Brown “bigoted” gaffe could sink Labour

“Poll latest: Labour loses one voter,” leads The Independent. On April 28, Mrs Gillian Duffy, a 68 year old lifelong Labour supporter was on her way to buy a loaf of bread when she ran into British PM Gordon Brown on the campaign trail ahead of the 6 May poll. Their encounter led to a blunder that “has already become one of the defining moments of the 2010 general election campaign,” the London daily writes. Mrs Duffy, declaring she was "absolutely ashamed of saying I'm Labour", complained about the national debt, taxes paid by pensioners and "all these eastern Europeans" emigrating to Britain. Seconds after their conversation ended, Mr Brown, who had forgotten to remove the microphone attached to his lapel, snapped at his advisors -"That was a disaster...should never have put me with that woman... ridiculous...bigoted woman." His remarks caused outrage as they went viral across national and international news websites and social media. The Independent leader concedes that the blunder could cause “electoral damage” reinforcing “a widespread view of politicians as contemptuous of those whose votes they must periodically solicit.”