I look upon it as a weekly endurance test – a televisual marathon! I refer to watching the BBC’s Question Time. The panel was a bit more balanced than normal last night, with David Davis and Nigel Farage getting an appearance in. That said, Dimbleby was very aggressive with Davis, barely letting him finish a sentence. Also what was Jerry Springer doing on the panel? I also thought that Hillary Benn got away with blue murder but then again I suppose the BBC is so in awe of his father that this was to be expected. I see that next week we will have the pleasure of “Peep Show” star David Mitchell on the panel. Great news – another sneering leftie whose reactions can be predicted well in advance! Frankly, I would like to see Zippy from Rainbow or possibly one of the Teletubbies make a guest appearance since at least that way the BBC would be honest about the calculated dumbing down of political debate.
QUESTION TIME WATCH.
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Adapting a quote (from Andrew Marr) which appears in B-BBC sidebar,
BBC ‘QUESTION TIME’ AUDIENCE must have our approved ‘multicultural’ biased composition, and our selection of each audience is –
“not impartial or neutral. It’s a publicly funded, urban organisation with an abnormally large number of young people, ethnic minorities and gay people. It has a liberal bias not so much a party-political bias. It is better expressed as a cultural liberal bias”
It was interesting that yet again Dimbleby was arse licking Hillary Benn whilst Nigel Fararge was told to continually shut up.
Clearly Dimbleby wants to the job of the next
David
I disagree with your analysis of last night’s QT. I think Dimblebore let DD have his say and only pulled him up when it did seem as if it might become the DD show.
The person that annoyed me most (and I will admit that I don’t generally watch QT anymore as nearly all the contestants panellists annoy me) was Nigel Farage. He interrupted DD as he was about to make the point that his by-election, if successful, would give the House of Lords the mandate to ignore the Salisbury Convention on the second reading of the bill. I haven’t seen this point made before (not that I have been looking that hard) and if it is one of the purposes of DD’s resignation then it is a neat bit of political manoeuvring.
dear god Farage is absolutely hopeless. Only caught the last 5 minutes before the Euro 2008 highlights but that was enough to catch an uninterrupted and lengthly rant from some hideous greaseball about the evils of our adventure in Afghan in support of US imperialist aims (cue applause). I think the question was on women in the front line so quite why this was relevant I have no idea.
Fararge has taken the BBC shilling. I’ve heard him on James Whale (before the Government got Whale canned) and he was far less “liberal” than he came over last night.
His comment that the union leaders of today didn’t want to bring the west down was utter nonsense. Most union leaders are communists at heart.
The BBC only seem to have liberal “rights” on these days.
Jerry Prinkger (the anti Bush stooge) only ever seemed to spout on about how great Obama is and how evil Boosh is.
I mentioned last night that the BBC had reported the fact Obama has oped out of public financing for the election. McCain hasn’t.
But read the BBC story. They all but blame McCain for this and the BBC video story that went out points the finger at the Republicans.
However, if you read the US news you get a different story. Here’s the New York Times (big Obama backers) who put a different slant on it as does the Washington Post. The BBC however is very pro Obama.
Not the BBC does not say he “broke” his promise, just that he “reversed” his decision.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7463813.stm
Peregrine,
Good point, I accept what you say – Farage irritated me as well.
Why watch it – almost nobody does. According to BARB BBC1 generally has lost 10% of its audience in the last 10 years and QT’s audience is a fraction of its heyday in the 1980’s. There are it seems to me two problems: firstly the selection of a narrow band of BBC Rep Company politicians whose views (and the audience reaction to them)are completely predictable and thus only of interest to those who for various reasons need to have their prejudices re-inforced; and Mr Dimbleby.
On the latter I watched the recent fascinating re-broadcast on BBC Parliament of the 1983 General Election. It was hosted by a young charming modest Dimbleby as polite and neutral to Eric Heffer as he was to Norman Tebbit. Robin Day made no pretence of being anything other than the mischievous liberal tory he was – somehow it worked. Even Day was scrupulosly careful to intrerrupt the politicans infrequently but tellingly, and the Paxman “why is this lying bastard lying to me” dangerous anti-democratic nonsense was at a minimum.
