Her Majesty’s Most Disloyal Opposition
The term Her Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition was first used in 1826 according to Wikipedia. They say this about the terms origins.
The phrase His Majesty’s Opposition was coined in 1826, before the advent of the modern two-party system, when Parliament consisted more of interests, relationships and factions rather than the highly coherent political parties of today (although the Whigs and Tories were the two main parties). The phrase was originally coined in jest; in attacking Foreign Secretary, George Canning, in the House of Commons, John Hobhouse said jokingly, “It is said to be hard on His Majesty’s Ministers to raise objections of this character but it is more hard on His Majesty’s Opposition to compel them to take this course.”
The phrase was widely welcomed and has been in use ever since.
In my over fifty years of watching politics, I can’t remember an opposition, that to which the term Most Loyal Opposition can be least applied.
Led by one of their most-rebellious MPs, if they can’t even be loyal to each other, how can they agree on and stick to policies that might be better for the country or win them an election.
I don’t even think that the current Labour Party has enough combined loyalty to mount a challenge to any of the Government’s policies.
So can it be described as a true opposition or is it just a bunch of mal-contents, who disagree on principle waving banners and shouting tired and outdated slogans?
It is a sad day for the United Kingdom, when the term Most Loyal Opposition applies most to a party, that is only interested in one part of the country.
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