Thursday 23 June 2011

Question Time


David Dimbleby is joined in Huddersfield by Norman Baker,{odd ball {even by Lib Dem standards} MP. FOI excessive. Writer of the book on Dr Kelly's suicide/murder, and , perhaps more relevant tonight, Minister for transport.} Rachel Reeves,QT don't put MP anymore do they?{ Labour business shadow. The new face of the newer face of old, new labour. Quite convincing and informed.}
John Redwood,{still called 'Spock'. Anti-EU old school Tory, with a very readable blog.}
Fern Britton {soufflé broadcaster and interviewer. A nation's favourite for reasons that I've never been able to fathom.} and
David Mitchell {comedian /actor. Despite his recent over exposure he is very funny. Peep Show, on about its 10th series now, is still good value.}


BQ thinks:
1. Troop withdrawls, Iraq, and the Libyan mission extension.
2. High speed rail link. What's the cost again? £32 billion.{couldn't we just give 1 million commuters commuters a car each?}
3. Greece and the Euro bailout part2 {of a five part series}
4. Bank shares for all.
5.Should be N. Ireland but QT are always very fussy about that. So will go with Pensions and summer of discontent.

But hang on...they need something for Fern to do.. Glastonbury mud and top tips for fashion wellies? Or smoking ban in all cars..? How many cats is too many?

Leaderboard Update

Measured - 20

Mark Wadsworth -15.5

Botogol -14.5
GSD - 14.5

Appointmetotheboard - 14.5

Dick the Prick -14.5

Bill Quango MP -13.5

Nick Drew -12.5

Miss S-J - 12.5
Malcolm Tucker -12.5
Hatfield Girl -12
Miss CD -9.5

Philipa -9

Timbo614 - 10.5

City Unslicker -8.5

Budgie -8

Andrew - 4

Amy -2.5
Blue Eyes -2.5

Lilith - 2.5

Hovis -2


24 comments:

Mark Wadsworth said...

1. Row over corn row hairstyles - is this a cultural thing or break down in discpline in schools?

2. Should disabled be treated as second class citizens and be expected to work for less than Nat Min Wage?

3. How many innocent people are on police database?

4. Isn't it time that private sector workers got decent pensions as well?

5. Can the Tories please make up their minds on sentencing - are they going to be cut by half or a third or will there be minimum sentences for knife crime (like under Labour, yeah right). Rights of homeowners to defend themselves, blah blah.
-----------------
Other topics on which everybody can parade their own prejudices:
gay bishops, libya pull out/seguing into Brian Haw, bank shares for all, Greek bail out. There has been so much misinformation going on this week, we are spoiled for choice.

Malcolm Tucker said...

Quite tricky again.
But not regional so might get a better result.

1. Greek bailout crisis.
2. Jail discounts U-turn
3. 66 years for pensions for women
4. Disabled persons minimum wage gaffe
5. Wave of strikes 1926 all over again threat.

Miss S-J said...

Loads in the news, little of major importance.

1. Euro collapse for Redwood
2. Mental health & a special minority minimum wage for Reeves
3. Credit for saving the NHS by derailing reforms for Baker
4. Pensions and the poor people in the private sector for Britton.
5. The cost of Libya, the military row, for Mitchell

Mark Wadsworth said...

Can I rephrase my Q4 a bit?

There has been so much pensions related crap in the news this week that I get confused, it'll be a mish-mash of
- woman retiring 66,
- public sector too generous/fair reward,
- public sector strikes,
- how badly private sector get treated,
- GB's 'pension raid' (which never was, that's a myth),
- has John Hutton sold out to the Tories by being their pensions Tsar, and
- not enough money spent on old age care.

But not necessarily in that order.

Bill Quango MP said...

MW? Going for a record 16 questions from Dimleby this week?

CityUnslicker said...

1 Strikes - evil tories making cuts everywhere out of hatred.
2 greece - will turn into an eu thing where I precit they will all gang up on redwood with some silly you BNP anti EU basterd tyep argument - will be painful to watch
3 Olympic tickets - something dull and worthy
4 - Bank privatisation - BBC think privatisation is evil 9 i wonder why) so question will be suitably skewed.
5- Armed forces- evil tory cuts, our brave boys, those brave taliban - a very confused Q&A where no one answers the question or makes any sense.

can we get odds on who is going to win?

Budgie said...

