The Conversation (0)
Politics
Ellie Abraham
Apr 20, 2022
Theresa May clashes with Priti Patel over Rwanda asylum seeker policy
House of Commons
Yesterday, home secretary Priti Patel gave her address to the house of commons about her controversial Rwanda scheme that will see asylum seekers “offshored” to the East African country.
The deal has been criticised by opposition parties, members of the Conservative party and other public figures within the UK.
Alongside the frustration about the deal, which some argue may increase the risk of the trafficking of women and children, it was Patel’s repetitive language in her speech that also got on some people’s nerves.
Paul Waugh, the Chief Political Commentator for the i newspaper highlighted the annoying phrase in a tweet, writing: “Once you've heard Priti Patel say the word 'absolutely', you never stop hearing it - possibly because she uses it in almost every sentence.
“In her November statement on Channel crossings, she said it 22 times. Today may break that record.”
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
A transcript of the address was posted on the UK Parliament website and shows Patel said the word “absolutely” multiple times, as well as a number of other phrases she uses all too frequently.
Rather spookily, the Home Secretary equalled her previous 'absolutely' record but didn't exceed it. She said it 22 times again yesterday.https://twitter.com/paulwaugh/status/1516435740866932738\u00a0\u2026— Paul Waugh (@Paul Waugh) 1650436745
Waugh followed up his previous tweet, stating that the home secretary had matched her previous record and once again said “absolutely” 22 times.
In the comments, other people chimed in with phrases they’ve noticed Patel consistently reel off.
One person simply replied: “‘If I may’.”
\u201cIf I may\u201d— Anna Soubry (@Anna Soubry) 1650437049
Someone else suggested: “‘Quite frankly’....”
'Quite frankly'....— Note Taker\ud83c\udf39 (@Note Taker\ud83c\udf39) 1650438087
Another wrote: “Should we chip in and buy her a thesaurus?”
Should we chip in and buy her a thesaurus?— \u1d0d\u0280 \u1d0b\u1d07\u0280\u0280\u028f \u1d04 \ud83d\udc42\ud83c\udffc#antiracist (@\u1d0d\u0280 \u1d0b\u1d07\u0280\u0280\u028f \u1d04 \ud83d\udc42\ud83c\udffc#antiracist) 1650436865
Another Twitter user argued: “Not just that, every answer is the same - which is not an answer.
“The bar is so low ….”
Not just that, every answer is the same - which is not an answer. \n\nThe bar is so low \u2026.— Pablo le Moko (@Pablo le Moko) 1650381892
Patel’s Rwanda deal has been accused of being a deliberate distraction to detract from the fact that Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke his own government’s Covid laws and breached lockdown rules.
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.