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Leaders debate

(78 Posts)
varian Fri 22-Nov-19 20:42:06

I am watching the Question Time special .

So far Jeremy Corbyn, Nicola Sturgeon and Jo Swinson have been held to account and answered questions.

Now Boris Johnson is not being held to account at all. Questions he won't answer are just glossed over and he is allowed to get away with it.

jura2 Sat 23-Nov-19 13:01:47

This young woman was a little shy and didn't have a strong carrying voice- but her message was so powerful and really rattled Boris. Well done her- the best part of the whole debate

www.facebook.com/BestForBritain/videos/421116378568840/

Callistemon Sat 23-Nov-19 13:05:02

It's rather controversial, though, isn't it for the parent of the Labour leader of Wales to admit he went privately because NHS Wales has such long waiting lists.

They are far worse than waiting times in England.

suziewoozie Sat 23-Nov-19 13:13:44

Why should a parent or an adult child of a Labour politician not be free to make their own choices about accessing private health care? The only controversial thing seems to me to be if the politician himself does for himself or his dependent children

Callistemon Sat 23-Nov-19 13:20:31

Well, if you don't think it caused a furore that Labour run NHS Wales was so lagging behind its English counterpart in waiting times that even the Labour leader's parent was forced to go privately then you will never understand.

It was a total embarrassment.
And I liked Carwyn.

And if you don't think that waiting for 20 hours for an ambulance and a subsequent 11 hours for a diagnosis of broken bones is not shocking then I do not know what you think is.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 23-Nov-19 16:50:15

Simon Price
@simon_price01
I'm 100% Remain, and personally couldn't give a toss if Jeremy Corbyn wants to leave or remain. It's such a dumb and childish narrative. What matters is that he'll give us a chance to choose. And if Leave wins, we will have the safety net of a better Leave deal than Johnson's.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 23-Nov-19 16:52:02

Don’t forget that the Tories cut the NHS budget in Wales by over 8% when it only cut the NHS budget in England by 1%.

Most health services would buckle under such savage cuts

Chestnut Sat 23-Nov-19 17:06:56

And if Leave wins, we will have the safety net of a better Leave deal than Johnson's.
How do you know it will be better? It might be worse. And it has to be approved by Parliament and by the EU who may not like it. Back to the drawing board.
So you want to put the country and struggling businesses through months or even years of more uncertainty? Labour really know how to bring a country to its knees, don't they? Of course they do, they've done that before!
We already have a deal and the country just wants (and needs) to get on with it and LEAVE.

Grany Sat 23-Nov-19 17:11:15

Counter-culture icon Alan Moore has announced that he is to vote for the first time since 1979 – for Labour – because “a world we love is counting on us”.

Mr Moore is considered one of the greatest ever graphic novelists (that’s a writer of comics, for those who don’t know the lingo). His early work V For Vendetta depicted a Britain in the grip of a fascist dictatorship that treated ordinary people as a commodity to be exploited and subjected people from ethnic and social minorities, the sick and disabled to medical experimentation that most commonly resulted in their deaths.

Some may see terrifying similarities with the current Conservative government in such a situation.

Mr Moore’s statement runs as follows:

“Here’s something you don’t see every day: an internet-averse anarchist announcing on social media that he’ll be voting Labour in the December elections. But these are unprecedented times.

“I’ve voted only once in my life, more than forty years ago, being convinced that leaders are mostly of benefit to no one save themselves. That said, SOME leaders are so unbelievably malevolent and catastrophic that they must be strenuously opposed by any means available. Put simply, I do not believe that four more years of these rapacious, smirking right-wing parasites will leave us with a culture, a society, or an environment in which we have the luxury of even imagining alternatives.

“The wretched world we’re living in at present was not an unlucky turn of fate; it was an economic and political decision, made without consulting the enormous human population that it would most drastically affect. If we would have it otherwise, if we’d prefer a future that we can call home, then we must stop supporting – even passively – this ravenous, insatiable Conservative agenda before it devours us with our kids as a dessert.

“Although my vote is principally against the Tories rather than for Labour, I’d observe that Labour’s current manifesto is the most encouraging set of proposals that I’ve ever seen from any major British party. Though these are immensely complicated times and we are all uncertain as to which course we should take, I’d say the one that steers us furthest from the glaringly apparent iceberg is the safest bet.

“If my work has meant anything to you over the years, if the way that modern life is going makes you fear for all the things you value, then please get out there on polling day and make your voice heard with a vote against this heartless trampling of everybody’s safety, dignity and dreams.

“A world we love is counting on us.”

The possible irony of Mr Moore saying that “leaders are mostly of benefit to no one save themselves”, while making a statement that can only be interpreted as an act of leadership itself – an encouragement to follow his example – is not lost on This Writer. The difference is that Mr Moore does not stand to gain personally from his decision; he is already a very wealthy man and Labour’s taxation policy will probably mean he ends up paying more.

Clearly he considers this to be a price worth paying for an end to the current government.

Whitewavemark2 Sat 23-Nov-19 17:20:26

chestnut it depends if course if you want a very hard brexit.

