Angry Thanet residents have reacted to a ‘rude’ column by writer Rod Liddle which brands isle folk as ‘ghastly, virus-addled plebs.’
The satirical piece, published in the Sunday Times, bemoans the Tier 3 restrictions coming into force across Kent from December 2 and blames Thanet people for ‘breathing over one another as they swallow jellied eels.’
He goes on to describe isle towns and villages as ‘seaside slum(s).’
The columnist, who has a property in much more upper class Chilham with a super-posh Aga in his kitchen, claims to be a clean, decent Christian (and, obviously, not virus infected) unlike us ‘filth-bedecked urchins’ in Thanet.
The column goes on to question the tier restrictions and the impact on businesses, such as pubs, which will be forced to remain closed. He says the measures of the first lockdown were understandable but describes the latest tiers as ‘botched.’
However, despite the message about the handling of the covid pandemic, it is the slating of Thanet – which is not, apparently, part of ‘proper Kent’ – that has irked many (but not all) people.
In response Mr Liddle has been slapped down in true Thanet style with comments including: “Verbally flatulent article. I would encourage the ghastly, virus-addled plebs of Thanet to camp out on his doorstep and breath over his door handles,” and: “He might “see” us but be unaware of our identities. We walk amongst them in “proper Kent”, all the while they are unaware of our presence as we blend in with the non-plebs. If only they knew! They would be aghast and surely die of repulsion, never mind Covid!”
Another quipped: “He’s just upset that anytime someone suggests going to “Liddles”, it’s not to see him “
It seems Mr Liddle may be receiving a number of private messages to “talk to him about his article.”
Birchington councillor George Kup has also voiced his disgust. He said: “I am absolutely disgusted by what I have read in this article.
“I have lived in Thanet all of my life, and yes Thanet has some problems, but that can be said for anywhere, surely?
“Let us not forget how amazing Thanet is and I actually feel lucky that I live in Thanet. We have the most beautiful and breath taking coastline. Where you can witness the most gorgeous sunrises and sunsets.
“In Thanet we are a community of hard working, and strong willed people, that during hard times, like the one we are currently going through, pull together and make sure we come through any situation stronger.
“I believe the reasons that Thanet has seen such a rise in cases is not the fault of Thanet residents but because we saw thousands of people flock down to enjoy our beaches.
“To get through this hard situation, that is COVID, it is no good calling people names and singling out one particular district. If anything COVID is a time where we come together and support one another to make sure that we can all get through this.”
Mr Liddle, who also writes for The Spectator and The Sun, has often caused controversy. In 2010 he was the first journalist to have a complaint against a blog post he had written to be upheld by the Press Complaints Commission, over a claim that he could not prove about the African-Caribbean community.
A November 2011 article by Liddle in The Spectator about the trial of two men involved in the murder of Stephen Lawrence led to the magazine being prosecuted for breaching reporting restrictions. At a court hearing in June 2012 The Spectator pleaded guilty to contempt of court and accepted a fine of £5,000 plus costs.
Why do people not go to Chilham. ?
Because there is Liddle to see there. 😉
I guess as writers are two a penny the only way to get noticed these days is by writing rubbish pieces for rubbish publications. I noticed he is happy to sit on his friends boat in Ramsgate Harbour in the summer pretending he owns the boat.
Brilliant!!
Boom, boom!! Another Gem!!
The third line of this article describes Liddle’s piece as “satirical”. I haven’t read anything by him recently but he’s not a writer that I’d take seriously. He likes to be outrageous.
In these very hard times, why can people just see the funny side and just move on, and not take everything so seriously. Or does it prove we do not have a sense humour. By the way I went to Chilham last year to meet a friend I had not seen for a few years. I had a lovely chat with his wife and sister. But then she had to go home to make his dinner.
He is on a par with Richard Littlejohn.
Suck it up buttercups.
And get over your outraged selves.
I find most of the people who get annoyed by this kind of article about Thanet never originated there. Possibly worried that their friends still in ‘the smoke’ are going to mock them.
Your comment demonstrates a narrow and bigoted view. I was born in Thanet, moved away and returned. This attitude towards those who have moved to Thanet but haven’t lived here all of their lives is embarrassing and offensive. Perhaps you would have benefited from a wider life experience!
Hardly Christian values to point out the spec of sawdust in another’s eye whilst ignoring the plank in his own!
Is he not just replicating what many in Thanet think of the feckless minority, who have put us in Tier 3?
I was not offended,at all,as I know who he is directing his comments at.
I and others have written detailed complaints to the Sunday Times and I’ve approached the council to represent us in a defamation/libel suit against his classist hate speech. He is not going to get away with it.
Hilarious comment!
Proud of living in thanet for over 40 years. But then i am not a right wing bigot
Rod Liddle is left wing. He is a former member of the Labour Party and a current member of the Social Democrats
You may be right but he is hardly left wing, Blair attracted all sorts of people suffering from verbal diarrhoea, like Liddle! Didn’t he get sacked from Radio 4? One worry is he may be trying to imitate a former journalist, who is a proven liar, and who ended up being Prime Minister!
“Rod Liddle is left wing.”
No, he isn’t. get back on your medication.
Certainly he would fail the ideological purity test set by many on the current “left” but by any standards he is economically left and socially and culturally closer to the right with more leftist positions on animal rights thrown in. But so many of his positions are open to interpretation. There are reasonable debates to be had on whether his opposition to mass immigration or identity politics are really “right wing” for example.
For goodness sake no one tell The Little Lidl about our beautiful sandy beaches, constant sun in summertime, warm breezes which caress the deserving and an award winning Art Gallery overlooking the Gormley sculpture on Margate Seafront.
