Matthew Parris
journalist (born 1949)
Matthew Francis Parris (born 7 August 1949) is a British political writer and broadcaster, formerly a Conservative Member of Parliament from 1979 to 1986. He was born in South Africa to British parents.
Quotes
edit- [On Boris Johnson] Look, this is a joke but this is not a joke. Somebody has to call a halt to the gathering pretence that if only you're sufficiently comical in politics you can laugh everything off. Somebody has to remind us that it's not enough for those who seek to govern us simply to be: they have to do. Incompetence is not funny. Policy vacuum is not funny. Administrative sloth is not funny. Breaking promises is not funny. A careless disregard for the truth is not funny. Advising old mates planning to beat somebody up is not funny. Abortions and gagging orders are not funny. Creeping ambition in a jester's cap is not funny. Vacuity posing as merriment, cynicism posing as savviness, a wink and smile covering for betrayal ... these things are not funny.
- "Tories have got to end their affair with Boris", The Times (26 March 2016)
- Ellipsis in the original article. The mention of "gagging orders" (original application for a privacy injunction not pursued by Johnson} refers to the Appeal Court ruling in May 2013 that the existence of a daughter (who resulted from a short extra-marital affair) could be publicly disclosed. Almost a decade earlier, another former mistress had an abortion.
- If assisted dying becomes common and widely accepted, hundreds of thousands — perhaps millions — will consider choosing this road when the time comes; and in some cases, even ask themselves whether it would be selfish not to.
In short, a taboo will be lifted — and taboo is potent. What today is criminal could tomorrow become (as its proponents tend to insist) a sad but permitted option in a relatively small number of special and agonising circumstances; but within a decade or more be seen as a normal road for many to take, and considered socially responsible — and even, finally, urged upon people.- "We can't afford a taboo on assisted dying", The Times (29 March 2024)
- [Jeremy] Corbyn's genius was to maximise electoral yield from a substantial but minority section of the population. His downfall was that he couldn't do it – it cannot be done – without by the same token repelling millions among the rest.
- When the Tories crash next month it will not be because they failed to win over Reform supporters, but – at least in part – because they tried to.
- "Would you want Nigel Farage to marry your daughter?", The Spectator (22 June 2024)
- At the time of this article, opinion polls were suggesting Nigel Farage (and other Reform candidates) would be elected at the 2024 United Kingdom general election on 4 July.
