Egg throwing: A cracking sort of political protest

Politicians with egg on their faces? Surely not. Oh, wait, we’re talking about real eggs, not metaphorical ones, after Ed Miliband was subjected to heavy shelling on a visit to a London market today.

Without wishing to denigrate the poor soul, he’s probably quite pleased someone actually recognised him. In Westminster, you’re no one unless someone has taken aim with an ovum. Maggie Thatcher, Tony Blair and David Cameron have all fallen fowl of a few free-range, while John Prescott’s egg-wielding assailant was lucky to get away with his Big Endian between his legs after Two Jags aimed two jabs at the Humpty-hurler.

There’s something wonderfully old fashioned about pelting someone with eggs (it screams of angry villagers huddled round the local stocks) and, I must confess, it looks like an extremely satisfying way to make a protest. Explosive but non-lethal, messy and inherently amusing.

Just look at Nick Griffin and George Galloway. That’s my kind of political crackdown...