Air Quote by Jeremy Corbyn
“It is a ludicrous statistic plucked out of the air and used to justify a quite appalling attack on many of the poorest people in this country.”
About This Quote
Source Speech: House of Commons debate, 2015
A misleading statistic is used to rationalize harsh policies against the poorest.
In simple terms: Bad data justifies bad policies.
Question statistics before policy decisions.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- policy debates
- media analysis
- advocacy
- social work
- government planning
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we verify data used in policy?
- What safeguards prevent misuse of statistics?
Statistics can be misused to mask underlying biases.