA) 1647766376
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