This week, for the first time in it’s history, Question Time was held in the Houses of Parliament, a rather fitting location for Guy Fawkes week. Inevitably, there was constant bickering between the right and left over issues such as public sector pensions, the eurozone, and the protestors at St Pauls Cathedral. The panel included parliamentary representatives such as Theresa May and Ed Balls as well as the poet and author Benjamin Zephaniah.
As a first time voter, what I found most refreshing was the honesty and frankness of Baroness Shirley Williams. With her experience and evident knowledge, she provided alternative viewpoints from the somewhat restricted politicians. No longer a member of parliament, Williams proceeded with an attractive openness in her answers, articulating what many MP’s may well believe, but can’t afford to say. This was best illustrated in her call for Silvio Berlusconi to stand down as prime minister of Italy provoking a surprised response from David Dimbleby, questioning whether it was ‘parliamentary etiquette’ to say that. Williams smartly replied that ‘some people don’t deserve etiquette’.
It is a good and necessary thing to have a broad cross section of people on the panel, and I am growing to like and respect these ‘old timers’ more and more.
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