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David Cameron, Ed Miliband or Natalie Bennett: Who made the worst political gaffe in 2015?

From Paddy's hat to the 'Ed stone'. 2015 had more than its fair share of political gaffes.

Ryan Ramgobin
Thursday 31 December 2015 07:05 EST
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Political gaffes of the year

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2015 was a good year for the political gaffe.

As candidates pulled out all the stops to get their message across to voters, some got the tone so wrong, you would be hard pressed to imagine even the creators of satirical comedy The Thick Of It could have written it.

In the marginal seat of Hastings, Ed Miliband stood proudly next to a two-tonne stone engraved with six of Labour’s election pledges. It became known as the 'Ed stone' and foreshadowed Labour’s crushing defeat.

The "stone" attracted bids of more than £1,000 on eBay
The "stone" attracted bids of more than £1,000 on eBay

There was an own goal from the Prime Minister. At a press conference stressing his support for diversity in Britain, David Cameron managed to confuse which football team he supported until one reporter forced him into an embarrassing U-turn.

Although West Ham and Aston Villa both play in claret and blue, The Prime Minister assured the audience it was in fact the Birmingham club he followed.

Mr Cameron said he had "what Natalie would describe as brain fade", making reference to Natalie Bennett's car-crash interview on LBC. She appeared to not know the Green Party’s policy on housing; and despite having a cold, host Nick Ferrari did not hold back.

Election night shocked the political class. The (accurate) exit polls were questioned so vehemently by Paddy Ashdown that the former Liberal Democrat leader said he would “eat his hat” if they were true.

Did Paddy Ashdown ever eat his hat?
Did Paddy Ashdown ever eat his hat? (BBC)

A list of political gaffes would not be complete without the enigmatic Boris Johnson. What a year for BoJo - he secured a seat in Parliament after being elected MP for Uxbridge; and also managed to tackle a Japanese schoolboy in a rugby match.

His inimitable style is best exemplified by his exchange with a London taxi driver.

The driver made a less-than-flattering hand gesture while shouting "You're one of them, mate"; to which the London mayor replied, "Why don't you f**k off and die, and not in that order."

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