to thank Emily Thornberry profusely

[longfingernails]

She has just shown how much Labour detest the aspirational working class, the swingiest of swing voters. Labour will be hit with this again and again and again; ever denial and denunciation will just bring Labour's true views to a wider audience. Fundamentally, it will only reinforce the undeniable fact that Miliband's centre of gravity is firmly ensconced in Islington.

She has made a Tory/UKIP coalition, perhaps the best possible electoral outcome, much more likely. Thank you Emily!

I am astounded that she didn't have the sense to think it might be considered provocative. Anyone without that inner voice of reason, should not be in a position of power

Probably the best point of the whole discussion

There was an England- Scotland match this week- it's not inconceivable that it's a soccer fans home.

What are you trying to say?

That the owner of the house was flying the flags in support of UKIP? (Despite the fact that he says he doesn't vote and that they were footie flags - as at least one visibly is.)

If that were true, then where do the accusations of sneering come from? Where does the actual sneering on this thread come from?

It would have been a valid comment on the campaign just as picturing a house dramatically plastered in Tory posters would have been: "Ooh-er, support for the other guys seems a bit stiff."

Instead we get: "It's sneering. It shows what UKIP supporters are like"? Eh? What does it show they're like? Living in smart new-builds, on clean streets, with work van on the drive. God, how awful!

Well the fact that she resigned and ed milliband supported that, suggests that it was sneering.

You know, if ET has done something else that shows she's a raging snob, then I'll judge away like the best of them.

But for this particularly incident, I'm clearly not hearing the dog whistle other posters are so keenly responding to...

What is faintly amusing if it wasn't so serious is that the lot of them are trying to pretend they really do understand the working class. They don't. And last night was just another example of a champagne socialist. With her posh voice and house in Islington and child at selective school and pretend working class roots she's a bit of a stereotype herself. (Mea culpa for pointing it out.)

The problem is PausingFlatly that ET didn't say why she tweeted that picture, there was no explanation with it, nor any after another person asked what point she was making, there was just a vacuum around it and without any clarification or correction of the interpretation others took from it from ET the conclusion has been drawn that she was sneering or inviting others to do so.

Yes, I can see she's made an absolute cock of dealing with it. Which is a crime in itself for a politician, who is expected to, er, be good at politics.

Sarah Ditum, who is brilliant, has written this very measured thing on this: www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/11/tweeting-picture-house-not-act-class-warfare-whatever-sun-says

I also think, PausingFlatly that it is incredibly rude and arrogant for an MP to photograph a random member of the public's house and vehicle (including his clearly visible index no) and then post it on social media without the knowledge or permission of the owner of said house and vehicle. He is now in the media spotlight, something he didn't ask for or probably want. What right did ET think she had to infringe on this man's privacy like this?

Well the fact that she resigned and ed milliband supported that, suggests that it was sneering.

That's nonsense. Tweet causes media storm, incredibly jumpy opposition leader who is clearly terrified of saying anything in case it's wrong gets mad and puts pressure on her to resign. In that situation she'd resign anyway because her life would be hell otherwise and she's falling on her sword to make the party look good.

She apologised to anyone it insulted, but made clear it was not meant that way. You can argue that of course she'd say that, but since she didn't say anything snobby, and didn't agree that she had, we don't actually have any proof she did mean it that way.

What right did ET think she had to infringe on this man's privacy like this

Oh please spare me. He's now lapping up his new found celebrity - he has received his own new branding courtesy of the red tops - White Van Dan. He is giving interviews all over the fucking shop.
It wasn't ET who exploited him, it is our beloved media.

Why don't people get annoyed about the stuff that actually matters (corrupt bankers, public service cuts, paedophilia cover ups etc) instead of being led by the snout by a Tory-complicit media to get all frothy about a non story?

ArcheryAnnie - love Sarah Ditum. Love her.

No but clearly no one had the stamina or the courage or the belief that it would look credible to say, oy it was just an observation, et was just admiring the well kept house of the working family.

I bet you he will pop up on either Loose Women or This Morning in the next 48 hours.

Sorry Voyage I disagree, if ET had a convincing explanation for the tweet, surely Milliband would have backed her?

Also her apology was pretty lame, very lawyerly in tone, it didn't give the impression she was at all sorry and she didn't make it at all clear that the tweet wasn't meant in the way it was taken.

I think they should have brazened it out.

Yes the media are exploiting him, bodh and would he have ended up in their clutches if ET hadn't been so rude and arrogant as to tweet a picture of his home?

Have a look at this video.

This is White Van Dan co-opted by The Sun (for a hefty sum I suspect), draped in a fucking flag of St George and clutching tomorrow's front page of The Sun paying ET a visit at her home in Islington.

WAKE UP PEOPLE - you are being had.

So are you saying it's a Rupert Murdock plot to smear labour?

Oh dear. They are doing a brilliant job a by themselves of ensuring the Tories and UKIP are a coalition government in may.

At least Tony and Alistsire had a modicum of understanding that you don't patronise and piss take the electorate.

I honestly think labour don't want to win.

Could any politician as senior as emily really be that stupid and out of touch?

As a labour supporter I despair and they won't have my vote in may until they actually grow up and look credible.

emotionsecho, it's not like it's a secret that his house is decorated in flags, the whole point of doing that is to make a statement (although we don't know what that statement was either!)

Is it also a hideous invasion of privacy if we tweet a pic of the first house in our neighbourhood to be covered in all-singing, all-dancing Xmas lights?

I'd rather be an 'Unusual House' photo than eg the 'Close-Up Of Huge Arse' all media use to illustrate their obesity stories (this is a recurring fear of mine

draped in a fucking flag of St George

Are you a labour politician because statements that are what's allowing UKIP into our politics.

Again despair.

I don't get why this non-story is so hyped up either, especially with the blatantly unpleasant tweet posted by the Tory candidate being ignored by the media.

We're being manipulated to vote Tory in the next election, aren't we? Surely no one would vote for them if they were in their right minds? I'm thinking of DC's appalling leadership, alienation of world and EU leaders, ridiculous appointments of incompetent (at best) and corrupt (at worst) ministers, inability to control the deficit and debt etc. Not to mention that he's still whinging about the mess left by the previous government almost 5 years ago, when any mess there is can obviously only be his government's fault. The Tories have done nothing useful (okay, same-sex marriage is good) during their whole term.

We are being had - this is the pre-election mantra we're being fed, "labour are liberal leftie elites, out of touch with the working class".

Righty-o, I'll just vote for the millionaire and his posh boy chums or the other millionaire with his pint and his fag, they know right where I'm at.

Fucking hell.

statements that are what's allowing UKIP into our politics

Bollocks.

A flag which has been used as a weapon and a rallying cry by the extreme right wing for decades provokes strong emotions.

UKIP are exploiting deep-rooted xenophobia in this island. That is why they are flourishing.

It is Rupert Murdoch not Murdock.
The ignorance of people about the role of the predominantly right wing media in our so called democracy staggers me.

As you say - again despair.

Diane Abbot was on telly the other day saying that ordinary people "would change their minds about immigration if they were educated properly about it". I think that Labour have little idea about ordinary people or about how issues such as immigration are important and why.