Tag Archives: the big debate

Yesterday, I travelled across Scotland to a very windy Prestwick to take part in Radio Scotland’s Big Debate, hosted by Gordon Brewer. There was a big audience in the warm and welcoming Monkton and Prestwick Church Hall. My fellow panellists were Conservative MSP John Scott, SNP MSP Chic Brodie (who used to be a Lib Dem), Herald journalist Alison Rowat and former Labour MP for Glasgow South Tom Harris. Tom has a bit of a reputation for courting controversy and being a bit of a bruiser, so let me ruin that slightly by letting you know that he was showing us photos of his very cute dog before we went into the hall. He would say I started it by showing a photo my husband had sent me of my dog, and he’d be right, but still. He’s actually a good bloke, despite having been Misogynist of the Week on my blog a few years back. He’s a fellow Whovian, so can be forgiven almost anything. Well, maybe not all his gratuitous attacks on the Lib Dems…

It was a lively hour and, unusually, we managed to fit in five questions:

Donald Trump

It’s always good to have a go at the obnoxious, racist, misogynist American billionaire, but what if his investments are creating hundreds of jobs locally, as they are in Ayrhsire? Should they be boycotted? My view was that, much as I wouldn’t go anywhere near them, it should be an individual choice, not a matter of public policy. I added that although I hadn’t signed the petition (for the reasons I gave the other day), it was in some ways heartening to half a million people show a bit of solidarity with Muslims. After all, there have been too many reports of hostility towards them recently. In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, a friend of mine was walking down the street and moved aside to let someone pass. She got a whole load of rudeness in return: “I don’t thank your kind” was the horrible response.