General Election TV Debate Campaign
Sky’s Adam Boulton is going flat out with a campaign for a televised debate during the general election. Sky have a petition site, as well as giving their campaign plenty of airtime and column inches in The Times.
Usually the incumbent or the front runner in Britain finds an excuse to avoid a TV Debate which conventional thinking says could give rivals an opportunity to catch up in what can be an electorally decisive TV drama. Although Cameron is enjoying a double digit poll lead he has told Sky he is up for it. Clegg is of course keen for that crucial airtime.
Mandelson recently said Gordon would be keen, Downing Street immediately clarified it with a negative “no change”. If Brown does bottle it, why not as Boulton hints, leave an empty podium? Guido wonders if Labour could be cunning enough to offer in his place Mandelson, the real power in government, in the PM’s place. Now that would be box office…
First
Yup. A giant amongst the post-war pygmies.
I think this is a great move by Sky News as I blogged about this morning myself.
I would like to see Brown try to not turn up and as I have said before if he does he should be empty chaired.
If he doesn’t turn up they should do what HIGNFY did with Roy Hattersley and substitute a tub of lard for him.
Only maybe in Browns case a bucket of shit would be more appropriate.
Swathed in tartan.
Or a nice my little pony
Look, I just want to make this quite clear: my government did not want to see that Libyan fella die in jail. David Miliband confirmed that truth on Radio 4 this morning.
Oh, and I will not be attending the televised debate.
I am a too much of a coward.
If they put Mandy up instead, they should empty chair the Labour Party
It would be a discussion between nominal leaders, not de facto leaders
All we need now is for the GDP figures to show a decrease and Brown is out anyway
If he doesn’t attend just put a copy of his book on Courage on his podium
next to a bucket of snot
This is such a delicious Murdoch trap.
Gordon Brown comes on and start reeling off tractor stats – resulting in him looking like and arse.
or
Gordon Brown is replaced with a tub of lard.
What’s jaw droppingly amazing is Labour List commentors are signing up to the petition! I mean, I agree with their sentiments this will be good for democracy and a debate will invigorate the campaign but talk about turkeys voting for Christmas!
maybe put an empty bottle on the seat…??
117 axe – I like the book idea.
And how will Cameron look as he wriggles around trying not to make any commitments, and trying not to give offence to the metro elite?
You may well be right Budgie but Cameron must be fairly sure of himself he’s been calling for this for quite a while.
66: My little Phony, surely?
Oh, please, spare us! I know Big Brothers finishing but we don’t have to replace it. Yuk! Just give us yer policies.
If Brown bottles it, there should be an empty chair and a bunch of white feathers on his podium.
There should be no substitutes allowed – either the leader attends or the party is empty-chaired.
Maybe Captain Snot will get his Missus to do this speech for him as well!
Substitute with a stiffed and stuffed cuckoo IMHO.
If he bottles it, replace him with a chicken in a bowl of yellow custard balanced on one of his books about “Courage”.
358 bloke with nadgers- it would have to be a chicken in a tray of urine so the studio audience can get the full realistic aroma
Interviewer: Nice day, innit?
Bill Rammell: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process
Interviewer: How was the drive in?
Bill Rammell: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process
Interviewer: Go anywhere nice on holiday this year?
Bill Rammell: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process
Interviewer: Do you prefer butter or Stork margarine?
Bill Rammell: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process
Interviewer: Hello Mr Miliband. how’s tricks?
David Miliband: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process
Interviewer: Fuck me. Another useless Huhne. Listen scum, I’m going to shove a bottle up your arse if you don’t shut the fuck up.
David Miliband: We were not actively seeking his death in prison and we would not and could not intervene in that process.
Interviewer: I give up. Bend over, here it comes, you oily heap of otter shite.
There is assumption that Mandlesonovitch will last long enough not to resign over bombers for oil, or someother cock up by this second rate bunch of liars and expense cheats.
Mandybum has nothing to resign from, as he told us, he’s a peer for life… checks youtube, here he says it
An unelected peer for life? Is this what the public wanted? Is this democracy?
It Was A Fact That Brown Hated MangledBum When Bliar Was In Town So It Just Shows How Close We Were To Getting Rid Of The C*nt That Brown’s Only Option Was To Start Kissing His Badly Mangled Sphincter To Remain In Power
Quite. But if Badger can call Gordoom “that man”, does McBust have any real power? Sure, Gordoom could plot his way back, and he can still harm the country, but he is so badly damaged. Liebore would rise in the polls by ditching him.
What IS democracy? I have had it beaten out of me for 12 long years now by Andy McPandy and co. that I no longer know what is means. Does is mean that Gordon is always right and cares for us deeply [oh dear, the brain washing is working after all]. Long live McLeninbroon!
He doesn’t want to be Prime Minister?
How about: First Lord of the Treasury, or Premier Ministre, First Minister, Lord Protector, president of the council of ministers, Grand Vizier. For example.
If Mandelson is offered as a stand in then they should refuse to accept him but offer him the place in a Deputy Leader debate then he would have to fight it out with Harriet Harperson.
Of course he doesn’t want to be Prime Minister. As a queen he would much rather be his namesake.
Failing that, President of the United States of Europe and Asia would be nice
Fudgepacker Persuivant to the Court of St. James?
And Lord Gawd almighty, chief shit stirrer and good all round bastard of the first order!
If Labour do play Mandelson rather than Gordon, then Dave will be slaughtered. Lion v Lamb.
Just imagine Mandelson v Osbourne. The slaughter of the innocents. But remember, when Mandelson does get the upper hand of anyone in debate he cannot resist the sadistic ‘twisting of the knife’ and it is then that he comes across as he really is. Doesn’t fool me!
Mandelson v Osborne? Now that IS a cruel blood sport.
Be bloody entertaining though.
B*llocks.
Osborne is not great, but Mandelson is no orator, he’s a dark-arts merchant.
Get him in the spotlight without his puppets and he’s as dull as Obama.
Then the Tories should wheel out the big guns – Hague! He’ll fook Mandy good and proper so’s he will.
Sky should not let Gordon off the hook to be replaced by Mandelson, because he will be made to look like the shifty, incompetent liar we all know he is.
If New Labour want to put their best debator forward because their leader is not up to the job, then Mandelson should face Hague as the Tories champion and Vince Cable from the LibDems.
We should have both debates
McGroom, now that would be entertaining.
And they should do it in a cage, stripped and oiled – at the the Stretham Baths.
LadeezanChenelmen I give you, in the blue corner, The Vague Shadow, the Pitt Penman, Billy “Our Kid” Hague (audience claps politely, elderly matrons gasp, fan themselves with copies of the Spectator) and in the red corner, your own, your very own Fresh Prince of Primrose Hill, (paramedics rush through audience spraying ice-cold Evian at fainting acolytes) the Lounge Lizard of Lurve, the Colindale Cowboy, Hendon’s answer to Julio Inglesias (audience hisses) – Peter “Pan” Mandelson.
Audience explodes in anticipation, stewards move through crowds with wet wipes and tissues.
G’worn Nosher, pull ‘is ‘ed orf.
Horrible Harriet vs The Fragrant Teresa mud wrestling. Now THAT would be worth watching!!
Mandelscum ‘ll never go in to any fight he thinks he might lose. Haig is the best bet for the tories.
I keep hearing what a silver-tongued chatlord Mandy is but he’s never struck me as remotely convincing. Am I missing something?
Slaughtered? – if Brown does not appear then the Bottler tab will rivetted on.
Dave and Nick just have to ask Mandy to remind them of the size of his majority at the last General election, or ask them where the PM is, or even maybe just enquire when mandy became the Party leader?
Nothing Mandy has to say will be regarded as anything of substance.
Whatever do you mean, misread for a moment,…….”Dave and Nick have to ask Mandy to remind them of the size of his majority?”
Well then if they play lordyarse then Cameron should checkmate him with Daniel Hannan. Come to think of it,that would be a show in itself. Memo to Murdoch…..
If Labour do play Mandleson, Clegg and Cameron will spend the first half an hour chiding the Prince of Darkness for Brown’s absence (and rightly so). Even if Mandleson wiped the floor with them over the issues, Labour would still come out of it looking terrible.
I can imagine every single answer from Cameron and the Liberals beginning with a comment about what Brown might have said if had had the courage to take part as well as something about Mandelson being the person really in charge of Labour.
Don’t make me laugh – have a lie down tosser!
Mandelson is the puppetmaster and pulls all the strings.
It is the puppets that get it wrong and risk resignation, not Mandelson.
Professional politicians don’t resign ever. Power is everything and is never given away voluntarily. That is one of the main reasons why politicians are held in such contempt; they now have no standards left.
Mandelson is like herpes. You can never be completely rid of him.
Cover the bastard with Zovirax and watch him melt away.
