Writers often have bad things to say about politicians ("they tell lies, even when they don't have to," said Gore Vidal) and have mocked them mercilessly. Poet ee cummings, himself the son of a professor of sociology and political science, once wrote a poem about politicians that included the lines:

"A politician is an arse upon/

which everyone has sat except a man"

But it's as nothing compared to the insults politicians have hurled at each other. Here, we look at some bof the most memorable British political insults, including lines about Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron. Not forgetting Jeremy Corbyn, who has regularly been hit with insults from the Tories –and from his own party.

Gallery compiled by Martin Chilton