Question Time tonight was a corker. Here are my ratings:CHERYL GILLAN: Star of the show. Sensible, measured, funny, on form. She;s been a revelation since being a surprise promotion to the Shadow Cabinet.
RHODRI MORGAN: A pathetic joke of a man. He said he wouldn't give his views on the Iraq war because he wasn't an MP and didn't have a vote on it. Yet he then went on to say he had visited the troups. The audience turned against him immediately.
CHRIS HUHNE: Came across well, if rather boring. Tried to be anti-Tory but it seemed a bit synthetic.
LEANNE PLAID WOMAN: Whined too much. Can't really remember anything she said.
ADAM RICKETT: Surprisingly good performance for a debut. Was eloquent on the more difficult questions but was weaker on the easier ones. Needs to learn about devolution! A few to many footballeresque 'y'knows' but overall did well.
Plaid Woman was once of those who gets claps by making vague comments that we all agree with such as "image should not be everything in politics." She had nothing specific to say at all; then again, neither have Plaid Cymru.
ReplyDeleteMy ratings are going to be roughly similar to yours though I really liked Chris Huhne. Morgan looked incredibly bad on the Iraq question. I'd agree that Gillan did an excellent job though and Rickett was admirably good too.
ReplyDeleteOh come on Iain - I know I'm a bit biased but Huhne completely stole the show - the only one who looked vaguely statesmanlike. Cheryl Gillan was okay, and at least seemed relatively human (well, compared to Redwood last week anyway) but Rickitt was terrible!! What on earth is all the fuss about there? His political skills seem to be of about the same order as his acting skills.
ReplyDeleteAs for Rhodri Morgan - well I can only say I was surprised at what a complete arse he made of himself. He's always been very popular in Wales -I lived there for a while and I always knew he would end up as First Minister if the Welsh had any say in it - but he seemed last night to have taken on all the characteristics of machine politicians (evasiveness, repeat messaging) that originally made him seem such a refreshing alternative to Ron Davies, Alun Michael et al.
As one member of the audience put it: "Don't you realise you're on TV Rhodri? Laurel and Hardy have made more sense!"
Great minds think alike! Although the ratings I gave on my blog were slightly different:
ReplyDeleteRHODRI MORGAN (Labour AM, First Minister in Welsh National Assembly): As with his performance in Cardiff last March, his performance was distinctly unimpressive. His evasive prevarication over whether he supported the Iraq war or not was, quite frankly, pathetic.
CHERYL GILLAN (Conservative MP, Shadow Welsh Secretary): Solid, sensible, if a little dull. Not bad considering she was deep in hostile, non-Conservative territory.
CHRIS HUHNE (Liberal Democrat MP, Leadership Contender): Ultra-reasonable and came across really well, probably the most impressive member of the panel. Firmly cemented my view that, in electoral terms, he is the most dangerous prospect amongst the Liberal Demoprat leadership contenders.
LEANNE WOOD (Plaid Cymru AM, Token Plaid Representative): Strident, strident, strident. And Welsh.
ADAM RICKITT (Conservative Approved Candidates List, Actor): Initially came across as lightweight, and the rest of the panel blatantly had little interest in or respect for his views.
Huhne was OK but was trying too hard to ditch his right of the Lib Dem image. He was tripping over himself to have a go at DC and the Tories in general.
ReplyDeleteAdam was better that I expected and no worse than any other candidate with his level of experience. There were a few of his points that were a bit wishy-washy but on the whole he came away with more credibility as a candidate than he went in with.
Gillian, did well although claiming a woman’s prerogative for not answering a question was a bit cheeky. She was rather overshadowed by the complete incompetence of Wood and Morgan.
Wood was insipid and Morgan came across as a complete and utter buffoon. If I were Welsh I would be cringing at the thought that these two people were representing me. Wood’s performance was forgivable; everything is the fault of capitalism and the fact that Wales isn’t independent, pretty standard stuff. But Morgan’s response to the Iraq question!
Is it troups or troops possibly?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to think of a question time when I've seen a worse performance than that yesterday of Rhodri Morgan,he really was truly awful.
ReplyDeleteCheryl Gillam was alright, nothing special or memorable at all.
I also thought Huhne seemed far too desperate to attack the Conservative Party and would disagree with you DVA,he has a much less attractive personality than Kennedy.It's a shame there wasn't more on Europe,Huhnes' fanaticism usually leads him to make a fool of himself on this subject.
QT grades:
ReplyDeleteHuhne: B
Gillan: B
Morgan: D
Wood: C
Rickitt: D+ (the + just because it was his forst time)
Rather kind to Morgan I think Andrea. I rarely wath Question Time anyway but his performance was one of the worst I can recall by anyone ever on the programme. It was excrutiating - rather like watching Rick Gervais at his best.
ReplyDeleteIt was unfair to put Rickett on. Many wannabee-PPCs would have flunked that test as indeed he clearly did. Better to let him do that sort of thing in a dusty parish hall in Nether Wallop rather than on national TV.
Why the recent glut of young white good looking newbies being put up for question time?
ReplyDeleteSome middle aged fat blokes with an election under their belts should be put on, perhaps a black guy and a gay guy. Where could we find such a pair?
My bias showing too but I liked Huhne. His point that we should get out of Iraq now & hand over to other UN troops precisely because our invasion lost us the "moral right" or more prosaicly confidence of the locals made fairly convincing what is now the weakest point in the anti-war side.
ReplyDeleteI also think the pretty actor performed nervously but then again it is his first time. His appearance would certainly improve the figures which I assume is why the Tories used him but I thought it was a little Stars in Your Eyes in reverse.
If Rhodri realy believed he should not offer an opinion on anything outside the purview of his assembly he should not have appeared on the show.
"Wood was insipid and Morgan came across as a complete and utter buffoon. If I were Welsh I would be cringing at the thought that these two people were representing me. Wood’s performance was forgivable; everything is the fault of capitalism and the fact that Wales isn’t independent, pretty standard stuff. But Morgan’s response to the Iraq question!" - James Cleverly
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts too, James.
"Some middle aged fat blokes with an election under their belts should be put on, perhaps a black guy and a gay guy. Where could we find such a pair? "
ReplyDeleteA couple of weeks ago there was 2 gay guys (Alan Duncan and Chris Bryant) against a Respect woman (Salma Yaqoob)
Question Time has down downhill. Why are people like Adam Rickett and Rhona Cameron allowed on?
ReplyDeleteHmmm Adam Ricketts was truly desperate- back to panto for the idiot poster child. Just because you're pretty does not make up for your staggering lack of intellect or charm. But was he any worse than Emma Jones a few years back?
ReplyDelete