News
oliver dowden

Oliver Dowden talked about 'privet hedges of freedom' and the jokes wrote themselves

Oliver Dowden talked about 'privet hedges of freedom' and the jokes wrote themselves
Boris Johnson called ‘distasteful and shameless’ for Ukraine war and Brexit comparison
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."

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

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."



  • Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
conferenceoliver dowden
The Conversation (0)