The Author Of Trainspotting Has Accused George Osborne Of Ripping Off His 'Choose' Speech

Tomas Hirst,Tomas HirstSep 30, 2014, 21:14 IST

Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting - a book focused on a group of heroin-addicted friends in Scotland, has accused British Chancellor George Osborne of lifting quotes from it at his speech to the Conservative Party conference.

After the speech, Welsh tweeted that he "would rather have Fred and Rose West quote my characters on child care than that c*** Osbourne quote them on choice."

(Fred and Rose West were serial killers who killed at least 10 British girls between 1967 and 1987.)

Welsh may have a case. Here's the quote from Osborne's speech:

Choose jobs. Choose enterprise. Choose security. Choose prosperity, investment, fairness, freedom. Choose David Cameron, choose the Conservatives, choose the future!

Channel Four FilmsEwan MacGregor in the movie version of Trainspotting.

And here's the passage from Welsh's 1993 bestseller:

Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a f****** big television. Choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. .. Choose fixed-interest mortgage payments. Choose a starter home ... Choose rotting away at the end of it all, p****** your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment to the selfish, f***** up brats you've spawned to replace yourself. Choose your future. Choose life...

It didn't take long for people to latch onto the theme with Osborne being lampooned by the papers and the broadcast media. Below is BBC Newsnight's video tribute to Osborne's Trainspotting moment:

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The Author Of Trainspotting Has Accused George Osborne Of Ripping Off His 'Choose' Speech