Labour will undoubtedly negotiate a softer Brexit which the EU will be happier with.

growstuff Sat 23-Nov-19 17:37:23

Chestnut There will be years of uncertainty ahead of us anyway, whatever kind of "deal" is achieved. This is only the trigger for negotiations to start. The only way to stop Brexit uncertainty is to stop Brexit.

The Conservative Party has done a very good job on bringing the country to its knees without Labour's help over the last nine years.

GracesGranMK3 Sat 23-Nov-19 19:40:50

Labour really know how to bring a country to its knees, don't they?

Not that you are biased or anything chestnut! We've had nine years of the Tories doing exactly that and no proper Labour government for the last 40. Perhaps you can tell me what facts you base that comment on.

jura2 Sat 23-Nov-19 20:59:43

How low will they continue to sink. Those of you who watched QT last night will remember how the audience cracked up with laughter when Boris replied to the woman who asked how important it was to tell the truth. The Tories have actually edited out the laughter, so you can just hear clapping- how ridiculous. Do they really think we are THAT stupid... again.

GracesGranMK3 Sat 23-Nov-19 22:13:20

Sadly there are those who are prepared to believe the unbelievable. It seems the adult children are both running the Tory party and following it. They will keep doing that sort of thing and people will give up showing them up sadly. Where are our electoral laws? Once the lie is out there you cannot call it back.

Mean while the adults voting in this election will make up there own minds and treat this utter childishness as it deserves to be treated. If a party is prepared to lie over the small things there is no doubt they will be lying over everything that serves their purpose.

varian Sun 24-Nov-19 08:30:57

The shocking fact has emerged that the BBC selected the audience for the leader's debate to ensure that most were, from the outset, hostile towards Jo Swinson.

The limited support is likely to have come down to the fact the room were "balanced" based on the number of MPs each party has in the House of Commons, meaning even the SNP had more support in the room than the Lib Dems.

MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton tweeted: "BBC confirm that the Question Time audience was stacked based on current party representation in the Commons, ie numbers of MPs. So there were effectively 2 Lib Dems in that room. Jo Swinson handled it with graceand passion. Sustained pressure but she didn't buckle once."

varian Sun 24-Nov-19 08:34:07

www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/bbc-question-time-jo-swinson-1-6391144

Whitewavemark2 Sun 24-Nov-19 08:37:54

jura it was also edited in the same way by the BBC.

Yehbutnobut Sun 24-Nov-19 08:45:04

After watching the programme and delighting in the political awareness of the audience it was clear that Sturgeon came across as the most genuine and sincere, followed by Corbyn.

I’m afraid Swinson was tarred by her voting record in the Coalition Years (hardly liberal!) and Boris was just bluster as usual.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 24-Nov-19 08:48:11

Anybody out there who works at the BBC who has the courage - and it would take courage - to whistleblow as to what is going on there?

Democracy is being undermined

BBC’s reputation is being trashed

Yehbutnobut Sun 24-Nov-19 08:51:53

Was it not live?

Whitewavemark2 Sun 24-Nov-19 08:52:16

michelle maher
@mmaher7
BBC that doctored report of Johnson looking disheveled at Remembrance Sunday
Takes down Pritti Patel saying poverty not Gov fault
Now doctored #bbcqt that Johnson supported by crowd on his trustworthiness when in fact they laughed at him
No democracy left

varian Sun 24-Nov-19 09:09:11

If we were a democratic country the representation of both speakers and audience members would be in proportion to the numbed of seats being contested in the election.

varian Sun 24-Nov-19 09:17:42

The number of seats being contested by each party should be the only factor in deciding how often speakers are invited and how many audience members are selected for broadcast debates and discussions.

There is no concept of fairness and the Brexit Broadcasting Corporation has been guilty of perpetuating bias.

Curlywhirly Sun 24-Nov-19 09:40:46

And add to that list of BBC bias the fact that the man in the white shirt who very aggressively asked JC a question about anti-semitism, is actually a well-known Tory activist based in York; he has appeared 3 times on QT and each time has managed to be chosen to ask a question - what are the odds of that happening? (Apparently, it is really difficult get on QT and all members of the audience are vetted beforehand). Coincidence? I think not! The BBC should be taken to task on this recent bias.

Rowantree Sun 24-Nov-19 09:54:14

I thought JC came across very well - calm for the most part, knows his stuff and is incredibly honest and upfront about Labour policies. I'd rather have someone whose policies and ideals I agree with, on the world stage, than a proven liar and Eton toff, after his own aggrandisement rather than the welfare of ordinary people - any day. Why would anyone want more of the same? Even John Major says: “The NHS is about as safe with them as a pet hamster would be with a hungry python" and describes BJ as a 'court jester'. And this from a former Conservative leader.

Whitewavemark2 Sun 24-Nov-19 10:18:23

yehbut

Yes?

But this was on BBC news they doctored the footage. Shown people laughing at Corbyn and his comment on Brexit, but clapping (which didn’t happen) on Johnson’s comment on lies.