Isnt it that all these BBC “personalities” (who appear in those excruciatingly immodest self-advertisements) have lost touch with reality like Smashy and Nicey before them. They’ve forgotten what they really do and think their absurd salaries reflect their cultural status and political value. Above all they’ve forgotten the immortal Henry Root letter to Jan Leeming “Do you just read the news, or do you make it up as well?”. Its much better not to watch it and eventually when no-one is they will have to take it off.
If you watched this presumably you missed Ruth Dudley Edwards, and Gregory Campbell along withothers on lets talk (NI), if so, you missed the last and for once perfectly good show from magherafelt. Plenty of supporters from the no terrorists in govt camp in the audience, dudley edwards extremely good on immigration changing national identy south of the border, and tough on terror islamic or otherwise.
Peregrine,
A by election does not give a mandate to the unlelected upper chamber to thwart the elected lower chamber.
The salisbury convention can not be overridden that way.
It would be extremely dangerous if not absurd.
The salisbury convention is there to ensure the elected chamber gets its way over the unelected one, and it needs a general election to change that.
When all the unionists resigned their seats and forced by elections on a much grander scale than this it did not give the Lords any such power.
Imagine Brown stuffs the lords with his cronies in the near future loses the general election but then thwarts a future conservative government because it loses a by election in one constituency rather than the whole land.
And our constitution is based on precedent, don’t think it can’t happen if it has already happened before.
Its an appalling thought.
You may want to oppose the 42 day limit, but this way leads down a terrible slippery slope, Davis and you should not even begin to go there.
I thought that Jerry Springer made one good point.
Crap corrupt Governments and fat lying politicians come and go. The constitution is always there.
I do think it’s time for us to consider a proper written constitution. Problem is it would be drafted by those same self serving pigs at Westminster.
If it was handed over to some committe it would be loaded up with the usual bunch of gays, left wingers, trade unionists and actors who’d come up with an utter piece of crap.
I really don’t know what the answer is. Getting rid of fatso Broon is one answer, but I’m no fan of Cameron either.
Would Cameron scrap the “uman rites” act? Would he ban councils from using terrorism legislation for non terror related activities? Would he actually deport the bushy bearded fuckwits hanging around on benefits?
I don’t think so. The only difference between Cameron and Broon is Cameron isn’t as fat and has two eyes.
I was astonished when Dimbleby told Davis to answer three distinct questions at the same time – and then told him off for turning the debate into his own personal platform! A conservative just can’t win when he’s being interviewed by Dimbleby.
Does the new labour representative aleays sit by the left hand of Dimbelby?
David Vance,
It`s only right that liberal/left leaning “comedians” are given airtime on a political show.We might miss the Radio 4 comedies.It`s more important to be fed lightweight satire that lampoons their political enemies than it is to have analysis of the current issues.
Ron Todd | 20.06.08 – 7:15 pm,
Would that make Dimbleby Labour’s right hand man?
David Vance:
It`s only right that liberal/left leaning “comedians” are given airtime on a political show.
Good point. Could B-BBC posters suggest a list of successful right-wing comedians who deserve to be given airtime in such a way?
Jerry Springer? JERRY SPRINGER?
This is the clown who was hired as a *political* commentator in Chicago on our CBS tv affiliate. Starting with the announcement of his hiring, there was a huge outcry against him (including the resignation of one of their top anchors, Carol Marin). Because of this, they laid him off after only one (uncontroversial) commentary.
Congratulations, Beeb. You hired a guy that CHICAGO rejected.
Colin: Good point. Could B-BBC posters suggest a list of successful right-wing comedians who deserve to be given airtime in such a way?
Maybe getting political balance on one of your key current affairs shows is more important than ensuring you have a comedian on the panel – which is perhaps the point that was being made.
Hugh:
Maybe getting political balance on one of your key current affairs shows is more important than ensuring you have a comedian on the panel
And you don’t think that Farage and Davis provided the right with the kind of ballast which might possibly outweigh the likes of Jerry Springer?
Gosh, did I really say that?
Here’s the central question: why is a right-leaning majority on Question Time so rare?
Colin Chase,
Does the BBC look for promising right wing comedians ? Does it give them a break by getting them to appear on the BBC ? Does it nurture their talents all through their working lives ?
If so which hour of which day did it happen ?