This man just ate (some of) his book live on Sky News after making an incorrect #GE2017 prediction @GoodwinMJ pic.twitter.com/13IaFLaJvx
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 10, 2017
The political underdog tale that is Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party’s stunning upset at the UK’s recent snap general election was considered as shocking as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump across the pond. This has led to political pundits eating their words, and now, in political professor Matthew Goodwin’s case, eating his own book.
It all started with this Tweet, which seemed like a good bet at the time. Things were trending heavily in favor of the Conservative party leading up to the vote for a “stronger Brexit government.” Many credit the 11th-hour turnout of young people voting that helped Labour take multiple seats from the Conservatives, who lost their overall majority.
I'm saying this out loud. I do not believe that Labour, under Jeremy Corbyn, will poll 38%. I will happily eat my new Brexit book if they do
— Matt Goodwin (@GoodwinMJ) May 27, 2017
Basically, no one saw this coming. Not even the supremely well-educated, or Prime Minister Theresa May said she’d resign if she even lost six seats. She hasn’t resigned, but at least Goodwin is fulfilling his promise by eating his Brexit book live on Sky TV.
https://twitter.com/mvanhulten/status/873114735608082432
https://twitter.com/rey_z/status/873519426691375104
Of course, even if Goodwin followed through to a degree, Twitter will never be satisfied. The book was chewed, yes, but it wasn’t really eaten, was it? Now, he must make an inky broth and slurp the book until it is gone.
https://twitter.com/TintinnyTins/status/873566375616401409
https://twitter.com/chris_coltrane/status/873567136828063744
These political times sure are weird. At least we have the calming presence of Lord Buckethead.