Mandleson is the king maker, B’Liar had him as the kingmaker, now McBrown of McDoom thinks he will keep him as king but I think that is even too much for the master of darkness.
Moley, malheureusement too true.
I think dave may just cope with Mandy but not so sure how he will fair against an empty chair which is the most likely scenario.
All Cameron has to say is “you’re here because your leader’s frit”. End of Mandelson bluster.
Peter like all great baseball players realised he with two strikes against him he had only more chance to shore up the home run, and so craftly stole the bases one at a time till he could make the run and hit the jackpot.
Hmmmm… I think the Bottler’s only option would be a strategic illness… Couldn’t be heart irregularity, prostate trouble, kidney stones, or serious toothache… They’ve already been bagged… What’s his best medical indisposition option? Appenicitis?… Gallstones?… Pancreatitis?… Intestinal obstruction or inflamation?… Yes, sinister and seeerious abdominal pain… which moves about a bit… to fool the diagnosticians.
security issue at the last moment requiring his urgent attention to save the world and a stand in appears. Of course this will be done within minutes of the program starting and the stand in will be well prepared for the event which gives the game away a little but who said they had any sense.
He has only to play his “visiting the troops” card, as he did to avoid the Kennedy party and the US sidelining he would otherwise have recieved.
Instead he would send Sarah.
Bansna, He may well have a serious under carriage problem. He’s been awful quiet of late. He will have certainly placed himself at risk, in that department. We must just sit tight and hope
Brown will be too busy ‘getting on with the job’, ‘taking the right decisions’, ‘making the tough choices’ to waste time on such a stunt.
Bizarrely it may be his best shot at turning things around. Dave could cock up. He could let himself be outmanouvered and be made to look an arse which the BBC would be only too happy to repeat ad nauseum. Brown has literally nothing to lose. He should get on TV and hope for a miracle. Cameron might give the viewers a Kinnockesque ‘awriiiight’ moment. You never know.
Whatever, the 25% who are still going to vote Labour are clearly unconcerned with a wrecked economy, out of control public finances, spiralling unemployment, Iraq war, delusional PM etc etc. If they still plan to vote Labour there is nothing he (Brown) can do to lose their vote.
For Brown personally, ‘Thiiiiiiings can only get betteeeeeer’.
Make-up would be able to cover up the cracks, brown is looking old, both cameron and clegg are young and dynamic in comparison, both are quite sharp and nimble a foot, this would be fun to watch, and yes, any slip up would be headline news for the days following. Each would be schooled ahead of any debate, but I see only one loser.
An Economy Only Matters To people Who Are Involved In It If You Sit On Your arse All Day And Get Wedges Of Free Cash From This Government You Aint Going To Vote For Anyone Else Are You ?
Exactly right.
33.Spot on my Friend.
I’ve noticed that McDoom can only respond to questions from a script, questions agreed beforehand and answers worked out. When the questioner moves off script McSnot will keep replying with his pre-arranged answer, which is sad. He has been caught out by Dave at the Despatch Box like this. So, McDea’th will not survive a public display of cross questioning, unless the debate is as ridiculous as in the US, where questions are agreed, answers worked out and the whole scherbang stage crafted and contrived. I watched Barry O’Barma and McCain all three debates and they were sad and silly.
So bring it on big, but McShite will not partake, he will be exposed as a total toss pot.
Thankyou
Give Him A Set Of Questions To Practice On .Then When He’S Stapped In His Chair Bring Out A New Set Of Questions .Watch As The Smoke Starts To Bellow Out Of His Ears He Will Then Start Foaming At The Mouth And His Head Will Explode! WONDERFULL !
If he doesn’t turn up, replace him with a tub of lard.
Nah, a white feather.
A very good point jgm2. I know Cameron wants it, but it may not do him any good. In fact, the best thing he could do for until the election is: nothing, or nearly nothing.
Labour is tearing itself apart, and the the longer that Peter Mandelson spends in the public eye, the more likely it is that he will press his own auto-destruct button as he has done before.
And if Brown bottles is and sends the dark lord, then yes, Hague should be wheeled out as the Conservative WMD.
Where’s Godon?
He cannot be found!
He stole our f*ckin pensions
and then he went to ground!
applause 21
Leave it empty.
The invitation should be only to the leader of the party. If Labour have formally chosen Mandelson by then, he should take part. If it’s not, then no substitute should be accepted for any party. And the broadcasters should cut a deal between them to make sure that those not taking part are not offered alternative spaces elsewhere.
They’ll complain that election law requires balance, but I think the broadcasters would have a valid defence.
seconded.
Thirded.
fourthed
Nothing wrong with some dead air to make up their allocated time.
Do as ‘Have I Got News For You’ did and put something in his place. A Burglar Bill mask and sweater might do. Or a copy of Scouting for Boys.
A rocking horse, surely?
Or a pile of snot?
A copyof his bookon courage
it has to be an empty bottle
With a toffee apple…
…and a message in it
Old adage:
Never argue with a fool.
Quite so. Brown has nothing to lose and everything to gain. An over-confident, over-smug Cameron could yet give the Torys their Kinnock moment.
The 25%of braun-dead imbeciles who still plan to award this government with this vote are in the bag for Labour. Cameron cannot ope to take more than another 2 or 3% off Labour. they’re not worth the risk of some awful gaff.
Ha! Brain-dead. Gah!
jgm2. Are you confusing 25% who will vore Labour with the 25% who will not vote for any other Party? The actual Labour vote could be less than 20% on the day.
17 Grumpy – we can but hope!
Grumpy has it. 25% say they’ll vote Labour but will they drag themselves to the polling station? I doubt it, especially if the 25% is made up of those shafted by the 10% tax withdrawal and the increase in fuel duty.
I do wonder if there are any shy Labourites in among the public services though… but then that 25% my contain some shy PNB (read backwards).
Grumpy Old Man and Siberian Tory both make an excellent point.
Do not forget however that in the wonderful democratic Britain of today, only 21% of the registered voting population voted for the Labour party candidate in their constituencies in the 2005 general election. This nevertheless translated itself into a 65 seat majority for the Labour party.
Add to this that it is now a well established fact that in many parts of the country (various Birmingham constituencies and labour heartlands such as Glenrothes, for example), the postal voting methods employed would, in that damning phrase that should be the mark of shame for this country forever, “disgrace a banana republic”. The consequence is that Labour will return a large number of MPs even in the absence of votes in their favour.
The above does not of course even begin to address the fact that the country is now being run by a twice-discgraced and unelected life member of the House of Lords for the benefit of persons who are not even resident in or citizens of the UK. Nor the fact that a disgraced Glaswegian ex-MP who has single handedly brought down the most important office in Westminster is now also able to “Lord” it over us for the rest of his life, while ferrying his wife and family around at our expense for the rest of their lives. Nor the fact that an entire clan of Welsh windbags as well as an overweight ex-bar steward have made themselves multi-millionaires at our expense.
Labour: the party of fraud, disgrace and eternal shame.
Another adage: “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake” – Napoleon.
The best Cameron can do is to keep out of Labour’s way and let them tear themselves apart. Every time Mandelson or Brown speaks I’ll wager they lose an appreciable amount of votes.
Brown Would Have To Wear A Straight Jacket And Be Fitted With A Bit And A Leather Helmet
How about a bum-freezeer jacket complete with drainpipe trousers aka Max Wall?
He’s not into S & M is he what about a saddle while your at it
i find this post offensive, I said Gordon would be Queen not keen.
As gordon has proved at the Despatch Box he is very poor at debating. And very poor at concealing his body language and facial expression when he is criticised.
He won’t win any votes this way. And if he puts mandy forward instead, well he’ll be regarded everywhere as having bottled it.
Keep going Adam I think it’s a great idea.
And remember …on PMQ’s you never get to see Gordons facial expression when being lambasted from the other side. To see him react in real time would be both exquisite and disturbing.
And aren’t the PMQ’s submitted before hand; an innovation of Balirs no?
Since when did Gordon have anything to contribute to an open debate?
“it started in America”
It started in the FSA, not the USA.
9:40 Nick Clegg just said he would relish a tv debate and Blue Labour are allready onboard. So were just waiting for Brownstreak. Proberly Nick Griffen wont get an invite.
I think you’re dead right Lee ..
Which would be somewhat short-sighted .. as according to recent discussions which I’ve had with a variety of people (most of whom would normally veer towards the Tory persuasion) and who have lost faith with “Blue Labour” are saying they will most likely now vote for the Party whose name may not be mentioned ..
Captain,
A lot of working people who voted Labour last time and always have, though they deny voting for recession, uncontrolled immigration etc. when I’m taking the piss out of them. Now say are switching to the unnamed party. Even though they can’t name any policies they have other than a tough stance on immigration. whilst this demonstrates two things, firstly, Labour have alienated their core voters who do actually work. Secondly, these people have little or no understanding of politics, but their vote still count.
