I got a little over-excited on Tuesday when I got a telephone call which started with the words: "Hello, I'm calling from Question Time...". I say 'over-excited' because it was an invitation to appear on tonight's Question Time Extra on News 24 at 11.30pm, not the main programme. Not that I am being ungrateful, you understand! I'll be on with Derek Draper tonight to dissect the main programme and respond to viewers' comments.
UPDATE: From an anonymous commenter: "Iain Dale and Derek Draper.I am reminded of the Irish commentator who, when asked to explain the difference between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael said "well, one is s**t and the other is s***e"
UPDATE: The panelists are Harriet Harman, Simon Hughes, Caroline Spelman, Kelvin MacKenzie and one other.
52 comments:
Nice one Iain. Onwards and upwards.
I might record it. I like watching THIS WEEK.
:)
Iain Dale and Derek Draper.
I am reminded of the Irish commentator who, when asked to explain the difference between Fianna Fail and Fine Gael said "well, one is s**t and the other is s***e"
I might have to give that extra helping a watch then - I've never bothered before. Does anyone know who the main panel guests are going to be tonight?
Off Topic:
Iain, you clearly have some sort of direct line to A. Widdicombe.
Please impress on her that she would be seriously unwelcome on Dartmoor - about as popular as cherie blair.
I don't know but it's going to be a corker if the panel is half decent. Last week's was amazing; sometimes the atmosphere signals a real shift in opinion. Last week's was one such occasion.
Panelists are:
Harriet Harman
Simon Hughes
Caroline Spelman
Kalvin MacKenzie
+1 as yes unnamed - are you sure they only want you for the evening show Iain?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/question_time/7039151.stm
Question Time Extra is OK if you've missed QT itself, but it's too repetitious to watch both.
Typical BBC airtime filler, I'm afraid.
But, as you're appearing, I might record it.
Should be amusing to see if Lady Harriet tries to play the Eton card.
What's the betting on the unnamed being someone like Toynbee or MacGuire?
Draper's a card. Aren't I polite?
Two weeks is a long time in politics.
Check out this idiotic display from Draper in Bournemouth. Iain, we're counting on you to wipe the floor with this fool.
Another step towards HIGNFY, eh?
Well done for getting the invite.
You may find time to mention the pettiton for an early election which before Gordon mentioned it on PMQ's had 26 signatures, but now has 5,732.
It is here:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Election-year/
Iain, personally I am reminded of the words of Piers Moron to Kate Garraway, on finding that was said to be dating Mr Draper..
"Derek bloody Draper.. If I'd known the bar was set so low, I'd have had a go myself.." or words to that effect..
Perhaps you can bring this to his attention tonight.
Iain, cha cha cha
Iain, cha cha cha
Iain, cha cha cha
If he starts being a smart arse(he is one)
Ask if he feels like a bit of an idiot for chucking up a home extension without planning permission and then having to take it down at great expense.
Dr Mr Prague Tory
You seem to have got the last three letters wrong
Derek draper is not a card he is in fact a C***!
The Dale banned word (+:
Christ, as if this week hasn't been bad enough for Labour without Harman going on Question Time...
Iain I hope you wont let Draper get away with anything. The whole party need to go on the attack. please dont be Mr Nice Guy take a leaf out of Tebbits book.
Sorry you're up against Brillo and co. on This Week, it's Sky+ for you.
However Question Time should be great!
In the Red corner, evasive as ever, spouting the NuLab party line and not answering the question is the ever-so-politically-correct and ever-so posh Deputy Labour leader (in name only) Harriet "slippery" Harman.
In the Blue corner, weighing in at over 300 pounds, all political muscle, the tax cuttin', lefty bashing hero of the not-politically-correct-at-all tendency, Sun columnist (and editor until that unfortunate incident with Mr. Murdoch) Kelvin "the mangler" MacKenzie.
I do hope Harriet has a very large scotch before she goes on, and a very large supply of bandages, as she's gonna need them.
