4 Leaders Debate - The Longest Day

BBC1 8pm Thursday, Question Time, hosted as usual by Fiona Bruce but in a different format. Not a panel of 4 but individual leaders each with 30 minutes of questions from the audience, who have been carefully selected to represent the views of the British electorate.

This format makes it a tad boring because there is no bickering and exacerbation you get when they’re all together, they’re all slick politicians so can bat away these questions fairly easily and promote their agenda. Its all a little pointless, although there were a few squeeky bum moments.

First out, Ed Davey for the Lib Dems.

First question is about whether all his manifesto promises are fully funded. Such an odd question given that most electors don’t ever read a manifesto, and the funding question is so false. Covid wasn’t fully funded, the bail out of banks wasn’t funded, if there is anything we’ve learnt over the last 2 decades is that there in fact a magic money tree when needed so chill out about things being fully funded.

Ed has grown on me since I watched his party political broadcast. He told a personal story about caring for his disabled son and losing his parents. It made a nice change from the usual rubbish.

Ed is very aimable and comes across as very likeable. He bats away questions with ease by listing a load of things that really no one disagrees with.

In terms of funding Ed talks about raising money from tax avoidance. Its odd that all this money is there for collection but isn’t being right now and for the last 300 year has remained uncollected. So someone is getting a lot more money left in their pocket than they should. Why isn’t this being collected as standard, why do we have to get to this state before we bother with it? Baffling. And tax avoidance completely ignores the billions of pounds given to friends of the government for PPE that was unuseable, that isn’t being clawed back.

He makes the point that the NHS is on its knees and you can’t get a dentist, yet for some reason, this won’t be enough for the British people who just don’t think they can vote for manifesto’s that are not properly costed, whatever that even means.

Then the question about Lib Dems imposing student fees despite their manifesto pledge. Ohhhffff, can it get more awkward (spoiler alert yes it can). But it does show how bad Nick “Facebook” Clegg is that Ed is paying a price for his decisions 9 years later.

Next question from Linda. Its a law of British TV that you cannot have a British audience asking questions without someone called Linda. Its like gravity, its an immutable law, Linda will always be in the audience.

Then the question that sank the Lib Dems in previous elections, do you see yourself as the next PM. Ed knows he won’t be, but its an election rule that you cannot say that.

But then, you were Post Office minister and refused to meet Alan, now Sir, Bates. Offf, it just got worse. But he is ready for it and explains it relatively well. Without commenting on anyone specifically, he says he thinks people should go to prison. I think about Reverend Paula, clearly, it won’t be her but some underling.

A question comes in about housing, Ed talks about building 150,000 homes which draws a laugh. This is the strange thing about politics, we get so used to things being rubbish we can’t imagine them improving. But as Ed points out, house builders aren’t interested in GPs surgeries or schools, these things need to be organised by local people and we were once very successful at building council housing.

Second, John Swiney, Scottish National Party.

Literally no on in the audience who lives outside of Scotland can vote for him, so thats at least 80% of the audience if it reflects the country, but its doubtful that there are 10% of Scottish residents in the audience.

First questions stright for the jugular. Questions about SNP scandals. Ouch. Fiona helpfully lists the various criminal charges against Nicola Sturgeon and others. John is obviosuly in the early stages of his media training as he gives a noticeable wince.

Then in a surprise twist, the questioner says hes English but likes the opposition that the SNP gives decent opposition. Its probably fair to say that if the SNP put up an MP in every English ward and dropped their desire for independance, I suspect they could form the next UK government.

John gives a nice answer about the public being too polarised and the toxic atomsphere of division in British politics that he dislikes. It draws a clap from the audience, and who could disagree with that sentiment, its just spoilt slightly by a person standing on a manifesto of dividing two countries that have been joined for over 300 years.

Then a tough challenge. He states that if the SNP wins a majoirty in Scotland this gives them a mandatae to seek an independance vote. Bruce challenges him saying, and if they don’t get the majority, clearly there is no mandatae for independence, and would he agree with that. With the SNP on course not to get the majority, John won’t be drawn on this.

A woman asks what he wold do to help manufacturing in Scotland, John is straight onto the unmentionable topic, Brexit. This is the problem. And thats true, if Brexit had not happened we’d be facing a Tory landslide win because everything would be totalaly amazing right now. Just like it is in France and Germany, where the economy is performing even worse than the UK. Its definately Brexit thats the issue. If there is one thing the SNP specialises in and thats blaming anyone but themselves, he then goes on to mention higher GDP in Scotland than England, and blames the Westminster government…. Of course he doesn't thats thanks to the SNP.