Still, on the bright side, they’ll never get into any position of influence and it all helps to fuck Labour.
Yep your right there Lofa. Labour has lost a significant part of it’s core vote; the party now entirely unrepresentative of the working classes and chooses instead to court the Guardian readers.
I tried sugguesting to LL in light of the Euro elections that perhaps they should rethink their stances on immigration; not of course fo the rascist views of THAT party but to recognise mass immigration impacts most on the working class. You’d think that would be considered a fair appraisal of the position but instead I faced screams of indignation claiming I was a THAT party apologist.
Labour have alienated their core and the next generation of Labour party acitvists are so left wing it’s painful.
The trouble is most of the Labour commentariate live in London. In London they are in their lefty elite bubble; if they left London and came North they would see the true state of Labour’s troubles. I live in a Labour safe seat and they’re struggling to find council candidates, can’t get their leaflets out and when we (the Tories) do venture in to the council estates all I hear is “I’m voting PNB mate”.
On the plus side your right they’ll never breakthrough as a major political force it is quite sad though.
Absolutely LOFA .. (you make the point much better than I did) .. Lol
In the Town where I live (not, I hasten to add .. my Hometown) which has an incumbent Labour MP (as does its neighbour .. though both are ruled by the same Council) … Labour came a very poor third in recent Council elections (the Libdems just clinging on by the skin of their teeth) .. There was however a very large swing to Mr Griffin’s party ..
Whilst they may struggle to get into any position of influence .. it would be a brave voter who says they’ll never do so .. People said they’d never get seats in Europe ..
And as you so rightly say .. anything which fucks up Labour sounds good to me ..
Blue Labour also seems to court the Grauniad reader.
I have a genuine fear that the next election will see up to three MPs from The Party That Dare Not Speak Its Name. There are several constituencies where there is widespread anger at the behaviour of some minorities – due in part to the rather sensationalist behaviour of the press – so couple that with a large disillusioned section of the vote and its fodder for their political machine of fear and loathing. Whenever it happens the next ballot could be fascinating if also somewhat disturbing.
TAT (320) – there are two things that militate against the party that dare not speak its name being elected in that sort of area.
Firstly, postal voting.
Secondly, the Taliban block vote.
It won’t happen, because general elections are far easier to manipulate than the European ones due mainly to the smaller constituency sizes.
Still, one can but hope ;o)
Well, if Griffin’s party get some MPs elected, that’s democracy, innit?
nick griffin is a nonce.
Paragnostic, you are quite correct about the use of postal and minority voting behaviour – of which the latter is a creeping cancer on the body of democracy – but if major parties can abuse the postal system then who is to say it can’t be copied by Griffin’s gang?
Just reading their ideas gives me the shudders. Ignoring their dripping racism for a moment, they’re the very worst embodiment of sixth-form socialism. Awful people.
Nick Clegg’s a wet fish. Climbing onto the bandwagon – pathetic.
If there were to be a debate then it should only be between the leaders of the main parties (i.e. the people who might be Prime Minister). If you involve the mickey mouse parties then where do you draw the line? Lib Dems? SNP? UKIP? BNP? English Democrats? Loonies? Respect? Natural Law Party? Sinn Fein/IRA?
I hate “where do you draw the line?” arguments, as we are always having to draw lines more or less arbitrarily in our daily lives. The answer seems to me to be that you probably need to include LibDems who run at 18% in the polls, and could hold the balance of power in a hung parliament if Dave keeps crapping on about “progressive” and forgets to concentrate on the policy disasters of the last 12 years and how he plans to rectify them. Nige would be entertaining but probably irrelevant.
‘Mickey Mouse Parties’ What the fuck do you think the ‘main three’ are? FFS. Feck off you facist.
I suggest Brown would want to do it but everybody around him would want him not to do it.
That is a possibility. The fact that Brown is a shit public speaker and utterly flat-footed once he comes off his rehearsed tirade of tractor stats is invisible to Brown. In his own fucked-up head, he is an economic collossus let down by the yanks, the banks, the FSA, the irresponsible borrowers etc etc.
Likewise, in his fucked-up head, he is an excellent debator and master tactician. As long as nobody else is allowed to speak. You see how well he handled Dan Hannan’s top quality demolition job. Furious that anybody dare question his self-proclaimed genius and miracle-working skills.
But Brown will put that down to a one-off bit of bad form. Nope, he’s a genius, he can ‘beat’ anybody in a debate.
And so his personal vanity may allow us to see him getting taken apart by a Cameron, Clegg double team just as they took him to pieces over the Gurkhas.
Clegg has to remember that it is from Labour he must get his votes. He has to settle for second so that some day he (and the Liberals) have a shot at First. the big mistake the Liberals keep making is in attacking all parties instead of focussing their attack on the weakest ‘second’ party. In this case Labour.
The yanks had a (long) cliche about Obama…
“Rosa sat so Martin could walk. Martin walked so Obama could run. Obama ran so our children could fly.”
Clegg needs to stop thinking about flying just now and take it step by step.
Brown will attend only if the “referee” has been nobbled thereby giving him an unfair advantage in the debate.
Yep. He might agree to a BBC debate (so that people can see it for ‘free’ you understand) and then only if it is chaired by Andrew Marr. And the audience is pre-approved or chosen from the local Labour party. And if he gets to see all the questions first. And nobody else. Particularly not Cameron. And if he gets to have the last word.
Then he might agree to it.
Very true.If it happens,it will be on the BBC on Brown’s terms.Under no circumstances should Cameron and Clegg be suckered into appearing with Mandelson,whether on the BBC or Sky.Labour are so far behind that they will be in no position to refuse anything that they have the faintest hope will help them.If Brown won’t appear then everyone’s deputies.This will cause a delicious Mandelson/Harperson squabble.
Remember Adam Boulton Called This C*nt a Liar at His Own Press Conference For All The World To See ! He Wont Want More Of The Same ! To Appear On Sky Would Take “Courage” Of Which Brown Has NONE !
Yep, Boulton can’t publicly call McUckoo a tosser, but he can make like so, by publicly flaunting what he’s got and what McUckoo wants in McUckoo’s face – air time for nuffin’. So far, so charade.
I have certain reservations about debates. Mainly that those with the greatest power of bullshit can bulldoze the other. Good debaters might be good party leaders but that doesnt make them good people to run the country.
I’ve seen a national election head to head debate where a completely crap figure was presented, so crap indeed that the opponent was rather wrongfooted – made him look like a bit of a dick and he certainlty wasnt prepared for such an eventuality.
It was only in the following days that such details get tidied up in the media.
Debates are nothing but hot air. There should be a public ‘jury’ that questions the PM about why the election promises were not fulfilled. Ordinary members of the public, not party stooges, with simple searching questions. Put the politicians on the spot. Let’s see the blighters squirm in front of the cameras when they try and excuse their failures.
An electoral ‘X’ factor, if you don’t get a vote from the jury, you don’t get an ‘X’ on the ballot paper!
What we need is a hanging judge to complement the jury.
As everyone knows who has ever had anything to do with women; the ability to win an argument does not make you right, any more than the ability to win a fist fight does.
It will make good television, and probably as politics is dependent on good verbal skills, it’s a good way of selecting a political leader; but whether it’s a good way of selecting a good political leader is another matter.
Moley, your comment about winning of arguments is the best, most insightful comment I have ever read.
You deserve a nobel prize.
Bit patronising there Moley?
‘As everyone knows who has ever had anything to do with women’……… turn that sentence around and see how you like it.
‘As everyone knows who has ever had anything to do with men’…….
Arsely-I watched the debates in the USA primaries and a lot of it has to do with nifty camerawork and the chairperson’s tolerance and mic cut off. The fair way would be to have two tv companies showing the debate in split screen but one audio feed. That way you can choose to watch the body language of your choice.
My example was actually from the Sarkozy – Royale debate. Not much trickery to that one.
He was visibly shifty when Royale said something that any French schoolkid would know was false (and it actually was “nuclear power only provides 17% of France’s electricity”).
Similar to my first point: Is it right to base who runs the country on who controls their body language the best.
Actually, the people who control their body language the best are the ones who don’t realise they’re talking shit. In this very simple case, Royale “knew a fact” and was confident and smiling, Sarko was immensely put off and got a bit shifty.
Which is a bit odd, because Sarkozy first became famous for over confidence in a room containing a madman, a bomb, and several toddlers.
Dave is very fortunate that Mandy is in the house of Lords. The Prince of Darkness would suck the very lifeblood out of the Tories if he roamed the other house.
He actually isn’t all that good at live debate in the house. His strength is going on the telly where he has time to prepare and he knows the interviewers will treat him gently.
House of commons is a wierd place.
Dan Hannan wouldnt have been able to do his youtubed speech over the baying pack of fools.
