In thinking about the worst political speeches delivered in Britain, I reached for lectures that weren’t just technically poor but epoch defining in their badness. Each one had to have said something larger about the inherent problems of the political class in our beleaguered age.

With that in mind, in descending order, here are five that fell flat:

Jeremy Corbyn’s 2015 Labour conference speech

In his first conference speech as party leader, the reasons for Corbyn’s eventual defeat are all here, on full display.