Thornberry gives Abbott style performance today on Radio 4

[Green Goose]

Good to see the shadow cabinet members are showing a consistent standard of performance.

[rendelharris]

Thank you Villager.

[????]

O'Donnell should get an honorable mention for not knowing what the deficit was too - no need to thank me RH

[Green Goose]

Speculation abounds that Vince Cable will switch sides and join Labour following his interview with Susanna Reid when he says that the LibDems? new public sector pay policy will affect 1 million workers, then 2 million workers, then 5.4 million.

Or maybe he is going in for a Darwin awards, politically speaking.

GG

PS - RH, this was the fruits of my mate's research.

[rendelharris]

Your mate whose account you use to post on here as well as your own, you mean?

[JohnL]

I noticed today that Hammond allowed May and himself to take credit for what David Cameron and George Osborne did.

Not that it really matters but I think the Tories are being given an easy ride here...

[JohnL]

Green Goose Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Speculation abounds that Vince Cable will switch

> sides and join Labour following his interview with

> Susanna Reid when he says that the LibDems? new

> public sector pay policy will affect 1 million

> workers, then 2 million workers, then 5.4

> million.

>

> Or maybe he is going in for a Darwin awards,

> politically speaking.

>

> GG

>

> PS - RH, this was the fruits of my mate's

> research.

Politicians have ideas and the big picture - let the minions get the numbers

[New Girl]

Hammond couldn't give the number for the HS2 spend this morning on R4. I'm with JohnL on this. This is a general election not a competition who can remember the figures. I give a monkeys about what they're going to be doing with my future money. The ones they've blown down the can are old news and they couldn't give a sh1t regardless.

[Otta]

I thought Hammond was given quite a hard time by Humphries. Which he should be.

I am tired of hearing people saying how right wing and pro tory the BBC is. I just don't see it that way at all. And yes I know there are specific examples, but that doesn't make the corporation biased.

[robbin]

Who says that about the BBC? I thought the most common complaint was that they are too metropolitan left wing bubble orientated? In support of that criticism it is often said that is why they cram the Question Time audience with people from the left wing metropolitan bubble! You know, the sort of people much in evidence in 'the Lounge' ; )

[Jeremy]

Yeah some lefties complain the BBC has a right wing bias (particularly the paranoid and deluded Corbynistas, who are convinced that #mainstreammedia has an anti-Corbyn agenda).

At the same time, right wingers think the BBC is overtly lefty and too "politically correct".

Of course, both are wrong.

[JohnL]

Otta Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I thought Hammond was given quite a hard time by

> Humphries. Which he should be.

>

> I am tired of hearing people saying how right wing

> and pro tory the BBC is. I just don't see it that

> way at all. And yes I know there are specific

> examples, but that doesn't make the corporation

> biased.

Didn't hear BBC - most of my ire is directed at Sky News

One of the (not resident) presenters was so angry last week

when she talked about Labour and Corbyn she began waving her

arms around.

They make constant jokes about him (which might be appropriate

down the pub but not in a TV studio) - they even referred to today

being the day to pick holes in Labour's manifesto.

[JohnL]

Jeremy Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Yeah some lefties complain the BBC has a right

> wing bias (particularly the paranoid and deluded

> Corbynistas, who are convinced that

> #mainstreammedia has an anti-Corbyn agenda).

>

> At the same time, right wingers think the BBC is

> overtly lefty and too "politically correct".

>

> Of course, both are wrong.

Some presenters screw their faces up when they mention him - watch.

It's not hard to see (if you're sensitive to that kind of thing) that they

personally do not like the man.

[robbin]

Well, to be fair, most people do consider him to be a laughing stock!

[JohnL]

robbin Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well, to be fair, most people do consider him to

> be a laughing stock!

Yes - when I say do not like - I mean they seem to have a total disrespect for him.

[rendelharris]

robbin Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Well, to be fair, most people do consider him to

> be a laughing stock!

Well, according to the latest opinion poll, 33% of the electorate are planning to vote for him, which is quite a number considering he's portrayed as a laughing stock by most of the media.

[JohnL]

Talking of Laughing Stock Boris has been in a Sikh temple trying to sell Whisky

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-sikh-temple-brexit-whisky-tariffs-foreign-minister-bristol-a7740551.html

[robbin]

33% for an opposition at this stage is embarrassingly bad Rendel. Most of those people are voting Labour in spite of him - not voting for him, as you say.

Jeez - the vast majority of his own MPs recently voted that they did not have any confidence in him! You may think he's good Rendel, but suggesting somehow that he has a lot of support (based on that 33% figure) flies in the face of reality and seems rather out of character for you.

[Jeremy]

JohnL Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Talking of Laughing Stock Boris has been in a Sikh

> temple trying to sell Whisky

A bit stupid of Boris, of course.

But religious people getting all angry and offended... yawn...

[rendelharris]

robbin Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> 33% for an opposition at this stage is

> embarrassingly bad Rendel. Most of those people

> are voting Labour in spite of him - not voting for

> him, as you say.

>

> Jeez - the vast majority of his own MPs recently

> voted that they did not have any confidence in

> him! You may think he's good Rendel, but

> suggesting somehow that he has a lot of support

> (based on that 33% figure) flies in the face of

> reality and seems rather out of character for you.

I don't think he's good - I'd rather he wasn't Labour leader - but tell me, on what opinion poll do you base the assertion that most are planning to vote for Labour in spite of him? I'm not aware of polls asking that sort of question...

[jaywalker]

One way of reading the attraction of Labour is the profoundly ethical and human non- or even anti-leadership stance of Corbyn. As a socialist he does not believe in the individual leader, but in the community. So he rejects the deployment of charisma and rhetorical plays for imaginary personal identification (strong leader, stable, against chaos, believe me). The media, who thrive on reflecting such imaginaries, can only know contempt for him. Yet, in some sense, he is speaking directly to all of us precisely because he self-negates.

[????]

rendelharris Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> robbin Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > 33% for an opposition at this stage is

> > embarrassingly bad Rendel. Most of those

> people

> > are voting Labour in spite of him - not voting

> for

> > him, as you say.

> >

> > Jeez - the vast majority of his own MPs

> recently

> > voted that they did not have any confidence in

> > him! You may think he's good Rendel, but

> > suggesting somehow that he has a lot of support

> > (based on that 33% figure) flies in the face of

> > reality and seems rather out of character for

> you.

>

> I don't think he's good - I'd rather he wasn't

> Labour leader - but tell me, on what opinion poll

> do you base the assertion that most are planning

> to vote for Labour in spite of him? I'm not aware

> of polls asking that sort of question...

Look at the ratings on who would make a good or the best prime minister - can't remember which pollster does it 9MORI maybe?). At one stage I think it showed that more Labour voters thought May did above Corbyn (or it was certainly near) - probably improved a bit towards Corbyn now.

[steveo]

'So he rejects the deployment of charisma'

That's handy

[????]

On the other hand Steveo a weird cult like worship has developed around him among many Maomentum types so there must be some charisma somewhere in all that passive aggressive anger and holier than thou worthiness :)

[Otta]

robbin Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Who says that about the BBC? I thought the most

> common complaint was that they are too

> metropolitan left wing bubble orientated? In

> support of that criticism it is often said that is

> why they cram the Question Time audience with

> people from the left wing metropolitan bubble!

> You know, the sort of people much in evidence in

> 'the Lounge' ; )

This is the point, both "sides" accuse the BBC of pandering to the other. I genuinely think that they make a real effort to play it down the middle, and as such never quite please either side.