Quite so, if readers can cast their mind back to his consitituency election victory speech some years back, where he launched into a truly nasty and incredibly hypocritical attack on Arthur Scargill who stood against him they will soon see what sort of person he really is.
I agree with Sir WW, Mandy is not that good at disorganised debate, he is a black arts specialist, behind the scenes, making threats to keep people quiet and off balanced. He would be exposed for what he is in a public debate, a nasty mincer who would resort to personal vindictive retorts.
In any case is he allowed out in daylight, and could Dave wear garlic and a double dose of underpants to stop Mandy’s penetrations?
There was a glimpse of his dark side on Sky this am, grotesque man
Don’t over estimate his abilities. Most of it’s slight of hand, and hype. He likes to work everything out first, to wheel and deal, spin, and duck and dive. His oratory is suspect.
Princess of Darkness……..
The lumpen McDoom having to leave his script behind – now that would be jaw-dropping.
They wouldn’t allow him on the box live in case he started to cry.
Christ, man, you’re a genius!
Brown has been a catastrophic failure as a Chancellor and Prime Minister, and there seems to be nothing he and his hordes of taxpayer-funded minions can do to endear him to the public. So what can the bunker do to try and win him some votes?
There is only one solution: get Brown to break down and cry on TV. It worked for Gazza – it can work for your man, too.
It’s not a lack of a script that makes that happen
I’m not sure that my tv could take the strain of this.
If Brownpants of the Manse agrees to turn up make sure he has some paper and crayons so he can go “la-la-la not listening” while trying to avoid a question.
Mandelscum must be loving all this attention, he’s an attention seeker, I’m hoping that his arse is still painful.
Brown would be a fool not to take a gamble on a debate – he has nothing to lose. Having said that, all the evidence is that he is a fool and a bottler.
Brown’ll say he’ll do it then about 30mins before he’ll have to be rushed to hospital with an angry spleen, or perhaps suddenly decide that a dying celebrity needs his personal assistance in libya so decides that “getting on with the job” is more important (except given parliament will have been dissolved by then, it won’t be his job – still won’t stop him)
Or he could do a jacko
….and of course little lord Mandlescum would replace him – oh how convenient that he was ‘waiting in the wings’…
yes, but I think he’s more hated than he thinks he is – I think people hate him more than brown, they just are too stupid to notice and think he’s their star media performer.
Cameron can play the quiet man too and will expose the evil one – which everyone will love
He’ll Appear Only If Millbank Can Hand Pick The Audience Like His Last Little Publicity Stunt At The Town Hall The Man’s A Fucking Embarrassment !
They would n’t let us pick the audience, would they ??
If he resigns the leadership that’ll take the heat off for a while.
I for one would love to see a televised debate between Labour and Conservative. I would also like to see a separate televised debate between the leaders of smaller parties (Green, UKIP, English Democrats etc).
Hiya Mick. Nice to hear from you again. How’s the old forearm smash going?
help!
BBC news have just defended Gordon over Libya and poo pooed Dave’s stance. I thought ther job was to report the news not take sides? Some dude called Norman Smith was the culprit.
Why watch the BBC news!? You wouldn’t believe the Guardian was politically neutral would you? Ignore them.
the BBC want it to be known that they certainly don not ‘do bias’ especially against the present government, innit.
If Boulton chairs this debate then it will just be another Boulton talk talk talk bore bore bore, err, err, err, err, err, err, err, err, err, err, err, err show.
I hope they use Kay, she would mess about- she will clip them if they step out of line. A real basher our Katey, sorry smasher!
Kay Burley My Favourite RED HEAD On This Planet ! Wow !
Is she red all over?
I Recon The Carpet Matches The Curtains !
The nose is pure Royston Vasey. She should grasp that ‘Mmm’ is frequently an inadequate response. Perhaps they’ll use the terrifying Steve Dixon?
I don’t trust politicians nor the Murdoch media.
Thats far too generous to the rest of the media.
63 You’re paranoid. There is no evidence nor reason why you shouldn’t trust them.
Sorry about reporting stock markets had crashed on Monday – we stupidly read the prepared script “September Surprise 09″ a couple of days early, before the agreed release, kinda like 11/9/01 and our amazing premonitions of collapsing towers.
My mate just bought a 3 year old Mobile NBC mobile decontamination unit which he is to convert into a mobile kebab van. It cost 25 million new you know.
We’ve all had a good shit to clear our heads.
and yes, – all the Bliar Bollocks will be ditched!
Trust me.
It’s not who says they will do it. And certainly not Gorgon.
It’s who I say will do it.
And it’ll probably be me.
McMental will NEVER take part in such a debate – now the Blair would have won hands down, that’s why he’s known ‘bLIAR in Chief’….we let him get away with…. murder but even though gay Gordon is transparent, he’s still where he is and we’re STILL just talking about it…
I see Sky’s petition for the debate already has 656 signatures. When I signed an hour ago it had 548 so growing at about 100 an hour at the moment.
Now that would be box office…
… only if we could throw eggs and rotten vegetables!
…or green slime.
or bricks
I think you all give Mandy too much credit.. Whenever i see him i think ‘what a slimey bastard.’ It blocks out everything he says. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and i am a bad person
Typical Sky, typical murdoch, typical three main parties playing three main party politics.
UK IP, The Greens, The B N P and the monster raving loonies should also be in the debate as they represent more normal peeps than Dave, Gordon or Nick ever could.
Reply
I agree in part, although full credit to Sky News in my opinion. It’s at least a step forward. It’s the sort of thing we pay the BBC for, but rely on Sky to actually do it.
Plus, it’s showing up Brown, yet again, as the Bottler he is.
Browns people would not choose this, they can imagine him shaking and stammering whilst reading out tractor stats to the nation. Labour’s record is lamentable at best and indefensible if you’re going to be fair. That’s why the BBC won’t get involved, even with their inbuilt bias, a hand picked host putting the all the right questions and closing down the oppositions answers, they know their man would be fucked.
If Gordon is too frightened to turn up, his seat should be left empty so that we can all see what a coward he really is.
I would feel really cheated if Maldleson was allowed to take his place. He is not the PM – yet, and it would make a mockery of the debate.
Let’s see Gordon wheedle his way out of this one.
….and anyway – if Gordon could find the time to write two books, he should be able to find the time to appear on TV.
There is nothing to wheedle out of. There is no history of head-to-head debates in the UK.
Gordon could do as John Major did. Just decline. And then lead his party into electoral oblivion.
Suits me.
What I meant was, that if DC and NC both agreed to do the debate, Gordon would be seen as a coward. He would have to participate to save his own skin.
Like The Time On “Have I Got News For You” When Prescott Failed To Turn Up So They Substituted Him With “A Large Tub Of Lard ” To Which They still asked The Questions But Didn’t Get Any Answers ! A bit Like Brown Then ?
Ian Hislop. Now he would chair a good debate….
It was Spluttering Hattersley not Two Jags; easy to confuse the two old troughers though. I seem to remember that the the tub of lard made more sense than Roy would have done and was less messy for the audience.
it’s got to be an empty bottle!!!!
I remember that the late Auberon Waugh wrote that he had written abuse about most politicians in his time but so long as it was reasonably humorous they took it as part of political life and remained personally friendly.The only exception he named was “Tub of lard”Hattersley.
thing is , the lard would do the better job
If there is a debate it is most likely that it will be on the BBC. Why would the Party leaders want to be on Sky, which not everyone can get?
The Times is pencilling Frost in as the Chairman. God help us, he’s in his dotage.
Don’t take this as a vote of confidence in the BBC, by the way.
We don’t want Frost. He’s a cast-iron Labour luvvie. There won’t be a fair debate with him at the helm.
how’s about ther bloke who does the world wildlife wrestling in the chair???
Sky news is on freeview most people can access freeview.
The clue is in the word ‘most’. This is not quite the same as ‘all’
Re the Chairman, it’s got to be Brillo, surely.
Here On Planet Earth Nearly All The Population Have Access To Sky News The Rest Live In Cardboard Box’s On The Street ! And Could At A Pinch Pitch Camp Outside A TV Shop To Watch It !
Freeview caries Sky and reaches 95%* of the population – the other 4.9%* of the have satellite because theycan’t get terrestial – what are you talking about?
*numbers plucked out of thin air, but approxiamately right.
Depends what you mean by “sky”.
If its sky1, its not on freeview or non-sky-box satellite (ie FTA).
Sky News is available to all for free. I have it on now in my little screen corner TV dufa. Sky News often has particular interviews or debates flagged up as ‘coming soon’… with the time you can catch them.
sky news: I’ve noticed that now.
I’ve not delved that far down the list on my generic satellite box. you never know what you’ll find.
It may reach them but if they haven’t got the kit they can’t get it, can they?
That is what I am talking about.
