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20 June 2014 · Conservative · MP for Lichfield

What was posted

Michael Fabricant tweeted that he might punch journalist Yasmin Alibhai-Brown if they appeared together on a programme.

Michael Fabricant biography

Why it mattered

He withdrew the comment and apologised after criticism. The coverage concerned a threat directed at a named journalist, so the archive links to the reporting for the full wording.

Sources

• Tory MP Michael Fabricant apologises for tweet saying he might punch female journalist
• Tory MP apologises for throat-punch tweet ‘threat’ – ITV News

Related tweets

• Helen Goodman and the tweet about new Conservative ministers
• Zarah Sultana and the post about racist hate mail

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24 January 2020 · Labour · MP for Coventry South (newly elected)

What was posted

Zarah Sultana criticised the Conservatives’ record on public services and challenged the way the press used the phrase “class war”.

Original post on X · Zarah Sultana on X

Why it mattered

The post appeared early in her first term as the Labour MP for Coventry South. The Canary’s coverage gives the text of the tweet and the immediate political context.

Sources

• In one tweet, a new kick-ass MP rinses Boris Johnson and the media – Canary

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2 January 2020 · Conservative · Prime Minister

Video excerpt

This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain.

At the start of January 2020, Boris Johnson used a video to predict a good year for Britain.

Original post on X · Boris Johnson on X

Why it mattered

The post predated the pandemic and followed the Conservatives’ December election victory. It was rediscovered at the end of 2020 as a record of how the government had framed the coming year.

Sources

• A year in Tory: What became of a "fantastic 2020 for Britain"?
• Boris Johnson’s most memorable quotes from the 12 months since his election landslide

Related tweets

• Boris Johnson and the positive coronavirus test announcement
• Boris Johnson and the NHS thank-you video after leaving hospital

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May 2014 · Labour · MP for Great Grimsby

What was posted

Austin Mitchell used a sexual-violence comparison when tweeting about Pfizer’s proposed takeover of AstraZeneca.

Original post on X · Austin Mitchell on X

Why it mattered

The comparison drew criticism from ministers and diverted attention from the merits of the takeover. Mitchell refused to apologise, according to contemporaneous reporting.

Sources

• Labour MP refuses to apologise for calling Pfizer ‘rapists’

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19 March 2014 · Conservative · Conservative Party chairman

What was posted

Grant Shapps shared a Conservative graphic promoting the cuts to beer duty and bingo tax in George Osborne’s 2014 Budget.

Original post on X · Grant Shapps on X

Why it mattered

Critics called the graphic patronising for the way it described working people’s leisure. Nick Clegg, then Cameron’s coalition deputy, publicly dismissed it as silly.

Sources

• Scorn for ‘patronising’ beer and bingo tweet from Tory chair Grant Shapps
• Shapps Ridiculed For ‘Patronising’ Bingo Tweet

Related tweets

• Emily Thornberry and image from Rochester
• Ed Miliband and the “Pure and Simple” mansion tax tweet

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27 March 2019 · Labour · MP for Doncaster North

What was posted

Ed Miliband posted a photograph from Commons catering with a joke about the catering team’s sense of humour.

Original post on X · Ed Miliband on X

Why it mattered

The catering detail made an ordinary Westminster scene part of the online commentary around the Brexit votes. PoliticsHome included the post in its 2019 retrospective.

Sources

• Politics Home

Related tweets

• Ed Miliband and the bacon sandwich comeback
• Ed Miliband and the Basil Brush photo in Doncaster

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Around February 2018 · Conservative · MP for Mansfield

What was posted

Ben Bradley deleted a tweet making a false allegation about Jeremy Corbyn and subsequently issued an unreserved public apology.

Original post URL (reported deleted) · Ben Bradley on X

Why it mattered

The apology and settlement followed a legal complaint by Corbyn. The episode is a documented example of an MP facing legal consequences over a tweet, and the archive links to reporting of the correction.

Sources

• Ben Bradley apologises unreservedly for Corbyn spy claims
• Tory deletes ‘spy’ tweet about Jeremy Corbyn after legal threat

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5 March 2014 · Conservative · Prime Minister

What was posted

David Cameron shared a photo of himself on the phone to US president Barack Obama during talks about Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

David Cameron biography

Why it mattered

Patrick Stewart and other Twitter users posted their own versions of the photograph. The parodies became part of the story of a picture intended to convey a serious diplomatic call.

Sources

• David Cameron mocked for tweeting Obama phone-call selfie

Related tweets

• Grant Shapps and the beer and bingo Budget tweet
• Sayeeda Warsi and the Gaza resignation announcement

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25 February 2019 · The Independent Group · MP for Streatham

What was posted

Chuka Umunna posted a photo of members of the newly formed Independent Group having dinner at Nando’s before Commons votes.

Original post on X · Chuka Umunna on X

Why it mattered

The group was then a breakaway of MPs who had left Labour and the Conservatives. The dinner photo was an informal early public image of the group and drew jokes about its Tiggers nickname.

Sources

• Politics Home

Related tweets

• Priti Patel and “Get Breakfast Done”
• Jeremy Corbyn and the polling station NHS meme

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31 October 2019 · Independent · MP (whip withdrawn Sep 2019)

What was posted

Rory Stewart shared a Halloween photograph of a pumpkin carved in his likeness and joked about finding it on a London doorstep.

Original post on X · Rory Stewart on X

Why it mattered

By then Stewart was no longer sitting as a Conservative MP. The joke carried the self-deprecating style of his leadership campaign into the period when he was running for London mayor.

Sources

• Politics Home

Related tweets

• Rory Stewart and the Kew Gardens invitation
• Jo Swinson and the #HoldingTheCamera Question Time tweet

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