At least it will give you plenty of ammunition to bash that tw*t Derek Draper with.
I'll give you a tenner if Draper gets arsey and you reply: how very dare you!
Hitch -
Draper is a odious tw*t and has had issues with his local council's planning department, but have you checked out his missus?
Any bloke that can pull a cracking bird like that deserves at least some respect.
Iain - take care in the show, Draper is now a psychotherapist and could use his jedi mind-tricks on you.
Be prepared with the "Fool. Your jedi mind tricks will not work on me" put down.
According to the Question Time website, the fifth member of tonight's panel is Chuka Umunna
It goes on to say that he is "a member of the management committee of the Brownite pressure group and thinktank, Compass, and its principal legal advisor".
Chukka Uppa?
This has to be the worst panel ever assembled.
Any one know what happened to Lib Dem Voice. The website appears to have dissapeared.
Have they defected or are the polls so bad they can no longer be bothered?
OT: Sky News fury over 'media spin' as Brown hands BBC election exclusive
"Head of Sky News John Ryley has accused prime minister Gordon Brown of "failing to honour his word" on ending media spin after he gave an exclusive interview to the BBC's Andrew Marr to reveal he was not calling an election....."
http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/broadcastnowArticle.aspx?intStoryID=171692
It's not the best panel ever. McKenzie behaved abominably on This Week a while ago and will do the tories no favours if he's seen as representing them. Spelman is a little mild and won't conjure up the necessary sense of outrage at recent events. She's not bad looking for a female politico tho.... Simon Hughes is mediocrity made man and Harman is just a nobody with a nice title.
The producers must be kicking themselves that nobody else could be found on such an awesome week.
Set England Free!
I immediately rescind my comment on Spelman. What was I thinking?
Sacha
Anychance you can email me the text of that piece? It seems to be a subscription only site. iain AT iaindale.com
Iain
sorry to be soooo trivial (Iain may bar me) but derek drapers WIFE PLEASE
STUPID STUPID STUPID
and you a yorkshire man
i agree re QT depends on panel and 2 night not looking good. I record it then skip over bits not interesting but on the whole i get fed up with the sarcasm and cheap point scoring. if anyone is trying to make a substantive point they usually get drown out by derrision as opponents cant debate issue properly.
This week is ACE
I'm watching this - Derek Draper is an unbearable little sh*t isn't he?
You're doing well so far though Iain!
I'm not sure which is more offensive, Iain - your tie, or Derek Draper. You're wiping the floor with him though.
This is quite a good watch. Draper's hard to take seriously: there are some people on the left who manage to elucidate themselves without whinging quite so much!
I dare you to put "A slightly smoother version of Kelvin MacKenzie" on your blog banner...
Well done Iain,You did good against that creep Draper
Blimey. If Draper were in any way sympathetic I'd feel sorry for the poor guy. Humped.
Draper's one of those 70s socialist throwbacks. He's a typical mouthy northern prat with a mullet and an attitude problem who's got to talk over people because his argument is so weak.
Well done, Ian. What a loud-mouthed thug that Dolly Draper is. You left him standing, just wish you had occasionally been a little more acerbic with him. It's possible to be too nice, you know!
But, again, well done.
QT was quite good this week - Kelvin MacKenzie was quite entertaining I thought. An arse, but entertaining.
£10 says some Scot complains about what he said.
Chuka Umunna was absolutely useless. No debating or public speaking talent whatsoever. Boring Commie gobsh*te!
Tories are now cornering the market in appearing with utter twats and thus, looking much much better than they really are. Keep it up.
This Derek Draper is a lost bollock, who looks as though he was Kieren Fallon's bagman, until recently. Shouting down, thuggery and a fanatical devotion to the Leader seem to be an increasing and depressing trend among Browns myrmidons. Draper has, what we call in the shrink industry, "issues".
As for QT, I think it is now only one notch above daytime agony aunt fare in terms of the arguments having any heuristic value. The audience and the panel is carefully selected according to liberal BBC dictats,the intellectual quotient is low, and the hunger for new faces high, so soon, Iain, you may get the call.