Perhaps he has walked more than a couple of hundred yards from the art gallery and seen the real thanet !
From what I read Mr Liddle was taking the satirical position of a middle class, liberal, remainery Tunbridge Wells type and their often stated disdain for people from places like Medway and Thanet. Anyone familiar with his work would know this is a device he employs often in his articles and videos.
Iit wasn’t for us plebs the likes of him wouldn’t shine like a low wattage bulb. Satirical or not he’s not funny
Thanet was quite a safe place to be until last Month. It was only when the DFL dregs & slumlifers that caused the virus to explode in this area by reading that fact in the Sunday Times.
Thank you Londoners for making Thanet medically unsafe…. Oh, and loads of the old ‘Smoke folk’ visit Swale & Faversham too. God help Whitstable! (sic)
I have to agree that Thanet is a seaside slum, what with 5% of the public toilets being closed and those god awful camper vans parking overnight in Westgate. I blame TDC for not proofreading this article before it went to print.
Well there is a lot of unwashed people in thanet . Its comes to something when a blonde bimboo has to tell people to wash there hands. Not just in thanet but all over the country.
Don’t forget the lack of a village stores in Manston.
Sadly he has not looked at the incidence of covid across Kent. Medway and Swale has the highest incidence and the disease has spread along the North Kent Coast towards Thanet and also gone West to Maidstone. It is very sad that Mr Liddell has not bothered to confirm his facts and has used the opportunity for gratiotous comments to try and make a story about Thanet. How sad a person he must be. How lacking in knowledge he is and how shallow he is in making sweeping comments about 140K people,
Sadly, the reason why Thanet has been affected is because up to 80% of prisoners released in Kent are relocated in Thanet by the authorities and prison has been a real hotspot. Add to that the fact that Thanet is a retirement area so has a much increased elderly vulnerable population, so it is a double whammy. Of course we do have the clean fresh sea air and fabulous beaches and scenery so our poor woke critics forget it is still one of the best places in the UK to live.
Colin, you state 80 percent of released prisoners are in thanet !! Where is that information available,as that literally means thousands of ex prisoners live in thanet. Please tell me where have those stats come from?
Satire. We need a laugh. Liddle is an excellent journalist whatever he says. If he aimed his remarks at the Isle of Sheppey, the Thanetians would be chuckling.
Who’s Rod Liddle?
If this fool, said this about ethnic minorities some people on here would not be so happy as to say it was only a laugh. Yet, we have accept this tripe as “humorous” and as one guy says “suck it up buttercups” As my dear Mum used to say ” Even fools look wise when silent” How right she was.
The original article might have been satirical but he seems to have pressed a few septic sores about Thanet. Yes we have good beaches and mediocre parks and great sunsets at times but living them aside there is many places here I would not venture into in daylight. We have terrible child poverty, bad unemployment, useless councils down the years, useless county council run by rich toffs. I am not a leftie but nor am I a righty either. I just want decent and honest leadership. I feel I am in the wrong country for that now. Thanet is a pig sty of litter and filth and we seem happy with that fact. Maybe DFLs did bring the virus here big time but I doubt that. seeing how locals behave in supermarkets leaves me cold with fear. Good luck.
It isn’t satire, you sad dweebs, it’s right-wing fury, coupled with good old fashioned snobbery. This is the REAL class war; parasites like Liddle and the Sunday Times editor, who have no understanding of the real world.
Its satire and it’s real target is the middle class sensibilities of residents living in the leafier parts of Kent and their well known condesciention of people from “those” parts of the county. You know the type. People who refer to those who dared to vote for Brexit as “gammon” or refer to anyone who spent too long outside as”covidiots”.
I don’t think Liddle is capable of “right-wing fury”. I don’t find him amusing but in his fairly long career he has consistently set out to shock and disgust various sections of society. Ignore him, he is really just a well-paid troll.
Was this supposed to be satire ? If so a very poor attempt and extremely bad taste . Does he know that although the numbers are high , we also know that uni students registered here but testing positive up North , will be counted as being positive in Thanet . Why doesn’t he and the government get the facts right . Perhaps if the govt coughed up the money promised for regeneration of seaside towns , we may tidy out town centres up more . Maybe if the council utilised street cleaning around the town centre also , this would be good . Maybe if the council hadn’t pushed all the shops out of business in the towns by allowing Westwood Cross to be built , then our towns wouldn’t be empty . Maybe if KCC hadn’t slapped new parking meters from the east to west cliff in Ramsgate , the small coastal businesses would get more trade ! How about you report on that Liddell man !
A marvellous intervention from councillor Kup someone I am not familiar with but he is standing up for the underdog. Woof woof!
Imagine the outrage journalist Rod Liddle has the audacity to describe the cream of Margate society, yes those brave souls who risk life and limb to create a heard immunity by failing to wear masks, incapable of measuring 2 inchs let alone 2 metres in supermarket queues .
God bless councillor Kup for recognising Thanet’s finest, heroes! Just like our leaders the PM who can’t comb his hair, the foreign secretary who resembles a rabbit caught in the lights of a juggernaut, the health secretary who exudes smugness whilst practicing incompetence, and that Gove chap
I think I’ll still be turning to Rod Liddle next Sunday.
If you could even spell the word herd correctly it would be a start . So if you’re one of the Liddle people you may want to buy a dictionary , or he may call you a pleb .
Rod Liddle is a modern nazi. Best ignored. He thinks he’s clever. Which is a bit sad. Unless you think clever = spiteful. Not worth a lot of worry, methinks. Enjoy our coastline, folks. He doesn’t know what he’s missing.