You don’t need any special kit. Sky News is freeview.
You need a set top box unless one is built into the telly and a special aerial. I know it’s no big deal but I was just making the point that not everybody has the kit.
And plenty of expats don’t want to miss the fun.
Well You Shouldn’t Have Left The Country Then !
It’s hardly going to be on Sky Sports 1 now is it?
” Numbers plucked out of thin air “. You must do Darling’s budgets then……………
Put them on the Jeremy Kyle show – even that is better than the BBC.
Typical Sky, typical murdoch, typical three main parties playing three main party politics.
UK-IP, The Greens, The B-N-P and the monster raving loonies should also be in the debate as they represent more normal peeps than Dave, Gordon or Nick ever could.
Reply
Why don’t we have the whole circus and invite Coco the clown and a trapeze artist?
Least it would be democracy, I’m sure even Coco the clown would be more electable and would have a bigger voting base behind him than Gordon.
I mis read that as Coco the brown, sorry !
time for an eye test – but agree in a straight race Coco would get my vote
They’d have to invite that unctuous fat-cat Salmond, Plaid Cymru leader Jones the Sheep, Peter Robinson and Gerry Adams from Northern Ireland and a host of other misfits. We’d need a Strictly Getting Elected format over a series of rounds.
Couldn’t we just have some actor speaking Adams’s weasel words for him? It would be just like old times!
I see cameron and clegg have already agreed to take part.
gordon is still dithering. Listen to his silence!
Preferable to listening to Gordon.
Where is Gordon?
Invisible. He’ll reappear in a day or two to try and recapture some support by having a go at the banker’s bonuses. Again.
Clearly nobody has told him that the public has seen through his tirade of lies about blaming his economic clusterfuck on the banks. Apart from the chronically fucking stupid ones that is.
Stop refering to him as Gordon – it lends him an air of respectability. By all means call him McMental, McSnot or any other derogatory name that might be considered suitable.
Colonel Bogey.
McCoward or McBottler if he doesn’t turn up
I prefer to refer to him as Huhneface
Soggy.
I like UPM-Unelected…..
The Great Lump of Misery
I prefer, ‘ that lying, incompetent, deceitful, ignorant, Machiavellian
bastard who has stolen mine, and every other persons pension ‘.
Tell it like it is. I wish nothing less than a plague of locusts on his head. Apart from that, I have no strong views. Now, where’s me bloody Valium.
Oh, i forgot….. ‘ that bastard who just may have consigned my kids to a life of penury ‘ Found my Valium. The Bsatard.
Assumning he takes the gig, I would expect a Charles Laughton sized backlump and Mandy in the part of Rove ( Tord Burglar). The spin would be instantly recognisable, by style as well as stench. I hope the wearing of incopants by participants is banned under Rule 6.
Brown should agree to do a mannered debate on the BBC. Full stop. And Sky could not in all seriousness go ahead without him. Probably be in trouble with the Electoral commission and OFCOM if they tried.
It’s so fucking unedifying that they should threaten to empty chair people. What idiots they are. And claiming to be impartial? That’ll be the advertisers, the profit and the first family of TV guaranteeing that then?
Impartial means treating all equally.
That rules out the bbc then !
impartial?
is that why you suggest the bbc?
Brown is the 2nd most incompetent tosser to ever fall in love with his own ego.
(antoninus blair of course being no.1).
A man(?) who knows nothing about finance or courage or being honest.
…you’re just being nice……
Mannered debate?
Is that what he does at PMQ’s when he’s asked questions he refuses to answer, when he’s challenged and looks like he wants to throw his mobile phone at the challenger and then throws himself down in a huff into his seat? Is that mannered debate?
Anyway he’s backed into a corner now. Nice one Adam. Clegg and Cameron have both said they will do it. All that’s left is for gordon to say whether he will accept or refuse. Either way he’s in a difficult position. And if he does refuse it, of course they should empty chair him.
As for the BBC everyone knows it’s just a labour mouthpiece. Putting gordon on there robs him of any chance of credibility – not that he has any anyway.
Each contestant should be seated on a ducking stool of goo (or something even viler). If any refuses to answer the question properly then they should be dropped in it. Behind them there should be hooded men with cattle prods and tasers.
The compere should be Anne Robinson.
I still don’t reckon we’d get a single straight answer.
do you mean the bbc that we are forced to fund, to listen to a man we did’nt elect talking about getting on with the job ( of ruining the country I presume)
Glad to see Gordon shoring up the immigrant vote in the west midlands with a promise to provide jobs for Birmingham.
Shame the rest of the country was not afforded the same promise……
‘Brown expands Youth Jobs scheme’
- he’s going to hire 85,000 more rentboys.
Not in Glocester he’s not!!
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a sex club in the heart of Gloucester were thrown out last night ( sept 1st).
The plans were rejected by Gloucester City Council’s planning committee, which received 42 late objections from residents.
The protesters said the plans for the New County Hotel in Southgate Street were not suitable for the location.
The proposals would have seen the historic building turned into a private members’ bar, aimed at gay people and swingers.
“aimed at gay people and swingers”
That could get confusing. You would have to be careful to turn up on the correct evening!
“Under the scheme 45,000 young people will be helped to find jobs in retail, tourism, leisure and hospitality”
Good pay back for 3 years at Uni and £20,000 debt – bearing in mind that there are 100,000 16-25 unemployed of which 50,000 plus are graduates who graduated 2008(another 70,000 this year boost numbers)
Retail, Leisure and Hospitality – all primary ways of getting the country back on its feet again. I mean, fuck manufacturing, who needs things like furniture, cars, steel things, fridges, houses, what we need is millions of unemployed retailers, leisure people and hospitality wonks – yeah, right, stupid fucking government.
How can you help p[eople to find jobs that aren’t there? A bit like the loan guarantee scheme that has achieved precisely nothing.
never heard of a bleedin’ magnifying glass???
get out there and find a job, moron….
Would that be American tourists, then? Didn’t think so.
You’d have to be a pretty sad person actually to watch the debate unless it was your job to do so. These debates do not test political ideas. They are just contests to find out who is the most skilful speaker. They tend to favour the likes of Blair and Obama (or Macmillan, from ancient British history) – plausible windbags.
Gordon might have his ‘Jo the plumber’ moment like Mccain had.
Exactly. Not a good idea. And it reinforces the idea that we have a ‘presidential’ rather than a general election.
127 Agreed they are just a hot air Factory nothing that is said is ever implimented
a total waste of space .As are the Parcipients
Much more fun to get a couple of like minded friends, pony up your £20 membership and get the list of local party fund raisers. They normally drag along a party big wig once a year, then you and chums can corner them and give them a serious ear pounding.
I’d rather watch Big Brother.
Can we do the debate on the gay chat channel
xxx
They’d be too busy discussing shoes than the isshoos.
How about the Naked News channel ?
How about a trial by ordeal, with a jungle leg somewhere smelly.
Afterall it has more relevance than a TV beauty pageant, where makeup and hairstyling win. Then we get see who has more guts, plus we get to see them all suffer.
maybe it’s just because he’s a sweaty fucking pig
I wrote to Bill Rammell and , 3 years later am still waiting for a reply. I don’t think he can read or write yet…..he’s one big buffoon, sweaty and sticky, and an obvious wanker
Defence Minister next then? Has all the right qualifications.
When Roy Hattersley “bottled” an appearance on HIGNFY they went ahead without a replacement guest and just put a “slab of lard” on the chair in his place. I leave it to others to suggest an alternative for Brown should he bottle out
I’m amazed no one suggested that earlier on this thread
I believe someone did. But a bucket of diarrhoea would be more apposite, in my view.
The Faecal Finger of Fate
How about a bucket of shit topped off with a glass eye?
How about a haggis with a glass eye stuck on it. We’d get more sense out of that bag of offal.
They did – about 8 times. It’s difficult to convey sarcasm over the interweb.
A donkey with a pin its arse?
surely the man who saved the world and knows everything about courage would be glad to get on the box so that we can all worship him?
if he doesnt turn up leave the chair empty.
why should he be shown any respect when he shows none for us?
Things getting worse for Brown, Cameron eager for live TV debate with the clunking jaw, Libyagate still biting Brown, and Prudence revisited
Brown is empty of thought so an empty chair would be no problem.
WEUURRRRRKK! (skrit skrit) ULLOGORGEOUS!
I was instantly struck by Sky’s claim that the debate would involve “all three party leaders.” So there’s only 3 parties in British politics, then? That speaks volumes. Quite how having three talking heads spouting their well-practiced, empty platitudes is going to “invigorate the debate and exercise the electorate” is beyond me. They might have 3 different names but they talk like one party. I for one won’t be watching this charade.
Agreed.
At the last national election, for Euro MP’s, the second largest vote went to UKIP. Could anyone explian why they should not be ‘invited’ to put forward their election proposals?
