The Best Dennis Skinner Quotes

He’s got the best attendance and the lowest expenses in Parliament; he never accepts drinks off journalists and has been thrown out of Parliament on more than 10 occasions. In honour of Dennis skinner we run down some of his best quotes.

1) On The Tory Party

Half the Tory members opposite are crooks.

He was then told to withdraw the remark.

OK, half the Tory members aren’t crooks.

2) To Roy Jenkins, Who Pronounced His Rs as Ws

Roy: I leave this party without rancour Dennis: I thought you were taking Marquand with you

3) On George Osborne

Is my right hon. Friend aware that in the 1970s and a lot of the 1980s, we would have thanked our lucky stars in the coalfield areas for growth of 1.75 per cent.? The only thing growing then were the lines of coke in front of boy George and the rest of them.

4) On Blair (As Told By Blair Doing A Dennis Skinner Impression)





5) To Black Rod

Every year at the state opening of Parliament Black Rod is sent on behalf of the Queen to request that MPs come through to the House of Lords. Dennis Skinner’s remarks have become part of this tradition too.

1987 “Tell her to sell up” – a reference to how the Queen could help the recession.

1988 “Hey up, Here comes Puss In Boots!”

1990 “I bet he drinks Carling Black Label.”

1992 “Tell her to pay her taxes!”

2000 “Tell her to read the Guardian !” – at the time The Guardian was running a republican campaign.

!” – at the time The Guardian was running a republican campaign. 2005 “Has she brought Camilla with her?”

2006 “Have you got Helen Mirren on standby?”

2008 “Any Tory moles at the Palace?”

2009 “Royal Expenses are on the way.” – after the MPs’ expenses scandal

2013 “Royal Mail for sale. Queen’s head privatised.”

6) On Jeremy Hunt When His Special Advisor “Resigned”

When posh boys are in trouble they sack the servants

7) On Cameron

(E)very now and then you see the arrogance of Cameron, and that comes through every so often. It is the Bullingdon Club. When they were sat down, him and Gideon, and he says: ‘You know what we really want, Gideon? Every weekend, after we’ve roughed up one of those hotels, we need an army of volunteers to come in and clean it all up.’ And Gideon says: ‘Yeah, we could call it the Big Society’

He’s also taken to calling him “Dodgy Dave”



8) On The House Of Lords

Tell the House of Lords to go to hell.

9) On Norman Tebbit

He’s lining his pockets

This is an important quote as Skinner said what nobody else would in regard to Tebbit being given a non-exec position at privatised BT.



10) On Calling an MP A Pompous Sod

Speaker: You had better withdraw that Skinner: I withdraw the word pompous Speaker: That’s not the word I’m looking for Skinner: I can’t withdraw both

This got him thrown out of the Parliamentary session.