Acting Lib Dem leader Vince Cable is one of the panellists on tonight’s edition of Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT).
He’ll be alongside Home Office minister Tony McNulty, former Tory deputy leader Lord Heseltine, the British-Egyptian novelist and political commentator Ahdaf Soueif, and the journalist and writer Douglas Murray.
If you’re watching, and want to sound-off, please feel free to use the comments thread.
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35 Comments
First sensible remark of the evening comes from an audience member: “Don’t you think it’s time we started attacking the ideologies behind the terrorism, instead of the terrorism itself?”
But don’t expect anyone on the panel to take up this argument.
Stupidest remark of the evening so far comes from another audience member: “Has the minister read 1984?”
1984 was a book written for another age entirely, and bears no relevance to the present day situation. Tony McNulty correctly swats it away.
Nice admission from Lord Heseltine that it was a terrible idea to back Saddam Hussein against Iran. He duels with an audience member who looks like a bit of a numpty to me.
Vince states the obvious: Ian Blair has to go. Why on earth is he still hanging on?
Tony McNulty makes an accusation of political opportunism over Ian Blair. Total garbage. There’s a dozen reasons why Sir Ian should go.
Douglas Murray is the director of the “Centre for Social Cohesion” or something. What the hell is that?
An ‘Open Thread’, otherwise known as… Laurence liveblogs QT 🙂
This argument that Sir Ian is somehow central to the fight against terrorism is in itself quite worrying. Nobody in such a position should be indispensable. Otherwise it follows that he ought to stay no matter what he says or does.
That’s three times at least this year for Douglas Murray. What gives?
Good to see Lord Heseltine denounce Enoch Powell in the strongest possible terms. Powell was utterly wrong. There have not been rivers of blood. In fact there’s been barely a trickle.
Laurence @ 2…
That’s surely a bit like saying “Road to Serfdom” was written for another age? They’re both supremely relevant today as we as a society tend to forget what might have been.
That’s three times at least this year for Douglas Murray. What gives?
Probably a dastardly plot by the BBC to discredit conservatism. Has anyone ever seen Douglas smile?
That’s surely a bit like saying “Road to Serfdom” was written for another age?
Probably. But the clue is in the title: 1984. That was 23 years ago. It’s a bit like waiting for the Second Coming.
Douglas Murray makes the specious argument that we can’t discuss immigration. Yes we can and we do. If invoking Enoch Powell excludes you from the conversation, then whose fault is that?
Yeah, but we know the title was only a reversal of the year it was written in. The name is not significant, unless you believe Orwell was trying to make a precise prophesy. He could have called it “Brave New World” to be vaguer, but somebody else got there first.
Nah, 1984 is rubbish. Totally overrated in my view. We’ve got the internet now. Not that you’d know the way some people keep banging on about freedom of speech.
Hey, Stephen, that was terrific! Some really incisive commentary and discussion. Can we do this every week? 🙂
“We’ve got he internet now”
Indeed – but for some the invention of that technology appears to be being used to monitor them and their thoughts and words more closely. It’s not all a one way strip. And the powers that be keep wanting to use it to increase surveillance on us too, what with all the record keeping and demands for copies of emails and so on.
12 of 16 comments so far from Laurence Boyce….so do we think the first ‘open thread’ on LDV has been a success….? 🙂
Jock – I liked the fact that in this context you complain about over-exposure *of someone else*! 🙂
Wow! Kudos to Mike Hestletine for laying into that neo con tosser over Nigel “Enoch was right” Hastlow! Very enjoyable television. I believe the word is Pwned!
Jock, you’re being paranoid. Give yourself a slap. I weep when I hear people droning on about freedom of speech. It’s a bit like talking about sex instead of actually doing it.
19 – Jeremy, my guess is next week’s open thread will generate a bigger, more varied response…
(It’s the leadership QT special.)
Slightly O/T….
Surely this is one of the worst programmes on television these days? Too many panellists, an intrusive Chair, and an audience of partisans. “Question Time” on Radio 4 is a lot better, although even there the Chair seems to think that he has to Do A Paxman at every opportunity.
You’re right, David – Any Questions is much more civilised and intelligent. However, I still think QT is better than the truly dire This Week (which is only very slightly redeemed by Andrew Neill). Please, please will they get rid of the tedious, clueless Abbott & Portillo double-act.
I disagree. David is much better than Jonathan, and TV is much better than radio.
What is this TV thing of which you all speak? Is this Question Time thing another show they’ve ripped off from a superior predecessor on Radio 4?
(maybe I could look into watching online in the future? Oh, wait, I’m in a house with one next week)
Oh no. I see the compulsory link to Jock’s Place below has replicated. This could so easily get out of hand.
They both have their own benefits. Question Time is chiefly interesting, for me, to see the audience’s responses and opinions. Also, it tends to command some quite big names.
Any Questions has other benefits, including perhaps being more in-depth and less rhetorically crowd-pleasing.
I can’t be the only person who includes aggregated Lib Dem Blogs headlines on my blog can I? That must be what it is that causes this linking thing at the bottom. LDV must be picking up the link back to the headline here from my blog. Yet it’s not exported by my RSS feed.
My favourite moment was Audience member – Have you read 1984?
The Demon Headmaster (Mcnulty) – HA HA HA, It’s one of my favourite books. MWAH HA HA HA!
Audience giggles nervously.
Mcnutty – I don’t mean because I like what goes on in it.
I think Vince is getting better and better all the time. On this week, Portillo and Abbott and Neil all said how he was doing a great job. Vince for Foreign Affairs!
Douglas Murray should be on every panel – with opponents like that….
Am I getting paranoid, but . . . .
Every time I watch QT the following scenario seems to play out –
First question (usually on the main issue of the week) is asked – Dimbleby then invites comments in the following order:
1. Tory politician
2. Labour politician
(1 & 2 sometimes swap places)
3. Non-politician panellist
4. Questioner invited to comment
5. Member of audience
6. Another member of audience
7. Lib Dem
8. Final panellist
(7 & 8 sometimes swap places)
AM I being paranoid? Or is this actually happening, and if so shouldn’t somebody at Cowley Street be bending ears?
I don’t think this is happening at all. I think he’s normally pretty fair and sometimes asks us first. What does annoy me is when we are booted off in favour of respect/greens/Plaid/SNP/Mebyon Kernow/Martin Bell/DUP/SinnFein/UKIP/etc/etc/etc
I think we should make the case that we should always be on and these should replace one of the non-politicians.
Nineteen Eighty Four.. you know you’re not a liberal when you read it and think, “wow, we can stay in power forever?”
Personally Brave New World frightens me more these days though!
Yes, Vince is doing well – he certainly seems to be everywhere.
With some energetic leadership for a bit longer we might start to surrise ourselves!