Last night’s Question Time (July 7 from Basingstoke) was an eye opener for first time voters, not least because Hugh Grant in political mode was so much more credible than his previous, fictional attempt in Love Actually! In addition to some succinctly-made points, he took Chris Grayling to task over his inability to give an answer and remained relentless in his pursuit. As he followed through by asking Douglas Alexander to confirm his attendance at the most recent Murdoch party, the rest of the panel must have been fearful for what he might have on them!
Inevitably the edition opened on the News of the World closure – was it a cynical move? Carefully prepared responses came in sound-bite form from Alexander (“its not a change we need but a change of culture”) and snappy jokes from Jon Gaunt (got rid of the wrong red top).
It was a member of the audience, however, who finally nailed it for me. “Murdoch has had too much influence on the media and politics for too long and it’s got to stop”, said an elderly man picked out by David Dimbleby. This got the debate going in a way that was particularly enlightening for the first time voter. First, veteran politician Shirley Williams ran through all the recent elections, pointing to the way that new Prime Ministers had barely finished unpacking by the time Rupert Murdoch was turning up at No.10 and laying out his conditions for continued support. Jon Gaunt picked up the theme, pointing to the Neil Kinnock ‘light bulb’ story as the pivotal moment when the balance of power tipped too far in Murdoch’s direction.
It’s great that members of the cabinet and shadow cabinet continue to see it as their duty to present themselves for Question Time, but for the first time voter the greatest value often comes from the slightly different perspectives offered both by old-timers and other commentators such as actors, comedians and broadcasters.
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