1. Greece: austerity/riots/debt default/bailouts leading to Euro break up?

2. Troop pullouts from Afghanistan - should UK follow USA, France etc?

3. Bank shares for all - evil bankers and evil Tories led by Thatcher caused bank collapse (Labour not in power since 1979)?

4. Evil Tories take pensions off hapless women - is this Thatcherism all over again?

5. Should Huddersfield be a city?

measured said...

“Well, let’s not hang about. Let’s crack on”:

1. Pensions …when I’m 66, has it all been worth it? Redwood is bound to point out how much more generous public sector pensions are compared to private ones I hope.
2. Banks. …is a universal share scheme good? This time they will have to find Sid, not just tell him.
3. The Euro…should we help Greece? They didn’t invite us to the crisis talks. ::{Huff}:: This could unravel into how do we solve a problem like Maria.. er, sorry, no, the EU, I hope.
4. Where has common sense gone? A child dies because agencies aren’t sensible enough to talk to each other and H&S rules pertaining to wet grass on slopes are cited to justify closing Murray Mount aka Henman Hill.
5. Are we taking risks leaving Afghanistan too soon?

Last one to leave turn out the light.

andrew said...

1 bank shares for all

2 the euro - greek shares for all

3 troops in afganistan

4 old people drinking and hip fractures

5 unemployment and govt cuts

GSD said...

Hi all. After last week's disaster, this week's guesses are:

1) Will/Should Greece default?

2) Bank shares giveaway: just a loony LibDem attempt to appeal to voters or a good idea?

3) Will public sector strikes "work"? [not quite sure how to define work - could be anything from status quo in pensions right through to getting another general election!].

4)Cameron/Armed Forces row : "You do the fighting, I'll do the talking"... lions lead by donkeys?

and I'm going for the "just 4 questions" bonus this week (so expect about 7!).

Nick Drew said...

1. are we all allowed to stab burglars now ?

2. are we running away from our responsibilities in Afghanistan ?

3. should we be putting our hands in our fraternal pockets for Greece ? (PS, I know the answer to that one)

4. pensions, wicked tories, saintly strikers etc

GSD said...

err, that should have been "... led by ..." of course.

Dick the Prick said...

Evening fellow Talibanis

From my home town tonight - was a bit too sober to bugger off and heckle the OB vans outside Polytechnic.

Anywho:

1) U Turns - justice, health etc - can we trust the government at all?


2) Cleggy's bank thing - whassat all about. (I got market researched by a lass at lunchtime who asked me about Cleggster's balloon - how very unusual)

3) Greece - they're a bit of a Eurosceptic band round here - God's own country and all that

4) High Speed Rail Link - why are trains so shite?

5) Strike? Pensions - that kind of shit.

Hmmm...did a list of 20 at work and guess that's my lot.

Please don't play 'spot the twat' - bit target rich!!!

hatfield girl said...

Should banks be given to the people. After all everyone is Polish in the UK now, so they have the experience.

How do we stop all the Greeks claiming welfare benefits in the UK and suffering discrimination by the Poles?

Why shouldn't a longer-lived class of people, like women, retire later?

Would the end of the euro be the end of civilisation as we know it or would nobody notice (either the end of civilisation or of the euro)?

Should there be a minimum wage at all given that its sole justification is to compensate for the over-powering position of capitalist employers?

Should catholic priests be allowed to marry, at least among themselves?

Mark Wadsworth said...

BQ: "Going for a record 16 questions from Dimleby this week?"

No, my five questions are as numbered, but I rephrased question 4 a bit.

The other questions in my first comment below the dotted line obviously don't count as my entries - if Gay Bishops come up, then clearly I don't get a point for that, I'm just trying to inspire the rest of the crowd.

Timbo614 said...

Good luck all...

1) Sticking with last weeks "this man is for turning" UTurns - Sentences, NHS, Trees, Afghanistan etc. :))

2) Money for Nothing and your shares for free.

3) Greece again. Let them eat olives!

4) New nuclear plants - do we want them or windmills and solar panels? or (NIMBY!)

P.S. BQ: Not still working - was doing calculations on solar panel payback percentages. Better than Dividends/interest that's for sure:)

appointmetotheboard said...

Grief. Many more late nights at work like this, and I'll have to take out a second mortgage and invest in some of CU's hot stock picks instead.

Anyway.

1. Afghanistan.

2. There must be a, 'is europe dead' question for Redwood. Or, to give it a little englander angle, surely we won't have to bail out Greece...

3. What say we all keep our bank shares and vote down banker bonuses. Who's with me comrades?!

4. Oppression of the workers. Possibly in the form of strikes, possibly pensions. Good solid win for the RMT today, after all...

