In a week that’s witnessed two seemingly impossible events – a perfect start to the England football team’s World Cup campaign; and the partial political rehabilitation of Gordon Brown – today’s BBC1 Question Time (10.35 pm) will once again attempt to make sense of the last few weeks’ economic turmoil.
In the gold corner will be Julia Goldsworthy, Lib Dem MP for Falmouth and Camborne, and the party’s shadow secretary of state for communities and local government (and, for one week only, inbetween Lembit Opik’s resignation from the Lib Dem shadow cabinet, and last week’s mini-reshuffle, our housing spokeswoman, too). And as St Vince of Cable’s Number 2 at the Treasury while the Lib Dems were constantly warning that the debt-soaked seeds of the economic crisis were being sown we can expect Julia to know her fiscal onions.
For the Government there’s Geoff Hoon, relocated to Transport in Mr Brown’s recent reshuffle; while the Tories are fielding the bright-but-oh-so-dry Dominic Grieve, who succeeded David Davies as their shadow home secretary (but has never managed to replace him). The ‘non-aligned’ panellists this week are Labour-turned-Independent MP Clare Short, and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan.
So, prepare to sit back and watch the panellists’ duelling of wits; and feel free to prove you’re sharper than any of them in the comments thread below…
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A power vacuum?
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11 Comments
I have just returned from a Scrutiny meeting at my local council, so shall catch up via iPlayer tomorrow.
In the meantime, and remembering my employment at the local Asda’s Produce Dept a few years ago, I really cannot recall our stocking any “fiscal onions” 🙂
By the way: I notice that this is actually quite a good site. I haven’t been a member of the LibDems for several years now, but still have friendly relations with them. Indeed, I was chatting to a couple of their councillors before tonight’s Scrutiny meeting.
They’re not generally bad people, on the whole, though they do still commit the most ghastly (and obvious) gaffes at times. I shall see what Julia G did at QT with interest: hopefully it was a gaffe-free performance.
It is very amusing this week as the Tory spokesman, Dominic Grieve, is the main one under scrutiny. Geoff Hoon is managing to sound rather authoritative.
Julia G is as ever hitting all the right notes.
With due respect to Julia, Newsnight’s feature on the US election right now is actually much more interesting…
The worst kind of knee-jerk socialist demagoguery (such as erecting new trade barriers to protect ‘British jobs’) from the audience is being happily indulged by most of the panel, including the supposed ‘venture capitalist’ James Caan… Ye Gods.
Julia is doing pretty well but she can’t just talk about copayments as assume that everyone knows what that means. A little explanation would be useful.
Geoff Hoon is predictably awful, Claire Short is borderline unlistenable.
Stephen, no it isn’t. The US election is as dull as a weekend in Grimsby and I for one am counting the hours until it is over. Dull, dull, dull, dull, dull.
I have to say I am warming to Geoff Hoon, perhaps becaue Dominic Grieve is so unapologeticlly Tory. Clare Short is always good for a laugh. Barking mad.
Oh. now Geoff Hoon is being unpredictably awful.
I suspect Geoff Hoon’s just lost any gooodwill he may have built up with his terrorism remark.
I was hoping Sesenco would turn up to compliment Ms Goldsworthy on something or other, shame.
I wish somebody had remarked something along the lines of “RUN! THE TERRORISTS WILL KILL US ALL!” when Hoone decided to accuse non-conformants of condoning terrorism…
Sesenco is no doubt busy digging him/herself into a hole in a forest as s/he awaits the coming CIA takeover of the country, led by a jackbooted Julia G who seeks to lock up as may under 16 year olds as she can.
Hmm, that particular image of Julia G will stay with me for some time – in a good way, you understand!