That program is not even a shadow of what it used to be. As for Fiona - she is a competent news reader and presenter of light entertainment like Antiques Roadshow, but her career on TV is based in substantial part on her looks. That's far too insubstantial a foundation to be considered a serious ringmaster for what should be a serious program about serious politics.
You do not understand how upsetting it is to black people having bananas either thrown (as in the case of footballers) or sent to them (as in this case) can be, do you Elf. When I was a lot younger, my group of friends included two black brothers. They such lovely parents (two friendlier people you couldn't hope to meet) they worked hard at College, they were friendly, good natured, intelligent and would go out of their way to help anyone who needed it. As they grew up they suffered terribly because of racism, why?... because of the colour of their skin... not because of anything they had done or anything they were doing... but because of the colour of their skin. I have always had black friends as I have gone through life and I feel that with these gangs some of the black youth of today are not helping themselves but I do not believe that this can justify overt racism towards black youths.
There’s a hideous video going viral on Twitter of a black man racially abusing a young Jewish family including small children on the tube yesterday. Plus ca change.
Racism in all forms is a dreadful thing. But in all communities it lingers. White, black, Asian. It comes from old fashioned religious attitudes, cultural traditions and history. There are some white families who would not be very happy if their daughter brought home a black or Asian boyfriend. But how many black or Asian families would disapprove of their daughter bringing home a white boyfriend? We must all face racism, with no denial and no excuses. Racism is not just something white people do. Yet the PC industry never addresses this fact. They tolerate and ignore any amount of anti-white prejudice, including quotas for jobs, which is OBVIOUSLY RACIST, but continue to drag white people on an unending guilt-trip. You can't fight racism with racism, or by being in denial about much of it.
I hardly ever call anyone a racist, because we're all capable of racism. And hypocrisy. And lying. Better stop there.
Great to hear. Nicola Sturgeon is the most deluded of all the party leaders (including Jezza). All the benefits enjoyed by Scots at present are payed for by the English - more specifically by London and the South East. Independence for Scotland would be economic suicide. In theory, the only way they might survive, would be to pre-arrange membership of the EU as an independent nation before detaching themselves from the life-support billions of the UK (England). But in the real world that is never going to happen, even if Corbyn was Prime Minister. Jezza will let them have another Independence referendum, but even he isn't daft enough to actually grant Independence to Scotland, let alone allow the Scots to negotiate a deal to leech off the EU before the Union is broken. The SNP is practically just the Scottish Labour Party now - as far as Corbyn is concerned anyway. He'll need their support, so he will string them along forever. And the EU aren't stupid. How could they possibly negotiate to admit a country that doesn't exist yet. The unavoidable years between Scottish Independence and their entry into the EU would drag Scotland down below the level of the most poverty-stricken states of Eastern Europe. And some of them - Sturgeon included I expect - believe they will be able to leave the UK and STILL be given Billions of English pounds to support them for years afterwards
I’d go as far as to say Andrew Neil ended Corbyn’s political career tonight. Already his clips on WASPI and anti semitism have gone viral. He won’t come back from that. Not an iota of an idea how he would find a £58 billion spending bribe. Idiot.
The culmination of years of only being close to people who agree with you, part of a small left-wing coterie, avoiding scrutiny and shying away from difficult questions, pandering to Momentum, that's what we saw. A man who aspires to lead the country believes he can pledge to spend £58billion, but does not have to explain who will pay for it. The rest of the interview was disastrous enough, but that was truly jaw-dropping.
Your first line is most pertinent. As soon as he steps out of his comfort zone, he flounders. Setting aside the anti semitism stuff, he didn’t have a clue about the effects on pension dividends, or even what tax rates and thresholds were. Staggering. He’s a simpleton.
I hear that Johnson hasn't agreed a date his interview with Andrew Neil. December 13th would be a wise suggestion.
They had one interview in the Conservative leadership campaign. Boris: I want to bring down crime like I did as Mayor of London. Neil: How much was that? Boris: 20% Neil: Do you know how much crime came down in the rest of England? Boris: No Neil: 26% So Johnson will be getting well coached but is vulnerable on several counts, which I'm sure you are aware of. He'll try to talk about Getting Brexit Done, and about Corbyn, and Neil will find it hard to stop him.
BBC news team announce they are in ongoing discussions with the PM's team, but are unable to agree a date. Has Big Dom decided it would be less damaging to face ridicule for chickening out than to face the Grand Inquisitor?
I think Boris could be bottling it. If he's going to get a kicking, better to get it over with sooner rather than later. He doesn't want to have a car-crash interview with just a few days to the election. So every passing day makes the interview less likely methinks. Excuses can be made for copping out, and the protests/ridicule from the other parties can just be blustered off in that well known Boris way. It might lose him a few floating votes, but very few of his supporters will choose not to vote for him just because he ducks an interview. On the other hand, if he makes a huge gaffe it could cost him many more votes in marginal constituencies. Did Corbyn lose more voters than he gained the other night? You bet he did. Or Boris might just be supremely confident that nothing will stick to him, so he'll talk to the BBC when he is ready, not when they are. That would be in character.