Thursday 30 September 2010

Question time


BBC's flagship political program comes from the Labour conference city of Manchester. {bit of a clue to the type of audience there}

David Dimbleby is joined by Baroness Warsi, {chairperson of the Tory party and Kirstie Allsopp double}Simon Hughes {Lib Dem deputy leader politically slightly to the left of Gordon Brown, Diane Abbott { shadow cabinet hopeful, possibly minister for education and private schools}, David Starkey {entertaining but impossible to like right leaning historian and Brian Cox {Scots actor... don't really know him.}

What could the major story of the day be?
BQ's guesses in new requested mini type face..

Q1 - David Miliband sort of resigns
Q2 - Wrong about Iraq and massive hippo-grit Harman.
Q3 - Fox's leaks
Q4 - Ireland's bank bailout and how exposed are we
Q5 - Police volunteers only.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Brian Cox is a Labour party supporter who drives a Prius.

You can probably imagine the rest....

Botogol said...

- should people in long term relationships get married
- do the current arrangements for Postal Votes need to be urgently reviewed?
- is the Labour party still the party of fraternity?
- is it right to abolish the regional development agencies
- do footballers have a right to private lives
- will the police work harder if we don't pay them?

bonus - a reference to the fraudulent apprentice candidate (driven to it by the bankers, probably)

(font - invisible without my reading glasses. perfect :-) )

Miss CD said...

1. David Miliband steps aside
2. the Iraq war is wrong {I said it was, says Abbott.}
3. ADHT
4. Illegal CCTV cameras and the 'malicious party'
5.Fraudulent postal voting

hovis said...

1) Labour revived under Red Ed
2) Should Milliband D step aside ?
3) The Iraq war was wrong - Ed says so so it must be true
3)Fox and Defence Cuts
4)bailing out Banks wrt Anglo Irish / arent banks evil
5) Something about Tony Curtis

@BQ:How can you not like David Starkey? He is wonderfully pendantic and loves being objectionable especially where the facts shatter whatever polite people think they should be spouting.

Botogol said...

I hope it's not too late to claim a bonus point if any of the panelists mention @humphreycushion

Malcolm Tucker said...

-Miliband goes to back of the class
- Police numbers and services cuts
- Labour: the next generation? Will it be as good/bad as the original?
- Legal aid cuts.
- Postal voting

Starkey will waffle on about the Tudors.


comedy question - earth like planet

Mark Wadsworth said...

1. Should Red Ed get married?
2. And if so, to whom?
3. Troops out of Afgh.
4. Reductions to Support for Mortgage Interest.
5. Shouldn't the rich be paying more tax>

hatfield girl said...

Right, I've been looking at the paper this week:

Should people in close degrees of consanguinity, affinity, or spiritual relationships get married?

Why have Milan and Paris produced such dull clothes for dull lives?

Do we want not just quangos abolished but surviving bodies' directors with obscurely ose names like Dame Suzy Leather summarily sacked?

Should we follow Iceland aand arraign out former financial governance?

Who might cross the floor before Christmas?

Steven_L said...

1) Ed Miliband/is New Labour dead etc?
2) Look at Ireland, they had cuts, why do the evil tories want to bankrupt us for their rich friends?
3) Strikes in Europe
4) Why are the evil tories trying to dismantle the NHS/other public services?
5) Defence, shouldn't we just cut trident instead?

Budgie said...

1. Isn't St Ed saintly?
2. Evil Thatcher Tories cuts force BBC out on strike.
3. Ireland bank crisis (don't mention the euro).
4. Wicked and malicious to suggest Labour could be pro war and anti civil liberties.
5. Tackle globalpoverty by taxing the rich.

James Higham said...

To be red, must one live in sin?

Bill Quango MP said...

Hello..Warsi dropped out. Grant Shapps is on instead.

1} A Red Ed question. Are the unions now in charge?
David Starkey says to embrace the unions is acceptable but to embrace Kinnock is to embrace failure.Quite funny but Audience not to impressed.
Simon Hughes torn between love of socialism and envy of a £10's of millions of pounds backers.
Dianne says Ed is not in the pocket of the unions, so that's all right, we can all relax.
Grant Shapps keen to point out the union connection funded Ed Mili 60%. Brian Cox doesn't feel there is anything wrong with union backing. i SORT OF AGREE.Does it matter? Only a moron would take Labour very far to the left on the advice of unions.. Is Ed that moron? {its all getting very squabbley on the panel..get a grip Dimby.Very odd specs Dianne is wearing..union funded?}

Q2. Is Ed Miliband the IDS for Labour. GS says yes, he doesn't have enough support outside of the unions. DA is desperately trying to spin that Ed Miliband won comfortably with more votes, but that ignores the facts he got transferred votes from failed candidates.
DS+BC go head to head in a row about Starkey's deliberate provocation, which is his style. Dimby! He's barely in control. When is O'Neil taking over? Even Richard Bacon might do..
Starkey gets a Richard III line in, but it doesn't really add anything.
SH, is diplomatic on the stab in the brother's back point that all have been squeaking about. SH then properly shows that Ed Miliband was a 100% New Labour Cabinet Minister, {voted for no Iraq enquiry, voted for student fees etc} who is trying to pretend he wasn't.

