Okay, so there’s no Lib Dem on tonight’s Question Time (broadcast on BBC1 and online from 10.35 pm GMT) … but I’m saying nothing more.
The panel will include Labour’s Minister of State for Housing Caroline Flint, the Conservative shadow minister for community cohesion Sayeeda Warsi, the Church of England’s first Bishop for urban life and faith, Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, writer and broadcaster Clive James, and the author, columnist for the Daily Mail, and all-round paranoiac, Melanie Phillips.
If you can bear to watch Melanie, and want to sound-off, please feel free to use the comments thread.
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31 Comments
3 small-c conservatives on tonight’s show? how spiteful of the beeb..
Melanie Phillips AND a bishop. This is going to worse than last week . . .
This is so stupid. The Olympics are awarded to the country which looks likely to produce the best games. End of story.
And why on earth is there an artistic director of the games? What the hell is that? Is there a sporting director of the Cannes film festival?
I would have thought that the bearded idiot is perfectly fit for his role.
Melanie is talking perfect sense here. God, I hate it when that happens . . .
Top marks for Melanie.
Ah, so it’s all Murdoch’s fault.
What’s all Murdoch’s fault?
No LibDem again? Someone should complain, and please god no more of Mad Mel on our screens…
The Bishop blamed Murdoch a few minutes ago for all the “misunderstanding” there has been.
I know what you mean Laurence re: Melanie Phillips but her reasons may be different to ours – she is probably approaching this from a ‘how can you possibly accept islamic infiltration’ view rather than ‘it is absurd to allow religious privelege in law’.
Yeah, and Clive James made out the Bishop is some poor fool with no understanding of politics…never bought that for a second. You don’t get to be the head of any organisation with public bearing without having some political savvy in this country.
The ‘bishop’ is a complete arsehole
Peter #13, yep agree.
Clive James made an amusing point about ABC not liking a secular society and it never going back to a religious one. That needs to be said a more often in public if you ask me.
I don’t believe I what I have just heard. The Bishop pointed out that the Church of England has exemptions to sexual and homosexual equality legislation. Did it not occur to him just how profoundly embarrassing that is?
‘You don’t get to be the head of any organisation with public bearing’
unless you are a bishop, imam, rabbi etc whereby you are afforded a privelege not afforded to a ‘Mr.’ on account of having risen to the top within a closed organisation/club that is founded on anti rational bronze age myths.
Are they still on about the Archbishop’s comments? I know Parliament is on a break at the moment, but seriously is there nothing political going on?
Ah this will be fun, onto the Bradford 5…
Its not been a classic Q time thats for sure.
The Tories were obviously so delighted to have an asian woman on board that they didn’t care too much about her ignorance and can i say ‘naffness’ – ok i can just about accept her becoming a peer so Cameron can get his quotas up but do we really have to listen to her on the TV ?
Here’s an interesting point: should athletes be allowed to take Holy Communion shortly before a race?
Good old bishop – no room for redemption and forgiveness in his church!
Oh yeah you guys should really use this: http://www.coveritlive.com/
It’s a very cool way of doing live comments for things like this. Liberal Conspiracy used it to great effect during Super Tuesday.
what a dull DULL questiontime!
The scary thing was the meeting of minds between Sayeeda Warsi, who seemed out of her depth, and Melanie Philips.
Forgot to mention, saw the usual BBC bias against the Lib Dems. Watford has a directly elected mayor, Lib Dem Dorothy Thornhill, who would have been ideal. Why is ‘swivel eyed’ Melanie Philips a permanent fixture on QT?
Why when there are 5 panel positions are 3 taken up with non politicians? That is just ridiculous for a programme about politics. If they wanted a Bishop on due to the ABC controversy then they should have dropped one of Melanie Phillips (preferably) or Clive James.
Peter, there are two (or possibly more than two) answers to your question:
a) Up to a point, the BBC can do what the hell they like. (I said “up to a point.”)
b) Like overgrown schoolchildren, MP’s are currently on their half-term break. It may have been difficult to get hold of them.
@27:
Also, as I mentioned in the other thread on QT bias, all the major parties are over-represented on QT compared to current voting intentions…
Laurence – OK, so it may be half term. But I’m sure that if they tried, the BBC could find one LibDem MP able and willing to appear.
The simple fact is that the BBC doesn’t like LibDems.
Mind you, there are times when LibDems come over as too party political on QT. Sometimes they sit there saying very little. Sometimes they are not allowed to say very much by Mr Dimbleby.
The simple fact is that the BBC doesn’t like Lib Dems.
Yes, that’s right. The whole of the BBC hates all Liberal Democrats. And then they call me a bigot . . .