Draper's back on the scene, and wants back in with the Brownites.
How 'Dolly' (who went dolally) can help Brown (who's a strong medication because he was dolally once) can help, I'm not sure.
Anonytwat: "£10 says some Scot complains about what he said"
And so they should - his racist outburst against all Scots was absolutely disgraceful.
If a Scot had said that about the English there'd be no end of whinging and complaining from southern Britain.
Gordon Brown is not in power because of Scottish votes - Labour had a majority of 43 in England alone at the last election - Scotland has just 59 MPs in total (and before anyone goes on about the Conservatieves getting a handful more votes in England than Labour, we have a first past the post system, not proportional representation).
Draper calls himself an idiot.
"I don't imagine most people caught last night's party political broadcast, but it was very revealing. It showed how Labour will be placing Gordon Brown centre-stage in the election campaign, and how it will position him.
By the by, after another few days of conference chat, I am as confident as I was earlier in the week, when I predicted it, that we will have a November election. My cyber-detractors can note, however, that if I'm proved wrong, I have committed to write a post admitting I am an idiot.
The broadcast reminded me of the famous "Kinnock, the movie", aired in 1987 and directed by Hugh Hudson, which showed the nation the person behind the politician. His poll ratings shot up."
What a fool.
Just as british as you
'British' is merely the word Scottish people use when they want more money from England.
Anonymous 7.22am - looks like Kelvin isn't the only ignorant bigot then.
And how ironic that a man with the names Kelvin and Mackenzie, who gained fame and fortune working for a man named Murdoch, should accuse the Scots of lacking entrepreneurialism!
And to think he was doing so well until he revealed himself as such an uninformed and ignorant putz.
After that dullard from the think tank (why are people who work in think tanks so out of touch with reality and who pays for them?), who appeared on QT Extra last week, got onto the main event this week will it be yourself (please) or that Johnny Vegas parady you had to sit next to who gets the call next week?
No questions on "Question Time" in respect of NHS horror stories out of Maidtone Hospital?
Has the Health Sec' suppressed debate /challenges because of intended? legal formalities!!
Rose Gibb has gone either sacked or resigned... but where were the government on this scandal over the years?... We should get back to real BASICS.. clinicians, true clinicians 'do not allow patients to be treated in this manner', whatever their working conditions & numbers...where were the unions?they must have been aware of the filth!Is it now the case that Clinicians/Nurses are so protected that Matrons are unable to discipline?
Question Time marks for the panel:-
Kelvin MacKensie - bumbling twit who likes the sound of his own voice. Volume is obviously more important to him than content.
Caroline Spelman - Very weak start, but slight improvement as the show progressed. Simon Hughes picked up several arguments that Ms Spelman should have been using herself.
Harriet Harman - Read the usual NuLabour script in predictable fashion
Simon Hughes - Did well. It was fortunate for Caroline Spelman that he was there to support her missing arguments.
Chuka Umunna - Despite disagreeing with his politics, he succeeded in raising the quality of the debate beyond the usual rhetoric that dominates Question Time.
Shame no one asked the panel about Chuka Umunna's colleague at Compass - the delightful Miranda Grell. She continues to take her stipend and exercise full rights as a director. No doubt their 'legal advisor' will have told her not to worry as it's perfectly 'legal'.
That's a measure of the 'Moral Compass' - (and apologies to Private Eye, who published this today).
Yeah, the MacKenzie incident was shockingly bad. He should look at the latest BoE £20 note. It has a rather entrepreneureal Scot on it.
I was hoping Caroline Spelman would disavow herself of any connection to what MacKenzie said. I agree strictly she doesn't need to, but it would have been nice if the Tory had said she didn't agree with her supporter's bigotry.
Perhaps you could indulge me a little Iain. I have written a homage to Mr. McKenzie and wish to share.
http://bigrab.vox.com/library/post/song-for-kelvin.html
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