Yvette Cooper, Shadow Home Secretary, has urged that Andrew Mitchell, the chief whip, should be sacked from his post as he had lost the confidence of the UK Coalition government following his outburst at police officers outside Number 10 in September.

The ugly outburst, during which Andrew Mitchell reportedly utilised a profanity, calling police officers “f****** plebs’, created an uproar in the UK, calling into question the mentality of Conservative parliamentarians like Mitchell. The word ‘plebs’ has a derogatory connotation, meaning a lowbrow or dimwit person characterised by unintelligence.

Yvette Cooper demanded that PM David Cameron remove Andrew Mitchell from his post.

As per an online opinion poll conducted by YouGov, half the public deems that the pleb row displays that the Conservative MPs feel that they are ‘better’ than the ordinary Britons. 52% of the 1710 online respondents stated that Mitchell must resign.

Gradually, Tory activists and even some Conservative MPs are beginning to actively show opprobrium for Andrew Mitchell as they believe that he has contaminated the Conservative Party’s image.

The Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, despite being skipped by Andrew Mitchell, involved intense speculation over his political future, which, before this controversy, seemed rather bright. The ministers at the conference were repeatedly asked about the pleb row.

Yvette Cooper has declared that David Cameron and the chief whip have let the pleb row drag inordinately, without providing an unambiguous response as regards what was said by Mitchell to the police officers and whether the police officers concerned were responsible for any provocation.

Cameron has stated that this unsightly matter should be ended as Mitchell had apologised for his outburst.

Mitchell will organise a private meeting later with members of his local West Midlands Police Federation (WMPF). Mitchell has denied using the expletives attributed to him. Thus, Chris Jones, secretary of WMPF, has remarked that Mitchell was effectively accusing the police of being untruthful about his outburst. The police log of that outburst mentions Mitchell using the expletives and offending words.

Jones has expressed displeasure over Cameron’s refusal to penalise the chief whip.

Related:
Andrew Mitchell pleb row threatens to mar Conservative conference in October
Andrew Mitchell’s apology over police row doesn’t end ‘plebs’ controversy
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