Cabinet minister: Brits are 'bloody miserable'
Friday, 20 June 2008 12:00 AM
The junior transport minister has caused a minor political storm by calling his countrymen "bloody miserable".
Writing on his blog, Tom Harris, MP for Glasgow South, said Britain had never had it so good, but that it had not made most Britons any less grumpy.
"There are more two-car homes in Britain today than there are homes without a car at all," he said.
"We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have fast access to the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down.
"So why is everyone so bloody miserable?
"What happened to that post-war optimism and commitment to common values?" he continues.
"Are they gone forever and if so, why? If not, how can we bring them back?"
The blog provoked an instant response from the Tories, with shadow treasury chief secretary Philip Hammond saying: "The short answer to Mr Harris's question asking why everyone is so miserable is, 'We've got Gordon Brown as our prime minister'."
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