Surely they should include UKIP! Farage could do with getting himself on by hook or by crook!
I’m a little undecided on this one. I would also like to see UKIP there but will there be too many on stage at once if there are 4 representatives?
If these debates happened regularly I would be for inviting all parties but if we are only getting one bite of the cherry I think it’s best to keep it to the tories and labour.
As long as Brown is humiliated – that’s the main thing.
yeah, it’s just like footballs Sky Four, there’s no ther teams in the league and football was only invented in 1992
Mr Fawkes , I would normally support this, However it would just be soundbites and spin
Agreed. It would be unfair to the other parties and I’m talking about those parties that realistically had sway in the european elections so I’m not talking nonsense.
Murdoch shouldn’t be allowed to have anything to do with UK politics. I saw the unfairness in the American coverage by their media. They painted Ron Paul as a wacko but he did get a huge donation base. It wasn’t just Ron Paul either; you could see the blatent favouritism in the debates.
Brown will say he’ll do it then back out with toothache or similar.
Debate itself wouldn’t prove much between politicians just shoving soundbites out – perhaps we should get them on something competitive but more substantial than just debating – say Strictly Come Dancing or competitive garden designing,- or maybe just do the debate anyway but get Jeremy Kyle from C5 to referee. Andrew Marr and Robinson could dress up, as they like to do.
I’d prefer I’m a Celebrity style insect eating stunts
Mandy would walk it!
Good idea Alan, the task can be to explain how they’d fix the country, the loser has to eat Peter Mandleson
For those of you bloggers with a quizzical bent, have a go at
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/movers_and_shakers/article6774598.ece
And ask the badger a question
done it
Lol I did – and here it is:
Will there still be a future for our children and grandchildren that does not involve penury now that your party has not only sold off the family silver, but pawned the furniture and mortgaged the garden shed under the guise of PFI and quantative easing?
See – I was very polite and everything to the useless economic illiterate ;o)
The main three political partys are just a cartel of crooks.
They all have the same policies.
They all support big government.
They all support Great Britains total subservience to the EUSSR.
So why should I want to watch three talking heads, all talking bollox & all singing from the same collectivist middle ground song book?
All three main partys need stuffing at the next GE – Camerons New Liberal Party especially.
This is our last chance saloon.
Mine’s a large scotch.
gordon back on the job, has just said he is going to continue spending.
He says “now would be the wrong time to start scaling back multi-billion measures to shore up the banks and the economy”
He chooses not to make a statement on whether he will accept the invite to a public debate.
He’s like man intent on suicide!
keep the multi-billion measures coming Brown, or else.
gordon back on the job?
ffs nell, it will take all day to get rid of that nasty image.
imagine it: gordon with a turkey baster in one hand and his acorn sized cock in the other frantically tugging away.
YUCK!
(krit… krit…) BLEUUUURRGHHH!!!
How dare you mention Browns todger in the prescence of saint nell, you fucking peasant?
And since when have you been an expert on wanking? Oh yeah, how silly of me to ask.
yes you are silly.
note to self: retard has some insight. ECT will still be required.
Note to self: he did not deny he is a total wank pot.
note to self: patient is obsessed with masturbation.
heavy and frequent doses of lithium recommended + ECT.
Go and have that enema you promised yourself, you murderous little trollop.
Not his suicide. He’s fine – index-linked pension, guaranteed directorship, you name it, he’ll get it. After all, who do you think he’s been serving these last 12 years?
No. it’s suicide for UK plc and everyone in it. But, why should Brown worry. He won’t be in charge when the S really HTF.
Psycholops in Birmingham to make an important speech in Birmingham about the unemployment he’s created. What will be in it?
10/1 on: It started in America
5/2 on: Global
7/1: Hard working families
9/2: Opportunities for young people
14/1: Scourge of unemployment
18/1: Public spending rising by 0%
25/1: Tax incentives
40/1 the field; 3/6d the Bar
The rightness of stuff is usually a safe bet. All the nuLabs do it – Denham got 7 into 1 interview at the weekend.
10000/1 i will resign
No – it’ll be We have saved “Britain’s” Car Industry by our decisive action – the Tories would have let it fold- 250,000 plus jobs in the region rely on car industry when you take all associated industries etc. Well it worked in 2005 – there are over 30 Labour Marginals in the area – I don’t think it will this time around.
I was visited by the Conservative PPC last night – a first in a previously staunchly Labour voting Constituency – he was accompanied by seemingly lots of activists who were methodically saturating the area-the opening line – “You’re probably aware that the election is going to be pretty soon and this is your chance to deliver a message to Gordon Brown” and from what I could see and hear there were plently of people who were only to keen to tell them their opinion regarding Brown(these people would have previously always have voted Labour)- a straw poll I accept – but if that is repeated- Labour have already lost the election. I have never known a man so universally hated – even in what used to be regarded as a Labour area.
The Conservatives are already ahead of the game it seems – they are targetting this area big time and I suspect other target constituencies too. Forget about debates between leaders – the election will be won by local activists banging on doors and harnessing the dislike for Brown to good effect
A mass debate, a veritable cross arm boogey where the big 3 haggle over the width of a fag paper.
Fuck em all.
Just ta say there is a debate on bbc parliment on lockabie
When was Al Megrahi diagnosed with cancer? If when the UK government negotiated the PTA,how did they expect the SNP to release him? Were they aware that he was suffering from cancer? It seems remarkably fortunate that he became terminally ill, thus saving face all round, and making a release on compassionate grounds possible.
It’s speelleedd Ed-Yer-kay-shun! downt they lurn yer nuffin!!??
Anywaz, it’s as easy to install cancerous cells as it is to . . . . . . better leave it there.
Also, there is such a thing as iatrogenic dis . . . dees . . . deceaseds . . illness u kno
I’m confused about this Megrahi bloke. Is he somehow related to that Scottish minor who caused so much trouble a few years back ?
Why is the Parliament channel so fucking boring?
And who pays for it?
I like the bespectacled lass with the perties.
(a) coz the Brownstainovich BullShit Corp. considers everyone is a somnam . . . . sombnat . . .. somnanbu . . . . sleepheaded slob
(b) you do
It’s boring cos Parliamentary business is boring. Which actually is more fun than most foreign legislatures – Americans can’t get enough of our parliament, which shows you how dull theirs must be.
And I believe Parliament pays for it, which pressumably means the trail leads back to us, the license payers.
Sky were very brave with this; they could have done the same as before, ie said “ok, well, if you can’t all turn up then we won’t have a debate”, but instead they basically said (heavily paraphrased!) -
“Look, we’re having this debate regardless of whether you want to turn up. If you want to look like a coward who wants voters to think that you take their vote for granted and that the electorate aren’t important enough for you to bother telling them about your policies, then feel free to not bother turning up. If you don’t turn up then the debate will go ahead without you and we’ll have at least an hour of prime-time tv/radio for your opponents to show you up for the lying cowardly bastard that you really are.”
Well done sky; it’s about time this ultimatum was applied.
My guess is that Brown won’t turn up; clegg and cameron would blast his logic/reasoning to shit. Brown would look like a total idiot because absolutely none of his arguments ever make logical sense and he’s got a proven track record of destroying everything he touches.
But it would suit Brown perfectly to have Cameron and Clegg knocking lumps off each others support. Plus there’s bound to be one or two things that will slip out that Labour can use against them.
The only person who can lose from this is Cameron. Whether Brown attends or not. It depends how Cameron has phrased his acceptence but he most certainly doesn’t want to be splitting the anti-Labour vote by going one-on-one against Clegg.
Agreed, Clegg could be a spoiler. He needs to grow up and figure out where the LibDem future lies.
LibDem future?
What’s that?
Come on Guido – an empty box? Any one of the following would suffice:
Basil Brush
Mr Bean
Bungle
Kermit the frog
Lord Lucan
That Rammell feller was at the COML at the Cambridge Union earlier this year, trying to defend this pisspoor government.
I wouldn’t be so immodest as to say I ripped him a new arsehole, but he was leaking something as he left the Union.
T’was interesting – a professional politician, when up against informed members of the public and undefended by partisan hacks, spin doctors or the TV editors, was torn apart. He lost every argument – on factual grounds. These people are no fucking good. It’s only a media shield that keeps them where they are. Face to face you find they are what we always suspected them to be – fifth raters who just happen to lick the right arses.
Mandelson may be many things but he is not stupid, he knows when the circus is in town the organ grinder can put his feet up, watch the show and laugh with the rest of us.
Yep when Labour lose the next election he can blame it ALL on Gordon…He and Blair will be left laughing all the way to the bank.
There are over 300 MP’s whose future depends upon the country blaming it all on Gordon. This is why he is still PM me thinks.
We’ll start to ‘groom’ the country at once.
Then people will believe Gorgon is a genuine friend and will make plausible excuses to meet him in his baited honey trap.
