I was surprised this morning to find the lead story on BBC News online politics to be Sir Menzies warns off his critics.
The leader appeared on the Today programme this morning to defend himself against a silly quote from a single, anonymous, “Lib Dem MP” quoted in a paper whose readers probably don’t vote, and also against the defection of three Lib Dem PPCs to the Conservatives – a story that didn’t rise higher than about page 10 in the papers, and hasn’t ruffled any feathers in the party. A bit soon to go on the airwaves and remind everyone of your mandate?
Of course, he may well have been invited on to talk about another issue and been ‘ambushed’, but if not, then rising to the bait of a challenge from four people is just playing in to the hands of the likes of the increasingly hyperventilating Iain Dale.
UPDATE: Thanks to George, in the comments, who heard the whole interview – the BBC News Online piece looks like it’s disproportionately weighed towards the leadership segment of the interview.
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12 Comments
The Today programme are interviewing all three party leaders about ‘the year ahead’ for their parties (although Prescott is deputising for Blair). Prescott faced similar problems yesterday when he tried to talk about the Government’s public services agenda and ended up spending half the interview on Iraq and Saddam’s execution (to his immense frustration).
I thought Ming did pretty well trailing the big crime campaign the party is launching later this month, and explaining why tackling crime is such an important issue to him personally and to liberals in general.
Ah, cool – good old BBC have cut the interview they’ve put up on BBC News Online then.
So is tomorrow Cameron? If I were in his shoes, on the back of Prescott & Campbell’s interviews, I’d pull out!
I can hardly breathe I am hyperventilating so much…
A paper bag will be sent to 18 Doughty St forthwith 😉
Remind me Iain, what happened to those Lib Dem MPs you were so confidently predicting were about to defect … 🙂
It will happen, dear boy, it will happen.
Those needing to remind themselves what the Conservative Party is really all about should read Ed Pearce’s obituary of Lord Lambton in yesterday’s “Guardian” (he of the infamous “compromising position”). A certain Alan Beith MP won Lambton’s vacated seat. And he’s still there, much to the consternation of Mr Dale and his ilk (getting over 50% of the vote in 2005).
I thought he came out of that obit really well. As someone who you’d enjoy partying with.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,1980990,00.html
Caught in bed smoking dope with a pair of tarts? C’mon we’ve all been there. There but for the grace of God…
I disagree, do panic Ming, do!!
I’m afraid Campbell does have a tendency to warn off his critics on a weekly basis. It’s all getting a bit silly.
He needs to grow the thick skin that differentiated Margaret Thatcher from John Major and enabled one to push ahead despite the criticism while the other was constantly ducking headlines.
Thought Cameron today had rather an easy ride (in the two thirds of the interview I heard anyway). Evidence of this is that the only ‘news’ the BBC website has taken from it is a call for more to be done for army housing.
Ming does have a severe personality perception problem and struggling with this seems to have been at the expense of his former prowess on foreign affairs for which he was so respected. Come back Charles, drunk or sober we would be stronger now.
Beth