A Word In Your Ear...

A spat has broken out between Reading Borough Council's ruling Labour party and the Local Government Association (which represents RBC's interests in Whitehall).

It all started when the LGA sent out a list of 200 words which it advised should be avoided in any communications to help ensure efficient access to services. Reading's Labour group saw an opportunity for a cheap headline and responded by accusing the LGA of trying to ban certain words and phrases.

Labour's Jo Lovelock later admitted the tactic as she explained she has some real 'bugbears' herself, "we can all do better," adding, "I don’t think there is any intention to baffle or hide anything. Local government can be complex."

The artificially concocted argument is mocked by our local satirist, although REP hack Paul Cassell could hardly be described as taking the assignment seriously in the first place.

In a completely unrelated story, researchers at Reading University have discovered what they claim to be the oldest words in the English language (and no, they aren't Anglo-Saxon epithets).

Oranjepan asks:
Would Labour start a fight with their own reflection if it satisfied their egocentric need for publicity?

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Cllr Dave Luckett investigates which councillors are guilty of linguistic abuse.