2007: a year in words

Politicians always have plenty to say and 2007 at Westminster was no different. BBC political reporter Justin Parkinson looks at some of the words that rose to prominence over the last year.

Autocue - Who said Blair was a better presentation man than Brown? Actually, rather a lot of people following Mr Brown's Labour leadership campaign launch, during which a shiny autocue obscured half his face.

Bounce - Judging from his early coverage as PM, Mr Brown had, like a giant ball of popularity, bounced straight up to the political stratosphere and for exactly 100 days appeared to be ready to defy gravity. But as physicists, or at least gloating know-alls, say, what goes up...

Hugs all round. The Lib Dem contest turned a little nasty.

Calamity - The Lib Dem leadership contest got a little nasty, when it was revealed that a member of Chris Huhne's team had put out a dossier on his rival, entitled "Calamity Clegg". Sadly, it was the only rootin'-tootin' moment in a two-month election noted for its lack of excitement - or headlines.

Discs - They still use CDs to hold our records? Some 25 million people - yes, almost half the country - were less than delighted to hear their personal records had gone missing following the loss of two discs by HM Revenue and Customs.

Deputy leadership contest - Former US President Lyndon B Johnson, having done it himself under JFK, used to say the deputy's job was "not worth a bucket of warm spit". Six Labour MPs disagreed, as they salivated at the prospect of being Gordon Brown's Labour number two. Harriet Harman won - eventually.

Election - Will he? Won't he? Should he? Shouldn't he? The chattering classes were kept going for more than a month over the guessing game surrounding the possibility of a November election. All rumours were put to bed when Mr Brown - sorry, Andrew Marr, who had been invited inside for an exclusive interview - appeared before 10 Downing Street to address the nation.

Feral Beast - Shortly before leaving office, Tony Blair likened the media to a "feral beast, just tearing people and reputations to bits". But the ex-PM showed no signs of retiring quietly from public life afterwards.

(Not) Flash (just Gordon) - In mid-prime ministerial honeymoon, Gordon Brown became so captivated with this Saatchi and Saatchi slogan describing his political style, he gave the firm an advertising contract.

Would Mr Brown's talented government have a gruff image?

Garnett (Alf) - The elderly, irascible cockney bigot made two notable appearances on the Westminster scene, several years after his BBC show In Sickness and In Health left our screens. In March, the then Lib Dem home affairs Nick Clegg spokesman accused Secretary John Reid of "impersonating Alf Garnett" in his attitude to immigration. In December Immigration Minister Liam Byrne authoritatively informed us: "We are not a nation of Alf Garnetts." Thank Gawd fer that.

Goats - Gordon Brown promised to turn his frontbench team into goats (government of all the talents, that is - keep up, keep up). Signings during his high flying early days included a number of Conservatives.

HIPs - No, it wasn't Alf Garnett complaining about pains in his side. Property guru Kirstie Allsopp, star of Channel 4's Location, Location, Location, led a revolt against the introduction of home information packs (HIPs).

Inheritance - After a summer of doubts about David Cameron's future as Brown bounced on, shadow chancellor George Osborne gave the Tories some cheer by suggesting the threshold for paying inheritance tax should be raised to £1m. The polls and the political year changed almost immediately.

Mandate - Gordon Brown insisted that - despite not having been voted in by Labour members, after he was overwhelmingly backed by MPs - that he had a mandate to govern. The Tories, strangely, disagreed.

Moral compass - The prime minister said he was steering the nation in a good-to-very-nice direction, guided by the thoughts of his clergyman father.

Bollywood star Shilpa wowed Westminster with her glamour

Nutter - Tony Blair revealed the reason he had not spoken more openly about his Christian beliefs - for fear of appearing to be a "nutter". Then, just before Christmas, he revealed to huge fanfare that he had become a Catholic.

Ovation - Ten years earlier, John Major slunk quietly out of Downing Street to watch the cricket, having lost a general election. Mr Blair, however, left the Commons chamber for the final time to applause from all sides - except the Scottish National Party.

Photoshop - Culture Secretary James Purnell was left red-faced (at least he could have been with a good bit of editing) when it emerged he had been Photoshop-ped onto some promotional material after arriving late for a camera call at a hospital.

Pissed - Another low in the political lexicon? Last year Tory leader David Cameron asked those in debt to cast aside their "inner tosser". This year, in his conference speech, he quoted a pupil who had told him, on a visit to a school, that he had been "pissed" the night before an exam.

Quentin (Davies) - Hero or villain? The pro-European Tory MP - for Margaret Thatcher's home town of Grantham, no less - switched sides and appeared in several photos with Gordon Brown.

Referendum - "We wanna vote," the Tories cried. "You ain't gettin' one," the government replied. Instead we will only have weeks of parliamentary debate on the EU Reform Treaty to look forward to in 2008.

Is a large tent needed for effective brainstorming?

Rochester (Mrs) - Labour MP Frank Field cast doubt on the then chancellor's suitability for the top job, when he said: "Allowing Gordon Brown into No 10 would be like letting Mrs Rochester out of the attic." For those of a literary bent, Mrs Rochester is the loft-bound madwoman in the Charlotte Bronte novel Jane Eyre who goes on to burn down the house, killing herself and blinding her husband. Ouch, Frank.

Shilpa - Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty proved wrong the George Galloway rule that politics and appearing on Celebrity Big Brother are not the best bedfellows (especially if you dress up like a cat - see last year's words). After winning the series, Ms Shetty swooped victoriously into Parliament with gallant Labour MP Keith Vaz her escort for the day.

Stalin - Former Treasury mandarin Lord Turnbull accused Gordon Brown of operating with "Stalinist ruthlessness". He was not seen again. Oh OK, he probably was. And Stalin also returned later in the year when Vince Cable summed up the PM's difficulties by saying he had gone from "Stalin to Mr Bean" in a matter of weeks.

Step change - It sounds big and forceful, like an army on the march, gathering pace. Politicians use it when they want to sound extra-determined to achieve something. But what were they doing before - merely ambling?

Tent (big) - Along with his government of all the talents, Mr Brown promised to run a "big tent", allowing those with talent and ideas from all parties and backgrounds to help out.

Vince - From unlikely beginnings, acting Lib Dem leader Vince Cable became something of a star turn, making jokes in the Commons and tripping the light fantastic with Strictly Come Dancing winner Aleisha. He even said he'd like to appear in the next series. What next? Broadway? Hollywood? Just don't do a Galloway, Vinny.

Yates - John Yates, the detective heading the cash-for-honours inquiry, had the good fortune to have a surname beginning with the letter Y. He was forever "Yates of the Yard". In the end the CPS decided no-one would face any charges.

Zero tolerance - She sounded almost as tough as Yatesy himself, but what did a promise by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith of "zero tolerance" of anti-social behaviour actually mean? It followed then education secretary Alan Johnson promising "zero tolerance" of knives in schools? Even as political slogans go, it all seems a little like stating the obvious. Let's not tolerate it in '08.

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