Question Time tonight on BBC1

[hammerman]

Very interesting tonight to see John Bercow (grey hair and all) on the Question Time panel on the BBC tonight. As an ardent remainer in the EU when he had his position in the houses of parliament, he seemed to be given so much time to air his views.

There were another motley crew of people on the panel who were allowed by Fiona to attack Robert Kenrick.

What do people think?

[Blah Blah]

What you call an attack is actually holding government to account. Robert Kenrick would do exactly the same if his party were not in government.

[j.a.]

Amazing how many people think QT is just a biased forum for attacking the govt.

As BB says, this is what happens when you?re in govt; people will challenge you.

Or would you prefer that no one is ever allowed to question the govt of the day? Do you think that?s healthy?

[TheCat]

Its seems that many people on all sides of politics thinks that anyone 'challenging' politicians that they personally support are making biased and unfair attacks.

Case in point.....the mean old media versus poor old Jezza Corbyn....

[hammerman]

Blah Blah Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> What you call an attack is actually holding

> government to account. Robert Kenrick would do

> exactly the same if his party were not in

> government.

Account for what? The Government has got us through the pandemic for example?

Robert Kenrick held his ground when surrounded by a panel and audience that were typically put in place by the BBC.

[malumbu]

Hammerman, read this excellent article: https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/how-tories-new-direction-left-government-directionless-brexit-stories/

Bercow is right, but of course it doesn't make the slightest difference as we are out of Europe and it is only of interest to us remoaners to say 'told you so'.

We are hopefully almost through Covid, but sadly 10,000s of lives could have been saved if there had been earlier action. The high risk game on the vaccine looks to have worked so need to be thankful for that.

[hammerman]

The article you posted malumbu has nothing to do with Question Time last night except that it had Bercow in it.

I think we all need to be thankful for the vaccine that has helped this country to be proud of the fact that we are more or less Covid free.

[Seabag]

I?m not sure we voted in the vaccination government, did we?

That?s incidental.

It was the ?get Brexit done? government, so how?s that going?

Let?s discuss that.

[Blah Blah]

hammerman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Blah Blah Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > What you call an attack is actually holding

> > government to account. Robert Kenrick would do

> > exactly the same if his party were not in

> > government.

>

> Account for what? The Government has got us

> through the pandemic for example?

>

> Robert Kenrick held his ground when surrounded by

> a panel and audience that were typically put in

> place by the BBC.

So you think government ministers should not be held to account then? How about dithering around lockdowns and 130k dead for a start, seeing as you think government did such a good job of getting us through a pandemic.

[Blah Blah]

Seabag Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> I?m not sure we voted in the vaccination

> government, did we?

>

> That?s incidental.

>

> It was the ?get Brexit done? government, so how?s

> that going?

>

> Let?s discuss that.

Quite. I just find it truly baffling that anyone would argue against holding government to account, or any MP for that matter. All governments will get some things right, and they will get other things wrong. What is the point of electing opposition parties if they can not address the things government do badly?

[Sephiroth]

We might be through the pandemic

Or we might not be

Remember august last year when many high profile people were saying there wouldn?t be a second wave?

And remember when it became obvious the second wave was coming and Starmer was calling for early action and Johnson made exactly same mistakes as March and instead of taking action, stood in parliament doing his jokey schtick calling Starmer ?captain hindsight?

And then into November December when it was obvious to everyone things were serious Johnson was still in denial, saying it would be ?inhuman? to cancel Christmas ?

Well at that point we had 60000 deaths and subsequently since December we have had more than double that - worse than any other European country and entirely preventable

But people like hammer man doff their caps and tug their forelocks once more

(If labour had been in charge and took a different course of action and only 20000 people died, he?s be calling them murderers)

[Alan Medic]

I don't think posting at 6.06AM suits you Seph. You may have needed more zz's not 00's.

