I've got to the stage of almost willing Ming Campbell to do well at PMQs. But today again he asked two questions which were frankly embarrassing in their naivete. After two false starts he asked the PM: Will British soldiers have left Iraq by the time he leaves office? The second question was: Will Guantanamo Bay be shut by the time he leaves office? Both were asked in a whining voice which indicated a great deal of nervousness on his part. It has to be said that these kind of questions (ie those which cannot be answered) are normally asked by junior opposition backbenchers, not Party leaders. Blair was very measured in his response when he could frankly have been scathing. He's obviously as keen to keep Ming as LibDem leaders as most people in my own Party are.
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Ming Bombs Again at Question Time
I've got to the stage of almost willing Ming Campbell to do well at PMQs. But today again he asked two questions which were frankly embarrassing in their naivete. After two false starts he asked the PM: Will British soldiers have left Iraq by the time he leaves office? The second question was: Will Guantanamo Bay be shut by the time he leaves office? Both were asked in a whining voice which indicated a great deal of nervousness on his part. It has to be said that these kind of questions (ie those which cannot be answered) are normally asked by junior opposition backbenchers, not Party leaders. Blair was very measured in his response when he could frankly have been scathing. He's obviously as keen to keep Ming as LibDem leaders as most people in my own Party are.
This is utter crap Iain. He didnt bomb. He asked two simple questions and got two bad answers.
ReplyDeleteTony Blair couldnt even say Guantanamo.
I now see that your commentary is utterly biased and useless.
Anonymous. He asked two ridiculous questions, which might have been less ridiculous if we had an idea of when Blair was acually going. When you think of all the other things he could have asked. As to your last point, that's a judgement for you to make. Any commentary is subjective, but that doesn't make it biased. A few weeks ago I was on Sky NEws commenting on PMQs and gave Cameron a lower mark than Blair, so I do not look at these things through rose-tinted glasses. As to being accused of being useless. I've been called worse!
ReplyDeleteIain - what was your view of DC today? My totally biased view was that he lost this bout. His boys didn't give him much of a cheer when he rose for his second set of questions. Perhaps they knew it was going to be about setting targets. Most Tory MPs seem to hate targets or any other form of performance measurement. They seem to prefer anecdotal evidence!
ReplyDeleteBack on topic - I agree with you, Ming is embarrassingly awful (and not just at PMQs). Long may he reign over them....
These Liberals are so touchy! Mings a joke and they know it.
ReplyDeleteHave they considered PMQ coaching by IDS?
I was watching ITV news half an hour ago, they didn't focus on PMQs but on Prescott's performance in the Commons which was so humiliating it made me actually feel sorry for him.
ReplyDeleteYour right Iain, Ming is a total buffoon!
ReplyDeleteCrashed and burnt again, it’s very sad to see old people get confused and forget things.
I hope they keep him on though, it shows the Lib Dims for what they really are.
CRAP!!
He did worse than fail - he didn't try. He asked 2 silly questions (how is Blair supposed to order the closure of Gauntanamo) on foreign policy which could not have scored points even if Blair had given the answers.
ReplyDeletePMQs does not make you an election winner (ask Hague) but nothing else is happening either.
He could have asked if Blair had any influence on Labour's last nuclear review which said it was an "unattractive option".
Iain, you are always incredibly biased and there's nothing wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteToday's Snowmail (essential reading) says that Cameron played a blinder, so I'll agree with you this week!
PS You are spot on with Oaten. When will he stop digging?
Ming Campbell's next question: 'Could the Prime Minister tell me how long is a piece of string?'
ReplyDeleteHuhne might not have been so bad after all, though Clegg would have been best. He must be absolutely kicking himself that he bottled it.
I can't believe he was still asking questions about Iraq at a time when there are much easier targets in sight.
ReplyDeleteWho's briefing the poor guy to ask qustions that are patently going to go nowhere?
I wouldn't be suprised if there were rumblings within the LibDems to 'fess up to a bad choice and make another change in time for the next election. The problem is, there's an enormous talent gap within the party. DC must be delighted at such a lacklustre performance.