Q3. Does David Miliband standing down undermine Ed.
BC says absolubtely not. {but it does Brian, because in the clapping incident it showed David wasn't prepared to compromise his principles, where as Ed, very clearly, has...you made that point yourself!}
DA says DMili was endorsed by Peter Mandelson and that finished him off. No one noticed Dianne. Get over your bogey man. You won, he lost.

Bill Quango MP said...

Q4. Bizzare question about ed miliband being a jewish, atheist, single dad so is a Tories delight. Why allow it BBC? Not because its stupid, but because who could say Yes, to it?
DS makes a cracking point that Labour is not the party of the working class but the party of the public sector. "A fringe party with much power"
SH, also reiterates the point about chameleon Ed miliband, the focus group spokesperson. Can anyone trust him after such a U-turn?
{this is a good point.There should have been a candidate not of the old Blair/Brown era..Whoever that turns out to be will probably be the next socialist prime minister}

Q5. Is the IMF's approval of spending cuts mean Ed miliband has lost the cuts argument.
SH says the deficit costs us £180 million pounds a day. We have to cut. Looks like a pretty Public sector audience Simon. Doubt you'll get much applause.
{he got none}. DA thinks the IMF doesn't understand the social aspect of cuts. You're right DA. They don't. She then blames the banks and comes out as a serial deficit denier. "The banks , the banks" but offers no solutions at all. "You cannot cut your way out of a recession" she says... Gordon must be very proud.
GS got a partial round of applause for mentioning the lousy regulatory system. A much more balanced audience than you'd expect. Brian Cox comes out as a true lefty. The IMF needs reforming, Labour isn't to blame, we are all to blame..blah, blah. I bet he's a facebook friend of Tony Robinson.
DS makes some good points about Gordon and Scottish banks and everyone in everyone else's bed.
Imf comes in for some bashing from the audience. So do cuts... and bankers.SH tries to put the Libs position yet still more IMF bashing from the audience.

final Q about Liam Fox and defence cuts. Should we share a nuclear deterrent with France?
BC doesn't want a nuclear deterrent. DS does, and for UK only.GS is a trident fan too. SH says there is no truth in the story, but wants no Trident. DA thinks Fox will be sacked. Then says no to nuclear deterrent.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else see Grant Shapps and think it was Tony Blair? My god he looks and moves just like him. has he inserted a clone onto the front bench of the coalition?

Bill Quango MP said...

Long Qt that. New idea, score the panel. Out of 10

GS - 6
DA - 3
DS - 4
SH - 6
BC - 3
DD - 2

Winners

BQ - 2 {no Iraq apology, most amazing}

Lakelander - you were right. Cox was a total lefty bore.

Botogol - 1 for the fraternity. Poor show.

Miss CD - Just 1 this week.

Hovis - 3 + 1/2 for all the banker bashing {English, not Irish, but still all bankers..}
And That performance was why I don't much like Starkey. 'In Canada they blew up the hospitals' You just can't say it, however true it might be. No one wants to hear it because it sounds like Nicholas Riddley with a wrecking ball.

Malcolm T. - 1 also + 1/2 for Tudors {although he was a Plantagenet}

MW - 1 for rich paying more tax + another one because it came up 3 times!

Hg: I think you need a different paper. Vogue just doesn't have the right political coverage.However {1} for fashion. Dianne Abbott wearing a military style jacket, looked like M&S autumn collection. Its a cavalry style for a much smaller bust and straighter back. The big buttons only emphasised her big head. It looked ill fitting on the big Abbott.
Perhaps you could give her some tips?

SL - got 3. Well done.

Budgie - 2 Tax and Milibands.

JH - didn't even come up. BBC lawyers are the most chicken in the business. And yet they have unlimited funds if they screw up..

FFS now Tony Robinson on this week.. claiming Ed Miliband managed a speech without spin!
You are a gullible puffin Balldrick.
O'Neil just cut Oona King off as after three tries she wouldn't answer his question. Get him the QT gig, he is so much better.



Winner was Hovis {claps} who gets to choose if we should have an independent, shared, or no nuclear deterrent.

Botogol said...

I don't think DS deserved a 4 last night - While I enjoy him a lot (and have paid to hear him lecture) his style last night simply wasn't appropriate for QT, and he somewhat sabotaged the show. It's not ALL about you, David.

He needs to find a TV format that fits him. Some kind of chat-show format (I am not kidding) where he can have a monologue to give him the space he needs, and then opportunity to spar with quick witted guests, and then the last work.

Actually, if Andrew Neil does take over QT, DS would be an excellent host for This Week...

(1! I am ashamed)

Bill Quango MP said...

I like the idea of a chat forum for him. The Paul O'Grady show?
Or maybe just a resident reviewer for the paper reviews on Sky.

I really thought Dimbleby was really poor. Letting some contestants waffle on, interrupt, squabble, then closing down others when they were simply talking. Brian Cox was cut off for no apparent reason over something.
Really made watching a chore.

O'Neil OTOH was equally sharp with King and Portillo when they wouldn't come to heel.

Its a good question. Who should replace Dimbleby ?

A younger Paxman or Bryan Hayes might have been the answer.