Then John returns to Brexit, in 2014 Scotland was clearly promised that they would remain in the EU, that was overturned in 2016 and therefore he thinks a new referenndum should be held, the SNP is about respecting democracy except when the result is wrong, then you re-vote. He would fit in the EU alright, they’re not big on people power either.

Ultimately, he comes across as a relatively dencet guy and a lot nicer than Nicola.

Next, Labour Leader and next Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer.

His face is definitely getting more sponge cake like, the guy just looks awkward and the audience are stright onto his weak spot, Corbyn.

He slips and slides and avoids the point with ridiculous escape lines that do him no favours at all. Corbyn wasn’t pro isreal, and thats still not the same as anti-semitic, and that issue aside, Corbyn is a fairly decen guy, just say so, but say time has changed, and many of the things in the previous manifesto were liked by a lot of people, but Keir struggles to say it.

Can it get worse than this for him? (Spoiler alert, yes it can).

Then groan, the NHS, and guess what, his wife works for the NHS I have only heard that 3,000,000 times already.

The subject changes to Water and he said that he has taken a strong and stable decison not to nationalise water companies as he didnt want to give money to wealthy shareholders. But this isn’t right is it, because if a water company goes bankrupt because all its done is pay dividends using debt, then the shareholder aren’t entitled to anything and the assets can be bought off the bank (which the government also owns) for less than their market value. Hes being a snake.

And then it gets worse, what is a woman. The question every politician hates because despite thousands of years of human knowledge, this question has become impossible to answer since 2017 for some reason unknown to everyone.

He mentions the words penis and vagina and I for one hope I never have to see and hear him use those words again. Its awful. To make it worse, he mentioned something so disgusting I’m really surprised as he must have been told in media training not to mention it. But he utters the word Tony Blair. Only someone on course for a landslide could use such words and hope to get away with it.

Then VAT on school fees. Its a weak spot but he defends it well and gets a clap. Imagine being a private school kids in 2024, you’re no longer guaranteed a place at Oxford or Cambridge because of all the working class kids, black kids, and girls are getting the places, and now, even the public don’t sympathise with you about your expensive early education. It’s an awful spot to be in. The world has changed and it no longer accords to their sense of entitlement. Poor bastards.

Finally, Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, Conservative.

My overwhelming feeling is that of feeling so sorry for him. I just cannot understand why he is turning up day after day to do this.

First question is not about the manifesto, or funding, or Liz Truss, or him making money during the financial crisis betting against the UK, just a simple question about whether he feels embarrased. Ouch. This quickly moves onto his police protection officer and close colleagues one who is now under criminal investigation for betting irregularities. Ouch. Rishi says they should feel the full force of the law, like people who break Covid rules I guess, average fine for the general public, £5,000, his fine, £50. Full force.

Then onto national service and he makes a slip up. Fiona asks him how it will be compulsory. He slips up and says there could be sanctions that block access to money or lending. Oh dear, how will kids pay back their student loans if they can’t access banks or loans. It’s a headline making error.

The NHS is covered and Rishi mentions the 6,000,000 appointments missed due to the pandemic. Thats the problem with the NHS, nothing to do with it being run on a shoe strong for the 15 years of austerity before.

Unfortunately the audience members have been selected to represent British people and a question is asked by a woman who clearly doesn’t like people who come into the country, she starts by boasting about her daughter working in Singapore because her dauhter is one of those hard working immigrants, she then proceeds to slag off the whole of the UK by calling British people lazy, before becoming really confused about the whole issue. But she made her pont about how proud she is of her daughter whilst also being a confused racist, so job done.

Then we move to an angry Scotsman, ticking the stereotype, he doesn’t want Rishi to call the ECHR a foreign court, thats triggered him and he looks ready to fight.

Ultimately, Rishi is doing better than he was at the start but only because he now looks like a man with nothing to lose because everything is already lost. He hits back hard at audience members he disagrees with and get tetchy with Fiona for her challenges. Ultimately he’s looking stronger and more carefree than he ever has. But I’m still wondering why he bothers.

He’s acually grown on me but only because I feel so much sympathy for him. It feels like hes a fall guy and they are using him whilst the party self destructs and really, is that on him? If Labour do win by a landslide and if Farage wins a seat, it seems to me that the Tory party will need to split into the Farage camp and the Cameron and Sunak camp. And the way things are going, I think the Farage camp could then do very well.