Sunday, February 14, 2010

Politics at its Worst

I have just watched the worst advert for politics I have ever seen on TV. Andy Burnham, Andrew Lansley and Norman Lamb appeared on The Politics Show on BBC1 to continue their ridiculous spat about who said what when and why. It was 15 minutes of puerile argument, which completely avoided the actual issue of social care and involved a quarter an hour of insults and idiotic pointscoring. They were frankly all as bad as each other. Is it any wonder that people are fed up with politics if this is the level of debate we get. I don't just blame the three politicians involved. The Politics Show had clearly decided they wanted a fight and set up the whole discussion with that aim in mind.

I don't object to a bit of rough and tumble debate on political issues but this wasn't even that. No one was any the wiser at the end of it than at the beginning - although I admit I turned the sound done a bit before the end as it was just too painful to continue to listen to.

13 comments:

Plato said...

Sopel can't resist trying to start a fight - I'd much rather watch Simon Mayo any day of the week.

Burham playing Mr Moral High Ground was laughable.

Dan said...

I agree it was particularly unedifying.

Ray said...

As you say, a set up by the BBC that no one made any merit points from. I was impressed by Michael Gove on the Andrew Marr show, I thought he handled the interrupting well.

John M Ward said...

I felt much the same and also gave up after a while.

At least Lansley had brought some documentation to back up his claims, and it was interesting to discover that he was the instigator of the original cross-party meeting between those three — something I hadn't realised.

Moriarty said...

The "worst advert for politics" you've seen? What were you doing when Osborne wasw being "interviewed" by Weirdo Marshall? And I take it you don't watch the egregious Marr.

Cogito Dexter said...

I'll say what I've said elsewhere...

I think the exchange will definitely prove to any politically engaged viewer that Labour is being childish in its arguments with the Tories: specifically the ‘conference’ invitation being disingenuously extended only on the basis of the Tories abandoning their campaigning on the issue. (Um, it's election time).

Burnham might as well have said “we don’t like the game so we’re not going to play any more unless you agree to let us win”. He really needs to grow a pair of long trousers before trying political debating, especially when whining about Tory campaigning against them on the matter when his own party have been doing just the same recently (Lansley very cleverly pulled the rug right out from under Burnham straight away on this by demonstrating the lie in Burnham's claim).

If this is going to be Labour's campaigning strategy for the next 10 weeks or so then they’re doomed as all the public will see is Labour running away from discussing the issues. It may not be a particularly edifying spectacle, but it’s going to really hurt their support when the Tories make all the ground on the main topics of interest to voters and all Labour can do is complain that the Tories don't agree with them, as though that's somehow required of them. It's all very petulant.

Ollie Cromwell said...

Although bad, I am not sure that was politics at its worst Iain, wait for the Piers Morgan show tonight before you make that judgement.

Anonymous said...

Lansley has never come close to being impressive - I have no idea why a lightweight trougher like him is in the shadow cabinet - it tells us something about the pitifully poor selection of candidates for Dave to pick from, and about Dave's ability to pick them.

flash_in_the_CAM said...

It was almost as bad as that spat on Newsnight the other night when the quivering Ms Emily Matlis set Chris Hune (what a bully he is) against two opponents. The debate took the viewer nowhere and was a compleat watse of license payers money

Wyrdtimes said...

This is politics at its worst. And a blatant betrayal of the people of England: http://tinyurl.com/ycgoo39

The Tories will continue where Labour leave off - putting England last.

jaybs said...

Sopel goes weaker in my opinion,

If the current aim is get more average people/voters interested in politics, these three politicians managed to drive many away from voting.

Interesting how every Lib Dem representative has to attack the Tories and side with Labour, just to attempt to keep their own vote up!

Tonight with Piers watching Brown will be true "Cringe Factor" we have been shown so many cuts from the show and if ever a man is uncomfortable in his own skin!

flash_in_the_CAM said...

It was almost as bad as that spat on Newsnight the other night when the quivering Ms Emily Matlis set Chris Hune (what a bully he is) against two opponents. The debate took the viewer nowhere and was a compleat watse of license payers money

Anonymous said...

But this is what the rough and tumble of politics IS all about. Pull away the crumbling foundations of your opponents argument, blast a hole in the cracks in his argument, point out the hidden agenda (eg - soak the middle classes)

Smear him smash him stuff him. And do it before he does it to you. Labour put out a massive smear poster only a few days before - tantamount to saying vote tory and die of cancer...

Another example of why you should not be an MP, bless you.