Tonights Question Time comes from Barking and on the panel we have Michael Heseltine, the ex-St Vince Cable, Yvette Balls (nee Cooper), Nigel Farage and a book publisher called Victoria Barnsley.
The LiveBlog will also cover the surreal This Week, with Andrew Neil and Michael Portillo.
David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be moderating the abuse here from 10:30pm, so we look forward to seeing you!
Do I see a balanced panel? One Euro-sceptic right of centre (Farage), one Euro-enthusiastic centre righ (Heseltine), two left of centre (Cable & Balls) and a relatively unknown quantity. of course it is not quite so straightforward as that; Farage and Heseltine will be setup to squabble over Europe so as to try to encourage Eurosceptiocs to defect to UKIP.
Nearly balanced. If you remember to include Dimbleby it’s 3 to the left and 2 to the right (although that’s being generous to Heseltine who seems to be on the left for many things) and 1 unknown (the publisher). It’s still not completely balanced but is better than normal.
Apologies for my schoolboy error in forgetting about David ‘easily cintrolled by labour Ministers’ Dimbleby – http://notasheepmaybeagoat.blogspot.com/2009/07/bbclabour-relationship-in-one-video.html
How approriate that QT should be from Barking. Shouldn’t the BBC relocate QT there permanently ?
No idea who this publisher is, but I assume she is a Leftie.
Nigel is always good value, but maybe not enough to make me miss my bedtime. I suspect he will wind-up Tarzan who will get flustered, start spluttering and lose his temper. Careful with that mace , Michael.
I’m not so sure about the balance and it partly depends on where they get the audience from and the questions they raise. Cooper can shamelessly pass of utter cobblers with a stony straight face as well as being stone deaf to counter arguements. Cable has been outed as a busted flush and it only really works for him if he’s not pushed too hard. I wonder if they’re looking for him to say something anti government so they can point fingers and go “aha – a government minister who admits they’re wrong”. Heseltine – he who was quoted once as saying “one day Britain will simply cease to exist” by way of his excitement for his united Europe.
The only one likely to counter him is Farage. Trouble is that his bucaneering style which many of us like could well be used to paint him into a corner like some drunk mad uncle who no one really listens to. Especially if we have an audience not willing to listen. They’ve managed to duck a proper challenge by not having someone like Peter Hitchens on who would have skewered many of this panel on his own. Yes he’s not everyone’s cup of tea but he knows his facts and he doesn’t really give a toss about showing fools like this panel just how craven and duplicitous they are.
Barnsley is the unknown quantity for me.
Most balanced panel ever? Cable counts as Government, so in the QT formulation Lib-Dem cards change value to Non-Left. Cable plus Heseltine plus Farage (comic relief at last) versus Mrs. Balls and Dimbleby. The publisher woman even works for nasty Uncle Rupert, although I imagine someone who starts a publishing company named the “Fourth Estate” is pretty Left-leaning.
Victoria Barnsley’s wiki pager references include two links to Guardian and Independent. Leftie me thinks.
Those are just interviews with her about electronic publishing and her industry. No politics in sight. But if she was too right wing I doubt the reporters would have given such a glowing portrayal.
Perhaps she’ll be neutral, I think her father in Law (or some relation) is a Cross Bench Lord.
Wonder if there will be a question on how many polar bears will end up drowning in their own tears once the carbon footprint of the Question Time circus hops the redeye `twixt London and Glasgow weekly?
How many Dimblebys will we need to plant in Richmond Park to compensate Mother Earth for this needless vainglorious pootling through the ash clouds?
Brigstocke could fuel their hang glider with his flatus!
With the exciting news that we’re to have a state visit from the messiah (and does anybody else find the phrase “state visit” a bit strange ?) I’d guess this represents a primo opportunity for some live TV audience-panel fellatio on the greatness of his holiness (PBUH) and the peace he has brought to Egypt.
Maybe we could present him with a bust of Churchill as a going away present.
I predict the following
Safe to say that Heseltine will not be asked about his unhealthy love of the Euro, and his determined efforts over the years to force us into it.
Cooper will not be asked about her Home Information Packs which wreaked so much havoc on the housing market-nor about her and hubbys readiness to claim Stoke Newington as their domicile for tax purposes -as opposed to their beloved neighbouring constituencies up in Yorkshire. Only the Little People pay taxes after all.
No mention of hubby and his Nazi regalia either.
Poor old Vince will wearily go out to bat as the Coalitions watchman-long after he was bowled out and shown to be pretty useless.
Farage won`t do us any favours either-and the other one will be a leftie.
Bring back Katie Hopkins-and I hope one of the audience will undercut Dimbleboy Major with an offer to work for the minimum wage as opposed to swelling the Dimbleboys blind trust for their offspring-you can bet the Dimblebys will be getting their own in to lament “the cuts” for years yet to come.
One can dream-all these fat cat public sector talking heads desperately looking for victims of the Tories-yet no-one is allowed to break into THEIR closed shops I notice!
I take it back – Farage batted well for the side. Some nice wild swings. plus he was the only one to speak sense on foreign aid. The rest of them were almost Kafkaesque on that subject.