Tory scum explained

Tory scum is a phrase used to describe members of the United Kingdom's Conservative Party ("Tory" is a colloquial name for the Conservatives) by its opponents. Journalist Michael White called the phrase a regularly used "ancient British roar";^[1] David Graeber, a "familiar slogan";^[2] and Fintan O'Toole joked that in some parts of England the phrase was thought to be the actual name of the Conservatives' party.^[3]

In November 2023 the High Court in England ruled that it was "reasonable" for two protesters to have called Iain Duncan Smith “Tory scum” at the 2021 Tory Party Conference. The protestors had been acquitted the year before of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent, and the High Court found that "the use of Tory scum was to highlight the policies" of Mr Duncan Smith, contributing to the "reasonableness of the conduct".^[4]

Use in the United States

Since at least the time of the American War of Independence from Britain, Americans referred to those loyal to the British crown – known as Loyalists or Tories^{[5] [6]} — as "Tory scum".^{[7] [8] [9]} After the revolutionary war, the phrase could also be directed at Americans considered disloyal to the United States.^[10]

See also

• Fuck the Tories

Notes and References

1. News: White . Michael . 10 November 2010 . At the student protests, the ancient cry of 'Tory scum' once again echoed out . The Guardian . 24 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231124132021/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/nov/10/student-protests-tory-demonstrations . 24 November 2023.
2. Graeber . David . Despair Fatigue: How hopelessness grew boring . The Baffler . 2016 . 30 . 35 . 43959195 . 1059-9789.
3. Book: O'Toole . Fintan . Three Years in Hell: The Brexit Chronicles . 5 March 2020 . Bloomsbury Publishing . 978-1-83893-522-1 . en . Introduction: Before the Golden Age.
4. News: Boffey . Daniel . 21 November 2023 . Reasonable for protesters to call Iain Duncan Smith ‘Tory scum’, court rules . 6 February 2024 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
5. Book: Chopra . Ruma . Choosing Sides: Loyalists in Revolutionary America . 7 June 2013 . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers . 978-1-4422-0573-4 . 30 . en.
6. Book: Hoock . Holger . Scars of Independence: America's Violent Birth . 9 May 2017 . Crown . 978-0-8041-3729-4 . 29 . en.
7. Book: Purcell . L. Edward . Burg . David F. . The World Almanac of the American Revolution . 1992 . World Almanac . 978-0-88687-574-9 . 71 . en.
8. Book: Boyd . Paul D. . Atlantic Highlands: From Lenape Camps to Bayside Town . 2004 . Arcadia Publishing . 978-0-7385-2463-4 . 93 . en.
9. Book: Hornor . William S. . This Old Monmouth of Ours . June 2009 . Genealogical Publishing Com . 978-0-8063-4860-5 . 31 . en.
10. Sawyer . Jeffrey K. . Distrust of the Legal Establishment in Perspective: Maryland During the Early National Years . Georgia Journal of Southern Legal History . 1993 . 2 . 26 . 10.2139/ssrn.2443927 . 11603/7312 . free .