QT sees Cable tongue tied as Hislop shows benefits of freedom of speech

It was Birmingham for this week’s Question Time with a fairly high profile panel, (certainly compared to last week) with the likes of Vince Cable and Harriet Harman accompanying Dimbleby. For much of the programme, we were ‘treated’ to continuous bickering back and forth between Harman and Cable, over the issue of the economy and growth, after figures from the past week showed a decline. The discussion was spiced up however, when the contentious topic of capital punishment was raised. It was here where Ian Hislop (like him or loathe him) impressed with a clear understanding and knowledge of the matter, as well as maintaining his witty charm. Celebrating his 25 years at the top of Private Eye, he focused on the issue of ensuring that accused murderers are sentenced correctly. He backed this up with evidence of incorrect sentences he had investigated as editor of the magazine. Of all the panellists Hislop shone with an uncanny knack of cutting straight through to the core of the issues raised. In fact, David Dimbleby rounded off the programme by saying there have been a lot of comments along the lines of ‘I agree with Ian’.

It's at times like this, as a First Time Voter I rather wish that some of the most talented non politicians we see on Question Time were the ones in Parliament. That said, Hislop is probably able to do a much more effective job as a journalist, not least because he is free of the constrictions of Parliament and not needing to toe a party line.

This is all too evident when you look at poor old Vince Cable, whose reputation has slid further and further on a downward spiral since he joined the government. During the banking crisis he was the much admired ‘must have’ commentator and many were seeing him as a much better candidate for chancellor. His final downfall and demotion came earlier this year when he was caught making inappropriate remarks about ‘declaring war’ on Rupert Murdoch, to undercover journalists. Murdoch has since been found out in a much bigger way than we could have ever imagined, but nobody has said that perhaps Cable was right all along!

Miliband shines in QT 9/11 Special

I was looking forward to the return of Question time on Thursday night with the 9/11 special. As a First Time Voter, I was only 7 years of age at the time, so it’s a very distant memory and I have always looked for further clarification on some of the issues involved.

It got off to a slow start with every panellist seeming to be agreeing with each other - exactly what you don’t want on this type of show - until Tariq Ali at last introduced a dissenting voice, as you would expect from an anti war campaigner.

The programme could have remained rather muted and unenlightening to a First Time Voter, were it not for one panellist David Miliband, the former foreign secretary. In comparison with the rest of the panel he was energetic, charismatic, authoritative, and showed a real in-depth knowledge to the subject matter. He was strong and clear with messages such as ‘the words War on Terror should have never been muttered’ as it ‘unified people under Bin Laden and made it look like East vs the West’. In short he came across to anybody watching, particularly a First Time Voter, as somebody who could be leading this country. His storming performance was underlined by batting away valiant attempts by Dimbleby to put him on the spot, with answers such as ‘No David I was junior education secretary at the time’.

This is just another indication that Labour may have picked the wrong brother and it was brought into sharp focus the next time I saw David Miliband on television at the weekend. No, it wasn’t the Andrew Marr show, it was Match of the Day! Sitting in the executive box at Sunderland FC in his role as the non-executive vice chairman. I just hope not all of our most impressive politicians end up in football! 

Paddick knocks some sense into Question Time Special on riots

This week’s special edition of Question Time in London came in response to the shocking riots, which have swept across England over the past few days. As a first time voter I have often thought you hear more sense and genuine reactions from non-politicians and audience members, than you do from the politicians themselves.

I was particularly pleased therefore when an audience member brought the debate into sharp focus after a period of ideological discussion over how far the police should go.  “I expect the police to stop people in the act of a crime”, he said, to enthusiastic applause. This put to bed Fraser Nelson’s view that he would prefer to live in a society where the police took a step back, rather than dive in with batons.

Clearly with an atrocity so serious and damaging to our society as these riots, action needed to be taken.  As a result there has been much talk about plastic bullets, water cannons and even deployment of the army, but mostly from people who know little or nothing about handling a riot.  Alarming, even former Deputy Prime Minister showed a certain amount of confusion as to the legal process.  As Spectator editor Fraser Nelson said to Prescott: “It’s not a question of the police chiefs sending in their men, then ringing up someone like you and asking ‘what do we do now?’".

So it was really Brian Paddick who proved the most impressive, demonstrating his knowledge and experience as a Police officer. It was clear that, frankly, no one knew what the right measures are to take, proving that it is easy for a politician to criticise and advise, but relatively meaningless when they often have little expertise in the area. Paddick is positioning himself nicely as a political commentator and it’s a shame he’s had a failed mayoral bid. Even more of a shame he sank to the level of going on a reality show in ‘I’m a celebrity get me out of here’.  The real shame is that he is the sort of person to whom I would like to give my first time vote.

Clegg's missed opportunity

Odd news to round off the week as I see both PM Dave and Deputy Clegg are planning to take their summer holidays at the same time, with Cameron to the Mediterranean and Clegg to Spain. 

What struck me as a First Time Voter was the missed opportunity by Clegg to man the ship and steer the country in Cameron's absence. Surely, with the flak Clegg's had to put up with over the past year this was his moment to seize control and come into the limelight, demonstrating his leadership and presentation skills which he showed us during the live television debates. 

William Hague will take charge while these two set off on their travels, but what I am wondering is: who signed off the holiday forms?

End of the Murdoch Empire? Question Time July 7

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.

What's so special about the teachers? Question Time June 30

With public sector pensions and teacher strikes on the agenda for on last night's (June 30 2011) Question Time, we could be sure of a heated debate and plenty of participation from  the audience in Birmingham.  As a first time voter, the profession of teaching is one of significant relevance to myself, having just gone through the final stages of school life, with the emotions of teachers, as well as pupils, coming into the spotlight.

For me, the panel's government representative Philip Hammond was on the back foot throughout the debate, with John Denham the Shadow Business Secretary continuously applying pressure over the way the government had acted with regards to the increase in teacher pensions. Denham stressed the government should take ‘more responsibility’ for their actions in the past year. Adding to the pressure was a member of the audience who directed his argument at Hammond stating, ‘public sector workers will not allow the government to walk over them and affect future generations’. Finally Christine Blower, general secretary of NUT concluded this argument describing how the government were ‘discussing but not listening’, implying a clear lack of consideration on the part of teachers by the government.            

It was Richard Lambert (former head of CBI), however, who I reckon raised the most important point.  He acknowledged the uncomfortable position for teachers, but suggested that the decrease in pensions is just a sign of the dramatic change in a typical working life. He pointed to the reality that people nowadays are simply living longer and that there are only four things the government can realistically impose: for people to work longer; pay greater contributions to pensions; accept a smaller pension; or rely more heavily on the taxpayer.

The big question I think however, is one which is similar to a question raised by a member of the audience at the start of the programme, ‘what message are teachers sending to their pupils by going on strike’. Were these strikes justified? One thing Hammond and Denham both managed to agree on was that these strikes were wrong, forcing many parents to take the day off work, and children to miss a day's teaching. 

As a first time voter, I can't help but agree with a point raised by a member of the audience: ‘why are teachers so special?’ emphasising the minimal regard shown to the rest of the public sector workers.  Actually, my teachers are rather special but few of them went out on strike!