Liberal Democrat candidate for Mayor of London Brian Paddick is one of the three panellists on tonight’s Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT).
The panel will also include (you may have guessed) Labour incumbent Ken Livingstone, and Tory hopeful Boris Johnson.
So, if you’re watching, and want to sound-off, please feel free to use the comments thread.
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30 Comments
Hey, Brian’s smiling! A good start!
Boris is on a roll. He’s going to win this methinks.
Ken and the Jewish business is irrelevant. Totally off the record late night remarks. I couldn’t care less. None of the three candidates on the podium are racist.
Ken, you do not score any points for criticising al Quaeda. The al-Qaradawi embrace was a total disgrace.
I so wish we hadn’t won the Olympics. July 6 and 7 2005 were two very depressing days.
Jeez, Brian’s going for it… Good bit of banter, but slightly over the top about Boris’ family…
Laurence, are you on the cooking sherry again?
Nope. But I am just back from Cambridge liberal drinks. Just debating whether or not to crack open a can of Guinness. I think you’ve talked me into it. This debate is pretty boring to be honest.
I don’t what to inhibit you. Tell us what you think.
The thing that strikes me most about this debate is that Ken Livingstone has an incredible mastery of the facts, of quotes of his opponents, of past events and so on. Additionally, he looks relaxed, confident and spontaneous
Boris paints interesting pictures, but they seem often like caricatures and he minces his words too much. He hectors quite a lot and seems often like he is reading from a script.
The problem with Paddick is that he talks in terms of vague generalities, and only really marks himself out when he starts poking fun at the other two, plus he backs down when one of the other two interrupts him.
I think that’s the strongest I’ve seen Brian Paddick, shame he’s not had a bit more fire before really…
hmmn … lost interest and off to bed
Whoever I talk to agrees that crime can be cut greatly by enforcing back “National Service”, for one year, for any person aged 16 to 18 who has no job or has criminal tendances, to learn some basic discipline. It must be a lot cheaper in the long run !!!
I wanted to find a Lib Dem website so I could comment on this debate. I personally think Brian Paddick came out of the debate badly – he constantly interrupted the other two candidates, and seemed very rude. I wasn’t the only one in the house to think this too.
And he scored quite a cheap shot with the dig at Bros’ family. Uncalled for.
I was genuinely considering voting for Brian, but tonight’s performance showed him up – he was childish, wooden and shrill. The way he kept interuppting was very annoying, and really turned me off.
I’m switching to Boris now…sorry guys!
I think Brian was far more interrupted than interrupting. But unless he drops his trousers in public next week, I think Boris will be Mayor.
Brian had the centre podium and was the tallest candidate. In televisual terms he had the high ground and didn’t seem to use it. I thought the jibe about Boris family was very below the belt particularly from someone who has had the Daily Mail treatment. And what on earth was the churchill stuff about?
Whilst I don’t think it was Brian’s greatest performance, it certainly made my mind up about my second preference: Boris failed to answer several of the questions, had to “explain” what two of his previous comments really meant (even though he spoke about the mayor as needing to be a uniting force – to do that there needs to be no confusion over your views – Brian was right about perception).
I’d have liked to seen Brian say he was flattered when the Tories asked him to be mayoral candidate, and he could see that if he could unite Tory and Lib Dem voters, it would be a good way to get a Lib Dem Mayor – but in the end preferred to run as LD.
Ah I look forward to a nationwide show dedicating time purely to the welsh and scottish elections next time we have them.
William Harris:
Yes, soldiers are well known for their quiet demeanour and lack of troublemaking.
al b is right. I keep thinking I should vote for Paddick, but he is significantly over-rated. He’s annoying, humourless, and rude, and shows no feeling for key issues of London. Do the Lib Dems really have nobody better than this? The other two weren’t much better, its true. Boris was strangely inarticulate at times. Its depressing that this is the best that London can produce… Its hardly Obama is it?
i thought brian spoke well in defence of
him wanting to be mayor but waited for some one to pick him on his statement that people in Brixham did not trust the policebut no one pick it up is it suprising that no one trust them when you hear of the corruption in the Met police arrested for murder 10years ago hundreds of officers caught on camara speeding but not prosecuted is ther any wonder no one trusts them how many have been caught with porn on their computers and all gone quite yours R dunford
“I think Brian was far more interrupted than interrupting.”
Laurence, you genuinely must have been watching a different debate! It seemed that every five minutes Brian Paddick was butting in…
No, but he was interrupted too. Sometimes when he was making a reasonable point. But there’s an art to interrupting, and I agree Brian’s not all that good at it.
Fair point Laurence. He was interrupted at times but he was – in my opinion – by far the most disruptive candidate.
There is an art to interrupting, I agree, and he hasn’t got it. Perhaps with more experince in debates it’ll come. But he needs to be careful because he came across as being rude and shrill last night.
Also, can I just say that it’s such a nice feeling not to have been pilloried by people on here because I don’t share their opinion. It’s a good reflection on the contributors here.
I am definitely voting for Boris. After watching tonight’s show, there was absolutely no doubt left in my mind that Brian is one of the worst possible candidates for the job, and now will not even get my second choice vote. He was arrogant, rude and firing cheap shots at the other candidates – how old is he, five? he should leave his attitude problem in the playground. If he cannot keep his mouth shut and let anyone finish answering a question that was directed at them, and not him; that not only shows incredibly bad manners, but also a complete inability to listen. A large part of any role in government is to listen to what the public has to say. Tonight he has shown that he has fallen far short of this most basic of abilities. I flatly refuse to vote for anyone who does not hear what anybody else has to say, because he is too busy listening to himself.
Whatever you thought of Brian’s performance, I feel Boris would be terrible for London as he has no experience of running anything, let alone a city. I don’t think Boris’ performance on the programme would have convinced someone who wasn’t already a Conservative, so I suspect you were going to vote for Boris all along.
Boris’s performance was pretty wooden and heavily scripted to my mind which sums up his campaign. He did land some blows on Livingstone but as is often the case with Livingstone he actually lands most of these blows on himself…Livingstone looked tierd and jaded and like he had been in office for 8 years….
Brian Paddick made some solid points but he did look rather shrill at times….
Agree!
Boris has in fact had experience of running a private company in his capacity as editor of the Spectator. Before this he was assistant editor of The Daily Telegraph.
And your point is Anon?? All you are pointing to is experience that would stand him in good stead if he wanted to be the Mayor’s press officer not the actual Mayor himself….