Tonight Question Time comes from Portsmouth.
For those who don’t know, TheEye did some time at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar and stood for election when living in the Gosport constituency next door. TheEye stood up to be counted in that part of the world…. DV has done so too so we are both immune to armchair political warriors. Much as I loved the Gospit and the enthusiastic Navy wives I will echo the immortal words of Dick Tuck when he lost in California in 1966 “The people have spoken, the bastards.”
It is easier to quote the BBC today:
David Dimbleby presents Question Time from Portsmouth. On the panel: the comedian Alexei Sayle, shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander MP, children’s minister Sarah Teather MP, conservative Anna Soubry MP, and the columnist and chair of the National Trust Sir Simon Jenkins.
The odd and rather strange bloke gets the first nod and the lady from the majority party in Government gets fourth billing? Ah, make your own minds up.
Your Moderators line-up consists of David Vance, David Mosque, TheEye and John Ward. For those who don’t know – JW has been unwell in a serious way and I’d like to welcome him back. Good luck John. Best wishes from B-BBC.
It’s a 10:30pm kick off and afterwards we will suffer the maddess that is This Week
Don’t forget to look for Blue Nun Bingo updates on David Mosque’s website dedicated to the game.
Great. A comedy Marxist. Aren’t they all – unintentionally, of course.
I remember once when Alexei Sayle made me laugh. I remember it clearly as I never thought he ever would, and he hasn’t done again since.
I remember him taking part in a BBC programme called ‘Lefties’ on BBC4. He recalled that in his youth he and his fellow travellers thought Albania was the perfect model nation – a worker’s paradise. At least he had the humility to laught at his former self and admit that it was fortunate that none of them were ever given any real power at the time.
Alexei Sayle – Extreme Left Wing
Wee Doogie – Centre Left
Sarah Teather – Lib Dem, therefore Left of Centre
Anna Soubry – Conservative, nominally Right of Centre
Sir Simon Jenkins – Writes in the Guardian, the Huff Post and is in favour of Argentina being given the Falklands – therefore, Hard Left
Sir David Dimbleby – Centre Left towards Left Wing.
Yep, a traditional 5 left to 1 right. No, doubt the audience selection will be made to fit the same ratio.
Perception is all I guess, but Sir David Dimbleby impeccably impartial in my book.
Bloody hell fire, you are deluded!
No way Hippie. He always allows the left to burble on with any old crap and interrupts the Conservatives and since the coalition coalesced the Lib Dems too. I remeber that clip where Harman nudged him a couple of times to make sure he interrupted IDS. You can see him nodding, clearly acknowledging he understands his instructions.
Some thiongs are a matter of opinion, but whether the Dimbleby brothers are left-wing is unarguable.
I don’t think of the two of them as a package. I say that Jonathan is unarguably leftwing Beeboid but I am not sure about David. And yes, I know about the Harman thing but its significance can be argued and I am not putting too much on it when taking into account the total picture.
It’s not just that one instance, he continuously interrupts and tries to trip-up anyone from the right of centre whereas he allows left-wingers to utter any sort of inane drivel they like completely unchallenged. Watch him every week – it’s always the same.
Hope Labour’s cover-up of the Gosport War Memorial Hospital mass murders comes up.
People don’t know/remember this shameful time but the WMH was in my Ward.
Labour was never held to account for what happened then and the fact that someone else still knows and cares about it…thanks Ian. I’m still working on it even though I’ve moved away.
Soubry is being touted as prime contender in line for promotion to the first rung of the greasy pole come next reshuffle, so don’t expect her to deviate much from the Cameroon LibDim-pandering Coalition-friendly line.
…which means she’s the one who will get hammered along with Teather.
Let’s hope she gives the stand-up routine a miss.
Yikes!
Thanks for the mention: it was a funny week indeed!
Anna Soubry was on before & I recall we were reasonably impressed with her then – not ideal on all counts for some commenters on the LiveChat, but generally sound. It will be interesting to see how it goes tonight.
Alexei Sayle has long been known as an out-and-out Lefty, so it is no surprise that he has been invited on to make probably worthless ‘contributions’.
Ah, well: we live in interesting times…
That National Trust bloke is a complete and utter upper class prat if I’m thinking of the right chap. Another boring line-up; they’re getting progressively worse week-by-week.
Just wait – we’ve got the yoof version to come. 🙁
I ‘can’t’ wait lol!
What is the point of Alexei Sayle on QT?
I’ll tell you……just seen Dimbleby trailing his failing BBC sinecure of a show pre-10 O’clock News. Alexei Lenin Trotsky Castro Mao Tractor Plant Sayle (‘My Dad was a bit of a Communist’) was actually the headline attraction.
Don’t you understand what Question Time is yet? It is light entertainment for a leftie audience.
I just now dodged watching White Heat. BBC2 drama set in 1979. Need I say more? I stuck it for about 5 minutes. Well here are two hints. Gay black man beaten up by skinheads after assignation in a park. Picture of Margaret Thatcher attached to a dart board. What would you say was the target audience for that?
The BBC : Here to please most of the left, most of the time.
Switched on late and could hardly get a fag-paper between this bunch.
Next week it’s Leeds and Marcus Brigstock. You couldn’t make it up and you don’t even need to.
the only reason they have never had Polly Toynbee, yasmin Alibi Brown, Jenny Tong, Margaret Becket and chami chackrabatti on the same Question time is because they don’t have enough high chairs.
I am so glad that I missed it.