This evening Channel Four have a shindig at which they dole out their political awards. (I wrote about them in December when the nominations were announced). This year, they have surpassed themselves. Every single award (with the possible exception of the Viewers' Award) has been given to a left of centre politician or figure. Vince Cable is the only non Labour supporter to win an award. Because as we all know, Labour has had a triumphant year and the Tories have been crap.
Here are the awards and the other nominees. The winners are highlighted, rather appropriately in red.
Politicians' Politician
Peter Mandelson (winner)
Diane Abbott
John Bercow
George Osborne
Opposition Politician
Vince Cable (winner)
David Cameron
Kenneth Clarke
Nadine Dorries
Campaigning Politician
Baroness Hollis (winner)
Michael Clapham
Iain Duncan Smith
Frank Field
Peer of the Year
Lord Adonis (winner)
Lord Avebury
Lord Davies of Oldham
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon
Hansard Society Democracy
Sir Bernard Crick (winner)
David Davis
June Sarpong
Political Book of the Year
The Hugo Young Papers: Thirty Years of British Politics - Off the Record
Political Suicide: The Conservatives' Voyage into the Wilderness
Norman Fowler (Politico's Publishing)
Cameron on Cameron: Conversations with Dylan Jones
Prezza: My Story: Pulling No Punches
Speaking for Myself: The Autobiography
Cherie Blair (Little, Brown)
Politics in the Media
Prescott: The Class System and Me, BBC2 (winner)
Dave Brown, Cartoonist, The Independent
Have I got News for You, BBC1
The only award which has not been pre-announced is the Channel 4 News Political Impact Award winner. The shortlist in includes Gordon Brown, Boris Johnson, Vince Cable, Peter Mandelson, former MI5 Chief Eliza Manningham-Buller and coroner Andrew Walker.
Maybe the token Tory might even get a look in on this one, you never know.
35 comments:
A million Britons run to the nearest pollster to change their voting intentions...
Diane Abbot came second for "Politicians Politician"? Hahahahahahahahah! I've just died laughing.
Next Dawn Butler to win an award for being the most grounded MP.
Pathetic.
Vince Cable is a Labour supporter Iain. If it comes down to a choice between Labour and Tories. And that's what the next election will come down to for most voters. Workers or bosses? Whose side are you on?
Perhaps you'd run through the awards that vex you so and tell is for example just why specifically Diane, John or George should have beaten Mandy etc.
This is not an opinion poll. It is not even party political. It is people nominated in categories and they seem to have got reasonable nominations and reasonable winners.
Is it that you think these awards should be shared round evenly? If I didn't know you better I'd think you were about to rail against competitive sports and champion communism. Prizes for everyone.
Looks like you've missed off the winner's rosette on the book.
How do those sour grapes taste, Iain?
PS I think Mandy might do a double and win the Impact Award too ... though Brown, Cable and Johnson are all solid candidates.
Has anyone been pimping that poll as Nadine did to secure her New Statesman gong?
"Labour has had a triumphant year and the Tories have been crap."
Wrong and right Iain. I am absolutely dismayed at the Tory performance.
Labour have totally trashed this country for over 10 years and only until months ago did the Tories decide to stop supporting their taxation and public spending policies.
AN ABSOLUTE DISGRACE!!!! Where was an opposition when the country needed one?
Surely there must be a prize for Mark Thompson for suggesting the BBC would be willing to hand over a ton of license fee cash to keep the unpopular Channel 4 afloat.
Chris Paul has blogged Iain that you are crying because the Tories have not won any awards.
Hardly surprising given this example of not knowing what they are writing about
This is what happens when you leave a non-partisan selection up to MPs. The Labour lot just choose the highest profile Labour candidate and ignore all consideration of merit. See also the election of Michael Martin as Speaker.
What a complete joke!
Late nomination for most impact, Crosby!
All I can say is "Thank God June "gong for services to lip gloss" Sarpong didn't win an award."
I've put a bet on that self-aggrandising coroner. Nice Chris Paul parody, btw, whoever concocted it.
Do you think they've twigged that their won't be a license fee to try to grab of the BBC in the future, so no need to butter up the next govt ?
Are we supposed to assume that having a "Political Impact" is a good thing?
Why can't these liars, frauds, cheats and psychopaths just LEAVE US ALONE?
So, this'd be why I rarely bother with C4 News, then? Yes. That'd be why.
From reading the comments pro the C4 LabourList (ha!) You'd think they all attended the same Whine Festival.
Iain,
Hasn't it occurred to you that maybe the reason the Tories won nothing is because their performance has been rubbish. We've got a massive economic crisis, yet the only opposition Politician anyone listens to is Vince Cable. The Tories policy is "let Vince do all the hard work and hope that the effect rubs off on us". What has the shadow Chancellor achieved during the crisis? He picked a fight with Mandy and lost. The Tories are so completely without clue that they've brought Ken Clark back, who is detested. It would be like Stalin bringing Trotsky back (assuming he could remove the Icepick).
You lot should wake up and recognise the fact that your team is rubbish and you are only ahead in the polls by default. No one knows what the Tories stand for and nobody can name a good Torie performer past Cameron. Compare that with the Labour Front Bench in 1997.
"the only opposition politician anyone listens to is Vince Cable"
Let me take a wild guess, you are a Liberal Democrat. A Liberal Democrat rejects the "Tories" and thinks that you ought to vote for the Liberal Democrats instead. Hold the front page!