Never fails.
an’ that
So what is Mandy gonna give as the excuse for him standing in for Brown in your theoretical scenario Mr Fawkes? Gordon got a flat tyre on the way to the studio? Swine flu? Face ache?
Yeah but it’s well nigh time for Gorgon to have a sicky, and certainly will be by then.
– it’s part of the Noo_Lie_Bore way of ‘life’ – if you can call it that.
That plus the C(l)own_sling
Innit.
He’s had to go to the toilet.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1209927/Brown-bit-hullabaloo.html
Quite – look at that speech he gave a few months ago at that london hall where they had stacked the audience with labour supporters because he needed to get back some confidence after a knock.
It was inconsequential rubbish and the BBC televised all of it as though it were a major event. Did they then give equal air time to the other two parties? No.
Quite right nell
when I asked them to explain why Brown was given this (as well as other prominence for what is essentiall labour party business) the BBC said that it was of national interest because it was of national interest and it was of national interest because it was cos they say so
I fired off a complaint to them about this at the time – STILL waiting for them to bloody reply.
Now that Cameron and Clegg have agreed and boxed Broon in I think he’ll start making noises about access to the many. Expect the BBC to issue a counter offer of a debate and Broon to accept. He knows it’s going to be a tough game for him, one he’d rather avoid, best to play it at home. He also gets back at Sky for their impertinence.
If the BBC have such a debate then I’m not even going to watch it. They’ll just get some pro-labour stooge in to chair it and there’s absolutely no fucking way I’m going to watch a BBC/labour stooge give Brown his own show.
If that happens, the BBC can fuck right off.
It’s just turn out as The Liebour
Lies and Spin show,hosted by our beloved leader PM Brown, presented only on BBC Pravda channels, if our beloved leader unexpectedly falls ill, our queen kingmaker mandykins will ru(i)n it.
Mmmm…
All those “free” programmes on Ipod for download.
The BBC are positioning themselves to be the recipients of a License Fee for UK Internet Access.
Once they have collected sufficient data on the amount of free downloads they have provided they will approach whichever BBC friendly stooge Government is in power to demand a Licence Fee for internet access in the UK.
Think I am joking or spreading rumours?
I bet that Brown, Clegg & Cameron are already on board with this outrageous idea.
The BBC is akin to a tax on letterboxes to fund the production of junk mail.
I don’t think you are joking. I have thought this as their plan long ago. How to stop it is the question….
And it won’t the internet as we know it today, either. It’ll be a very much more sanitized version (in the interests of public safety, of course). So you can kiss your dissident blogs and right of reply goodbye. Everything that currently makes the web ‘alive’ colourful and compelling will be choked off, strangled and buried and we’ll end up with something that merely resembles a regular BBC channel with heavily-policed content access. Auntie Beeb will be our automatic ‘parental control’ for adults and you won’t be able to opt out of it.
I’m rather afraid Sky has blocked his exit on that one.
They’ve just issued a statement saying that “Sky will act in consultation with an independent body to ensure impartiality and will offer the debate live and unedited to any competitors that want to carry it”
Mandy questioned this morning, declined to say whether gordon would take part.
The petition is now up to 1298.
Hi Nell,
When did sky issue the statement?
Just read it!
Still think if Labour can switch it to the BBC they will, with Marr or similar in the chair they know they’ll have a better chance.
‘In the interests of the nation this important event in our democracy should be carried out by the national broadcaster’ or similar.
You’ll know its a stitch up if Brown accepts the invite 5 minutes before it’s made.
yes; I’m not sure what excuse Brown will have for switching to a labour-created BBC programme, it definitely can’t be lack of access because the BBC will be allowed to carry the sky debate.
They’ll come up with some bullshit reason though.
I’ve seen “debates” and “interviews” of Brown on the BBC and they’re just a joke. Brown spouts totally illogical “black is white” arguments and never gets taken to task over his complete insanity/idiocy. It might as well be chaired by Ed Balls if the BBC are doing it, and I for one wouldn’t listen to it because I know it’d make me want to kick my telly to pieces.
It’s great what Sky have done though; Brown is totally boxed in; he’s fucked either way. Show up and be seen for the complete moron that he is because none of his reasoning stands up to scrutiny, or don’t show up and be seen as a coward who doesn’t want people to see what a moron he is. Either way people will know he’s a moron who shouldn’t even have the responsibility of pushing trolleys around in a tesco car park let alone be in charge of the country.
They have also arranged for it to be fed live, to every independent radio station in the country.
So any accusation of the Sky debate not being accessible to all, is redundant, funnily enough, just like the majority of listeners are now, thanks to the gorgon and his Keystone crew.
When I signed the petition last night, there was only a couple of hundred, though I was surprised by that number, that it now stands at over 1000 indicates that not just those of us on this blog want to see Brown torn to shreds but there are others, up and down the land, which means, there is still hope for this country, after all.
Now if we can just get them all to vote for an independent candidate………………….
Y’know, here’s a funny thing. I’ve been waiting for the shitstorm on this article, but it hasn’t happened. A dog not barking.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6814986.ece
Portillo with a good piece on why skivers shouldn’t be able to choose skiving as a lifestyle, but he draws on Charles Murray. Yes, that Charles Murray. Now… given the hysteria that greeted Dan the Man’s referencing Enoch, how come nary a word from the loony left about Portaloo?
Curious
portillo is a smug fool……….
he gets £5000 per tv show or personal appearance………
it is easy to grandstand when you are wealthy…….
of course there are some that do not want to work…..
but being unemployed is not fun………
the dole have so many stupid rules and yvettes master plan of everyone working on the till at Primark is just bollocks!
Yep, It’s the benefit withdrawal rate (like a 95%+ tax on working) that prevents people from working.
Cobblers.
Slash the dole to a genuine subsistance level – no extras for kids, disability, nowt – and watch the slackers chase jobs. Amazing how being hungry alters your view of what you’re prepared to do.
Frank, the dole is already below subsistence level – wanna try it??
not everyone wants to be out of work
As an employer, I really, seriously do not want to employ somebody who has been contentedly on benefits for years, with no qualifications, who has had any talent, energy, skill, social ability, work ethic or manners they ever possessed slowly squeezed out of them by a decade of sofa-sitting, internet porn and frozen pizza. What can we ever do with these people?
not everyone wants to be out of work
Did I say they all did? But is *everyone* currently on the rock and roll currently looking for work? Nope. There are millions – on the govt’s own figures – who have chosen to ignore the last decade’s jobs boom, who have *chosen* a life on benefits. That choice should not be open to them.
I’ve been skint, I’ve been made redundant – I don’t sign on. There is always work. I’ve worked the bins, kitchen portering, removals, light truck driving, back to the old fave despatching… I will not sign on, in much the same way as I would not eat Gordon’s shit. It is beneath me, and every other human being.
Frank “no extras for kids, disability, nowt ”
not all disabled people can work even if they wanted to – and of course, employers discriminate and won’t employ them – maybe you’d like to just kill them to save the money?
there has to be a better way
I’d like Stanislav to turn up to the debate and ask who’ll shit in his face the least.
why?
can’t you argue your own points????
So, if Gordon does not turn up, then he will be represented by an empty chair. At least we will get straight answers from a chair, Dave could find it a lot tougher than taking on the real McCoy.
perhaps davros from dr.who could be used?
looks like Brown and is a megalomaniac.
but without the charisma!
If Gordon “bottles it” and doesn’t show up and if the debate is allowed without a Labour Party representative – the damage to Brown and Labour will be collosal. Dave is the consumate PR man he will not let such an opportunity go by
You can hear Dave now – “This is a Prime Minister who not only dare not face me but he also treats the electorate with contempt by refusing to debate the issues but why should anybody be surprised this is the man that is never there when there is a difficult decision in Government to be made and if found out – says “but that was nothing was to do with Me” and a man who readily blames other people for his own mistakes of judgement and leadership !”
McBroon the Bottler on now speaking… droning on… from Birmingham about a geezer called McGravvy… some Scots navvy, obviously.
Who is Alma Grabby? Is she related to Alky Ada?
I had to laugh at that stuck up bitch ‘YeeGods’ Cooper (Aka Mrs Balls) on Sky this morning when asked whether Old McYellowstain should take part and she replied
‘we already have a televised debate every week its called PMQ’
Bwhahahahahaa…… (Wipes tears from eyes)
They are crapping themselves at the thought of McFuckwit being on his own because McStalin will be nailed if he does and nailed if he dosent. Can you imagine it…
Mr m,m, mr ..mr, mr mrboulton…. Bwahahahah!
If Brown were to join in – apart from being even more disasterous for Liebor – it would at least be a collective debate.
If it were Lord Fondlebums, it would instead, be a mass-debate! And surely no contest either.
