Initially, I thought the absence of a government minister of cabinet rank on last night’s question time was a crass mistake on the part of a coalition government, but on reflection, I think I can understand why no such minister appeared.
The Question Time panel including Max Hastings, Alistair Campbell and Piers Morgan was rather overburdened with self-regarding hacks. Add Susan Kramer, a former MP and John Redwood MP a former Welsh Secretary, famous for miming Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nadau – badly, and you already have a rather unbalanced and lightweight panel. Replacing one of them with a political heavyweight makes little difference overall, and one heavyweight against four lightweights would have probably made for interesting television but poor debate.
The unfortunate consequence of this event is it has allowed the BBC to imply undue political influence from No 10, and Alistair Campbell to believe he is far more important than he really is. No, on balance, three hacks and two political lightweights is probably two hacks and one lightweight too many, and the producer of Question Time would be wise to bear that in mind. One final thought, is Piers Morgan morphing into a new Nigel Farage?
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4 comments:
l in behind the rest of your party and become an apologist for the English Tories.
I thought better of the LibDems. I thought they would fight their corner and ensure that the brutal edge was knocked off Tory policies, but we already have IDS blaming the unemployed for the length of the dole queues, a growing rebellion against people paying fair tax on unearned income and the Wales Secretary calling our country a 'department'.
It's not looking good.
Rob,
I think part of your first sentence is missing.
I am no apologist for the Tories, English or otherwise, and it is absolutely clear that the Lib Dems at Westminster are doing their utmost to moderate the likely excesses of unfettered Conservatism.
The battle of capital gains tax is only at the stage of preliminary skirmishes, IDS needs to be heard in order that his rubbish can be countered, and as for Ms Gillan, well, what can I say? I blame it on her time at Cheltenham Ladies College, not exactly the best preparation for life in the real world. But then the Tories have never really understood Wales, think Hague and Redwood.
Practical politics is about compromise, and coalition governments have to compromise more than most, however the outcomes are likely to be less extreme than otherwise.
Early days, but I think the omens are good. Tory backbenchers giving Cameron a tough time is likely to make him even more determined to stick with the coalition, and to stay upright on the tightrope he is on means feeding his backbenchers a sprat or two occasionally. No Lib Dem likes it, but most of us can live with it when there are bigger battles to be won.
And now your blogging software is trying to make me look like an idiot. I blame the NWO. Or something. ;-)
In other news, it looks like David Davies is to be the new chair of the Westminster Welsh Affairs Select Committee. God help us.
That's David "Top Cat" Davies, Monmouthshire's answer to "George W", I take it. That is a retrograde move, no doubt Welsh Labour will give him a tough time and Plaid will tear him to shreds.
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