It's like the Eurovision Song contest or any Soviet-era 'international' event - all (insiders) must have prizes,
Cameron is useless. When you look at the mess that the Snot eater has gotten us into the Tories should be 40 points ahead in the polls, not 12.
The Tories need someone to really go after creeps like Mandelson and Mr Snot.
Can't the Tories get Jeff Randall on board?
I noticed this fact when I first saw the list of winners yesterday, but I wasn't surprised so didn't make anything of it. To me it was just something one expects.
I have long known of Channel 4's outlook, ever since they started out by showing Lefty and "revolutionary" foreign films. They pinned their colours to the mast back then, and I have seen no evidence of material change since.
One annual event to be ignored as irrelevant in reality, I suspect…
Man in a Shed said... “...their [sic] won't be a license fee to try to grab of [sic] the BBC in the future...”
Do you you think you know something Cameron isn’t telling us or what?
Wild,
Well your wild guess, like your statement is way off track. I'm "old" Labour. If you think any Tories aren't rubbish, give us an example and why you think they're not.
On the news channels they get some sense from Cable and then an instantly forgetable Tory muppett to mouth a few inane comments, vaguely echoing the bits of Cable's speel that could actually understand.
If yo think any Tory politicians have come anywhere near Cable's level of performance, you have been taking happy pills.
If I were Cameron I'd offer him a job, because at least he know's what he's doing.
Let me give you an example. Prior to 1997, John Prescott was shadow Transport secretary and was on the news every day scoring heavy blows against the Tories. Theresa Villiers has no profile at all and whenever she speaks she spouts either meaningless platitudes or rubbish. No one outside Chipping Barnet could even name her. It's not as if the Govt is doing a great job with transport is it?
I only mention her because she's a local MP. Apart from Clark, Cameron & Osborne (who everyone knows because Mandy made him look like a plonker) no one knows any of the front bench. David Davis who at least had a modicum of credibility is in Siberia - great way to run an oppostion. With the Credit Crunch, if Cameron knew what he was doing he'd be 30 points ahead. He's a clueless management consultant with no idea at all about leadership. Sorry to pop your bubble
Chris Paul said... “Vince Cable is a Labour supporter...”
Err, is this because he was once a Labour member or what? We all make youthful mistakes.
You seem to have missed the fact that Cable has been stalking the TV studios of the land on a more than daily (possibly hourly) basis condemning the Government at every opportunity. (That’s quite apart from the HoC.)
Or is this rather all part of the nonsense ‘if you aren’t a Tory, you must therefore be Labour’ theorem?
“Maybe the token Tory might even get a look in on this one, you never know.”
As others have pointed out: No Tory has made any real impact on the public consciousness. OK many know who Cameron is because of his position as leader of the opposition, but the rest of them? OK recently the venerable Ken Clarke, I’ll grant you, but apart from these two?
Let’s face it, the Conservatives owe their poll position to the fact that they aren’t Labour and nothing more. I challenge you to name any policy or politician (apart from Cameron) that the general public have a clue about.
The present Tory tactic seems to be to keep it that way; to cruise to GE victory purely by not being Labour. Relying solely on “time for a change” is not original but it often works.
AFAICT HIGNFY is now running a poor second to Mock the Week in terms of punches landed on the state of our nation.
As others have said, the shortlist at C4 is hopeless. I was expecting to see O'Bama in there somewhere.
Roger Thornhill,
Just read your manifesto. So you'd deny people unlikely to agree with your views the vote? Very convenient - a good case of Nutskysm. I don't suppose it occurs to you that one way or another Government policies will favour one group or another (often the super rich). If you take your argument to the logical conclusion, then no one would have the vote. I don't agree with Tories, their policies favour the better off, but I wouldn't deny them the vote. Just have to win the argument mate !!!!
Just as well no one's likely to agree with your bonkers views any time soon.
"Sorry to pop your bubble"
An Old Labour supporter thinks that the "Tories" are rubbish. Hold the front page!
Wild,
If the Tories are so marvellous, where's your list of the numpties who are so good? I'll acknowledge people who are good at there jobs, but I can't really see any (apart from Clark & possibly Hague) on the front bench.
Let's face it, if you'd come up with a decent sensible list, I'd have to agree or look stupid. I suppose you think George Osborne has shone do you? What about Villiers, she really scares Labour? Liam Fox? Dominic Grieve? Nick Herbert? Jeremy Hunt?
Even William Hague's disappeared recently?
Deserving of awards? Do me a favour
I am sorry I was obviously being too concise.
I have absolutely no interest in what you think about the Conservative Party opposition front bench.
You are an "Old Labour" voter who is not going to vote for the Conservative Party. I value your political judgement about as much as I value the political judgement of Old Labour politicians such as Ken Livingstone or Diane Abbot.
I hope this is clear.
Could have been worse - best Opposition politician could have been Clare short with Gallowy as runner up. Of the 2 she gets to whine on TV more.
"Wild",
You're right about one thing. You are a rather sorry individual.
You've run up the white flag rather quickly having lost the arguement. You should change your name to "Wet & Wild" with the emphasis on wet. I'm sure if you thought you hadn't you might have something to say. Nighty Night loser !!!!
I refer the honourable gentleman to the answer I gave some moments ago...
Wild,
Is your philosophy of life "I only discuss things with people I agree with". You must have a very dull life, poor old you.
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