An article by Bill Jamieson in The Scotsman has prompted a Plain English Campaign war on “newspeak” buzzwords.

He highlighted how political ‘buzzwords’ and phrases like ‘policy-based evidence’, ‘consensus’, ‘partnership working’ and ‘connectivity’ had invaded Scottish life. He received a ‘deluge’ of responses, all featuring specific examples.

Plain English Campaign spokesperson Steve Jenner said today: “It is frequently suggested to us in interviews that it is acceptable for people to use buzzwords and phrases in the workplace. We don’t think it is.

“If a council, health authority or other large organisation holds a training event, the ‘delegates’ are more likely to spend their time playing ‘buzzword bingo’.

“This is amusing until you remember these events are funded by public money.”

“It also breeds terrible cynicism about the political process.

“Bill Jamieson credits a contributor for pointing out that ‘public consultation’ and ‘have your say’ usually mean the exact opposite. We have looked at a number of ‘public consultations’ this year which suggest exactly that. We applaud Bill’s ‘overarching purpose’ in writing this article.”

The campaign is also calling on all public agencies, political organisations and private companies throughout Scotland to run plain English training sessions.

It suggests each organisation identifies a top ten list of buzzwords or phrases it uses and then comes up with a plain English alternative list.