May i recomend Mr Glenn Beck as the chair , It would make it worth watching .
Glenn Beck is a lunatic. And a paranoid conspiracy theorist nut. I get the need for a conservative opposition voice to the Obama/democratic generation, but it ain’t Beck. Or if it is, god help us.
off topic, but just a gentle reminder, a maximum 274 days to go until the election, happy days.
thank you
can’t come quick enough
get rid of the lot of them
Sure. Only a maximum of 274 days to wait before everything’s going to be all just fine again….
Guido, how about a minimum age limit to post on here? Say 40?
oooooooooooo, that would eliminate you then!!
there are far too many old farts like you alf bleating on about your post war garbage.
the rule should of course be no-one OVER the age of forty can post here.
apart from Guido.
Whatever, Top Boy. I just despair when I see people deluding themselves that a General Election is going to make everything OK. It doesn’t matter who gets in, the country’s terminally fucked. It’s been going down the shitter for decades and has now finally reached the sewer.
top boy will not allow that to happen alf.
and I will traduce anyone who allows this country’s descent to continue.
abolish
you are making some grand assumptions there – best settle down and watch Corrie again
Oh well then sorry, Kid. I didn’t realize you were being sarcastic originally. That’s fine then. It all makes sense now. Welcome aboard!
True but you know that Cameron wouldn’t stoop to
a debate with a frail overrated hasbeen.
I’d to see Hague finally finish him off.
Fine!-then the line up would be Hague,Mandy and Cable. It’s either a Leaders debate or it’s nothing.
Good to see the PM finding time to comment on the release of a convicted terrorist to a terrorist state yet failed to mention the 2 Scottish soldiers recently killed in the name of fighting terrorism in Afghanistan.
Well that just sums him up, crap.
Jonathan Creek, all round luvvie and miserable bastard, gets a 25% cut in wages.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8233472.stm
Boo hoo.
If I were running the BBC, Woss would get a 100% pay cut and so would the Corporation’s cravenly greedy denizons. The licence payer would get a substantial refund from the sell-off – and no equity subscription required. Therefore no merchant banks to “advise” on the floatation. There simply wouldn’t be one! Vote for ALF!
If it takes place during an election campaign, Labour would have to be represented so as not to show bias to any party(ies).
Bias can be avoided more easily if it’s not on the BBC.
No they wouldn’t!
Brown has been invited.
Had he not been, then you could argue that the debate would be biased but if he chooses not to turn up, then that is his lookout.
“How does Brown think that he can simply deny the facts..and expect people
to believe him?”
Easy – he thinks we’re all stupid.
Nah cognitive dissonance is essential to maintaining faith in the words of the prophet marx.
And of course, AC1, given a contradiction one can prove anything, such as two plus two being five, or PFI being a wise method of financing public investment, or…
These idiots aren’t Marxists, but they are Stalinists in the strictest sense of the word, laying waste to Britain in the same way and using the same sort of arguments that Uncle Joe did to Russia.
Imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever.
Gordon will be forced into it in end, and he will once again look like a follower and not a leader.
It’s not only completely wrong to make such a suggestion it’s also quite offensive
With Brown, Cameron must turn the ‘no policies’ jibe around into “no, none until we’ve analysed the ‘books’ “.
With Mandelson, a quip about non-disclosure of non-FSA approved mortgages might set the scene. Cameron would probably like to ‘put the boot in’ for the Corfu mess and Mandy is very vulnerable…….
The only problem is that CallmeDave doesn’t seem to have laid a decent blow on the government despite the deepest recession / most awful finances in 70 years. What will it take for him to confront a serious issue, rather than whether the Yanks think we’re wankers for letting a Libyan out of jail. Do we really care about this for more than two minutes?
Dave’s the invisible man. He has no balls, no spine and no principles. He is nothing more than a Blair clone.
Petition signed, personally I’d pay to watch it if they could actually make the c’unt answer a single question….
Here’s an ideal stand-in if Brown won’t do it
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8233598.stm
I realise that adding sensible comment is probably frowned upon here but….
A debate wouldn’t be likely to change much. All 3 candidates would restrict it so that they wouldn’t have much dialogue between themselves. The questions would be known beforehand i bet, and the ones that arent would be dull and predictable. Only people who already follow politics/current affairs would even bother to watch – the rest are too busy watching Jordan’s latest tit wank. Brown would likely attack Cameron along the ‘cuts v investment’ crap. Cameron would be dull and uninspiring as ever (though not as dull as the PM) and Clegg would try to do the classic lib dem trick and say ”these two are really the same bloke, but me, i’m different”. All of which tells us dick all we didn’t know before. There wouldn’t be any more debate than we get in PMQs. What do the yanks learn from their debates? Fuck all is the answer. By all means let them do it and have a tv debate, but don’t expect anything earth shattering, or even bed moving.
See below @ 356.
Adding sensible comments here is perhaps less rare than you think and particularly welcome if the contributor is familiar with at least an inkling of grammar and punctuation.
Git Fooked Yu Tof Twat !
Translation please.
get fucked you toff twat ?
Hmmm 3 biggest parties – so that’s Conservatives, UKIP and Labour then?
359 Hmmm 3 biggest parties – so that’s Conservatives, UKIP and Labour then?
Broadly but everyone I speak to has no intention of voting for Conservative but will definately vote for conservative politics in its true sense. That rules out Labour and Conservative unless Dave C grows some patriotic balls.
Slightly off topic…
Interesting to see that the vote in the Scottish parliament has been delayed until 5pm, despite the debate (inc about party-line voting) finishing some time ago…
Me wonders if the Liebour MSPs are seeking counsel from Westminster?
Also, if the Scottish government lose the vote, I wonder if the SNP would declare a “no confidence” and call an election. Just think how much shit that would send to the rest of the Liebour party. I seriously wouldn’t put it past Salmond.
If that happens (perhaps only in my dreams) that could spell the end of Liebour north, and then south of the border.
What we really need is for Cameron and Clegg to work together just for the debate, and show Gordon up for the charlatan he is.
If they’ve got any sense, they’ll do that.
Gordon will go eventually; if a debate takes place all 3 will be there. If GB doesnt go, the debate won’t go ahead for whatever reason.
Unlikely. They’re all components of ONE BIG PARTY whose name we cannot say, which is why we only get deeper into the shit with every passing decade.
Maybe Labour could give the Lib Dems a cast iron promise (tattooed on Broon’s forehead and signed in Mandelson’s blood) that they will definitely hold a referendum on prortional representation at the next election in return for Clegg withdrawing from the Sky debate.
Surely the debate couldn’t go forward with two empty chairs?
…”prortional representation”… Actually, that probably wouldn’t be legally binding spelled loik dat.
O/T Just Watched A BBC News Reader Throwing A Dickkie Fit With A Scotch Tory Woman Because Cameron Said The Lybian Should Never Have Been Released But Scotch Tories Wanted Him In A Hospice The way He Went On At Her You Got The Impression That The Tories Let Him Out ! About Time We Scrapped The BBC Polit Bureau !
TV debate? All this will reveal is 3 parties vying for the same middle ground and the same apathy we have seen since Thatcher lost office we need a strong leader
BROWN:
is not elected as PM or even as leader of the Labour party &
he did not put a contender against David Davis so he has not grasped the concept of democracy all very Orwellian!
As the lady from Cheshire said on Gaunty today he is also keen to give all our soverenty to Brussels …I wonder what my Dad sat in the tail of a Lancaster for 70 years ago
Cameron:
is not a strong leader and has not shown leadership or thumped the dispatch box firm enough with the worst Government in history When Labour had lost confidence in their leader Cameron should have called an early day motion of no confidence and got Brown out then!
Do you think Heath would have been called heir apparent to Wilson 30 years ago We need more Tebbits, Skinners, Benns and well Churchill so we have a more definitive politic in the UK
Clegg
Peter Hichens calls them the “What’s the point party!” and I tend to agree
at 15 seconds in he strongly resembles a bloke who’s had a nasty stroke. Check it out! That would explain a lot. Look at the way he’s standing, his hands, his face; the whole deal. I really think he’s lost it.
Lovely wasn’t it?
Like salt on a slug.
Now that he’s no longer chief stand-in for the PM, John Prescott must be heaving a pie of relief. Clegg would make mince meat of him, and Cameron would eat him alive.
It’s almost my teatime.
I’m not supporting a debate by the leaders or a petition by the arrogant pig-heads at Sky. To enlist The Times editorial in support reminds us why the BBC exists and why there really should be a limit on media ownership.
Own goal, Mr Murdoch (Aussie ‘Digger’).
You are so (accidentally I suspect) right. The first people who should be banned from media control are the government.
I am confused. I thought that Lord Boy of Foy was running the country, but it now seems to be that jumped up twit Murdoch. When’s it going to be my turn?
When you start cleaning and polishing your .303.