5. I don't suppose Huddersfield is the proposed site for a new nuclear power station is it? Well, its about to start so I'll stick with that as I don't want to be accused of cheating. And I'm pretty sure they won't ask about the SEC fine of JPMorgan...

Botogol said...

gosh, lots of topics possible today ... and work.. then parents evening.. then pizaa express.. just home in time

1 - is Greece the end of the Euro
2 - should you be allowed to stab a burglar
3 - is it a crazy idea to give bank shares to everyone
4 - should teachers EVER go on strike
5 - why is sectarian violence in ireland and scotland back on the increase

just in time. (i hope)
botogol

Bill Quango MP said...

Bugger! all my comments lost.! Well, , not going to do them again. Curse you Blogger.com

Overall I thought it was a fair panel and a decent audience.

Q1. Greece Euro
Q2. Pensions PS working/strikes + sex equality
Q3. Afghanistan
Q4 Government u-turns in general.
{counts as a justice bill Q as it becomes that.}
Q5 The circus bill! Amazing.That's the one for Fern to do.

Scores.

BQ - 3.

MW - 2 + nearly all of your rephrased Q4 did turn up. Worthy of an extra 1 - 3.

Malcolm Tucker - 2+½

Miss S-J -2 + ½ for the Libya cost which came up indirectly -2½

CU 2 + ½ as it was a very confused military question. Confused by the audience. Panel were unanimous. Time to quit Stan.-2½

Budgie - 3 {good try on the city one} -3

Andrew {welcome back.} -2 {govt cuts..bit too vague there. } - 2

GSD - 2. {it wasn't 4. And it was the 'other' armed forces row}

Nick Drew : Went short on 4qs. Still got - 3

Dick the Prick - Shame you didn't turn up. Would have liked to see in you in the audience with your trade mark cactus appendage.
3. Good u-turn spot, so an extra ½ = 3½.

Hatfield Girl - no priest qs tonight. But 2 and ½ for the Greek = 2½

MW{2} and inspire you did. Still..the circus question? I don't believe for a moment that was representative of the audiences.

Timbo614 - 2 . + the same DTP bonus ½ = 2½. {solar panel tariff feed ins? Make money? I query what happens when the govt just does a budget announcement. From 2014, the payment will change to 0.23/unit instead of 0,67/unit...What's to stop them. Diesel used to be 30% cheaper than unleaded.}

appointmetotheboard: Good guesses for a working boy. -3
{only got in at 10 myself. 7.45 meeting moved to 7pm so no dinner. Bloody planning committee too. Why do these voters write to me if the neighbour objects to their shed? I don't care....
Still...£100 ... back pocket..application granted...{stamp}

Botogol - late and a bit wide. 1 +½ for strikes in general. - 1½.

Seems the C@W gang all working late tonight.

Winner was Dick the Prick with an impressive 3½.
You get to ride on the last chopper out of Kabul.

Bill Quango MP said...

Hang on..I've left top of the table Measured out.
3 + Redwood did indeed point out the public/private pension and pay rates. = 3½.

You can share the Huey with DTP when the time comes. Take Karzai's seat. He won't need it. He'll be dead.

Alan Johnson and Michael Portillo are wearing the same shirt?

Timbo614 said...

BQ's Keyboard lesson (Part 2) - "How not to lose comments":

EVERY Time before clicking "Save comment" :
1) Put (or leave) the cursor in the edit box.

2) Hold down the Ctrl key and press A

3) Still holding the Ctrl Key down press C

Now all your typing is on the clipboard. To restore it (When Google/blogger snaffles it) put the cursor back in the editor then press & hold Ctrl and press V.

Or use the Mouse right click to Select All then Copy)
:))

Mark Wadsworth said...

Thanks as ever. Next week I'm going to wait for Measured to declare his (or her) hand and then copy his (or her) answers.

Botogol said...

I nearly put that circus question in! what made change my mind?

oh dear 1.5, that'll teach me to leave it to 10.33pm. Should never have had that second bottle of peroni...

measured said...

MW, are you really confused about whether I am male or female? Top tip: It helps to ask the right questions in the first place. :-D

BQ, I’m sorry you lost your work. I’ve been there, although in my case it was probably for the best.

If I romp home on this series, I’ll pick up the bar tab somewhere and that’s a promise. The pub will probably be in ‘Uddersfield, mind.

Hang on. Isn’t a seat on the first chopper out a better prize?