Gavin’s Gaily Gigest

Via the BBC, words of wisdom from our dear leader, Mr Nick Clegg:

“When you have a system that is as sclerotic as this - tied up between the two parties - it is quite right for a principled party such as the Liberal Democrats, which believes in political reform from saying, from time to time, ‘hang on, this is an absolute joke’”

(Hat-tip: Iain Dale)

Now, I consider myself an educated guy, albeit not privately educated like Nick Clegg, but I have absolutely no idea what “sclerotic” means. Answers.com defines it as “thickened” or “hardened”. Even swapping either of these two terms into the sentence doesn’t really clarify its meaning. Perhaps he meant “entrenched” or “bipolar”, but even these aren’t entirely satisfactory.

George Orwell, writer of the seminal Nineteen Eighty Four, once laid down six elementary rules (”Politics and the English Language“, 1946):

1. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

2. Never use a long word where a short one will do.

3. If it is possible to cut out a word, always cut it out.

4. Never use the passive where you can use the active.

5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

6. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

Could somebody possibly pass our leader a copy of this essay at Conference this weekend?