[Sephiroth]

Ha. Fair point Alan

What?s worse is I spent ages trying to see if I had put too many zeroes in. I should have just used a comma and that would have helped. Ah well

Main point stands

[diable rouge]

Worth remembering that at the start of the pandemic we were told that 20,000 deaths would be ''a good outcome'', so there's every right for people to question why we ended up with 110k more.

It's no coincidence that this Gov is avoiding a public enquiry, as it's fairly obvious where the blame for a large proportion of those extra deaths lie, the repeated mistake of late lockdowns.

Whereas the success of the vaccine is a collective effort where the majority of the plaudits should go to science and the NHS, the reason for the late lockdowns stops at No 10's door.

Let's see if Dominic Cummings is true to his word when he's interviewed by MPs later this month, and spills the beans as to how those late lockdown decisions came about...

[JohnL]

hammerman Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Very interesting tonight to see John Bercow (grey

> hair and all) on the Question Time panel on the

> BBC tonight. As an ardent remainer in the EU when

> he had his position in the houses of parliament,

> he seemed to be given so much time to air his

> views.

>

> There were another motley crew of people on the

> panel who were allowed by Fiona to attack Robert

> Kenrick.

>

> What do people think?

He was part of the tory "libertarian" faction in university - I remember him :)

People change - but then they don't - he still talked a lot and had all the attention..

[JohnL]

Oh .. Jenrik needs to spend more time sorting out leasehold and cladding issues - another building on fire last week.

https://www.mylondon.news/news/east-london-news/housing-secretary-robert-jenrick-visited-20554833

[hammerman]

So, what do people think?

[ianr]

The man's name is Jenrick.

[hammerman]

Sephiroth Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> We might be through the pandemic

>

> Or we might not be

>

> Remember august last year when many high profile

> people were saying there wouldn?t be a second

> wave?

>

> And remember when it became obvious the second

> wave was coming and Starmer was calling for early

> action and Johnson made exactly same mistakes as

> March and instead of taking action, stood in

> parliament doing his jokey schtick calling Starmer

> ?captain hindsight?

>

> And then into November December when it was

> obvious to everyone things were serious Johnson

> was still in denial, saying it would be ?inhuman?

> to cancel Christmas ?

>

> Well at that point we had 60000 deaths and

> subsequently since December we have had more than

> double that - worse than any other European

> country and entirely preventable

>

> But people like hammer man doff their caps and tug

> their forelocks once more

>

> (If labour had been in charge and took a different

> course of action and only 20000 people died, he?s

> be calling them murderers)

Doff me cap and tug me forelock?

Sorry I'm a Londoner born and bred but I know what you mean.

[Earl Aelfheah]

diable rouge Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Worth remembering that at the start of the

> pandemic we were told that 20,000 deaths would be

> ''a good outcome'', so there's every right for

> people to question why we ended up with 110k more.

>

> It's no coincidence that this Gov is avoiding a

> public enquiry, as it's fairly obvious where the

> blame for a large proportion of those extra deaths

> lie, the repeated mistake of late lockdowns.

> Whereas the success of the vaccine is a collective

> effort where the majority of the plaudits should

> go to science and the NHS, the reason for the late

> lockdowns stops at No 10's door.

> Let's see if Dominic Cummings is true to his word

> when he's interviewed by MPs later this month, and

> spills the beans as to how those late lockdown

> decisions came about...

Apparently the success of the vaccine rollout (specifically, the UK getting ahead on ordering doses) is partly down to the 2011 film 'Contagion'

https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n421

[Spartacus]

Rah , that maybe so but from every virus / zombie film I've seen the whole world should have been prepared for a global pandemic.

Thank the stars we don't have alien invasion films......

[JohnL]

Spartacus Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Rah , that maybe so but from every virus / zombie

> film I've seen the whole world should have been

> prepared for a global pandemic.

>

> Thank the stars we don't have alien invasion

> films......

Boris has an A team ready for any asteroid impact too.

[TheCat]

In a galaxy not very far away....