Welcome to my blog. I am a former local journalist who now works in PR and a Conservative and community activist in Woking and Horsell. This blog will keep updated on local issues as well as my interests and quirky news stories.
So we now know three of the five members of the panel who will be in Woking for Question Time on Wednesday – they are David Miliband, Ming Campbell and Simon Schama. I had a sneaking suspicion that Ming Campbell might be the Lib Dem because he’s been to a few functions in the area before. I wouldn’t exactly say that sending your most unsuccessful leader in recent history was a filip for your local party in what is a serious target seat for the Liberals – but there we are.
It’s funny, I also had visions of David Miliband here too – I didn’t suggest him because I thought that the Foreign Secretary might be a bit busy to hike out to Surrey, where Labour has no MPs and there are plenty of councils without Labour members. I guess the theme of the evening is going to be foreign affairs then – in which case, is William Hague likely to be the person joining the panel too? I have met William Hague in Woking before, so it’s not unthinkable. But perhaps a little bit too risky given all the fuss about Lord Ashcroft’s entirely legal, if slightly translucent, tax arrangements.
I’d never have called Simon Schama, although I did say that a left-wing think tank (in this case an academic) would be represented. I rather like him as a historian and his History of Britain did to history on the television what Tony Blair was attempting to do to politics in Westminster. It is his misfortune, though, that David Starkey has since taken this format and perfected it in his Monarchy series. But seriously, what is Mr Schama going to bring to the debate except more of the liberal, London-centric narrative that so dominates BBC opinion already? Let’s not forget that Mr Schama has been employed by the BBC and was part of its “bright new future” after May 1, 1997.
The only question is whether they will balance him out by another supposedly “apolitical” figure like an actor/comedian who’s actually a left-winger or whether it’ll be a right-wing blogger or columnist who can easily be dismissed as totally bonkers. Perhaps a member of UKIP?
Hi Simon
I just had a phone call from the audience selection team at the BBC and will be in the audience for Question Time. Got a question you want asking
Spiderplant
Well done, that’s great. I’m not a fan of Question Time and have a residents association meeting that night that I’d far rather attend. I might watch it on iPlayer afterwards to spot people I know in the audience, though.
Are you going to be asking “Does the panel believe that all candidates in parliamentary elections should be living within their constituency when selected?” I’ll bet the answer would be no from everyone, though.
Funnily enough I;m not. I AM going to be asking the following though “If the Conservatives want to be the party of change how can they justify Chris Grayling saying that guest houses should be able to ban homosexual couples from staying in their establishments. Is this not the Tory party of old rearing its head again?”
Its of far more interest nationally which is what QT is about than the local question though it does have its merits and i suspect that the panel may agree with my stance rather than your;s but thats democracy right?
Comments from people whilst out canvassing yesterday more than proved that point with many people being unhappy about a non local candidate who they think has been parachuted in.
I guess we’ll find out for sure on May 6th wont we?
Very topical, I’m sure both Milipede and Ming the Merciless will have great fun with that one.
I doubt they’d agree that MPs should always be selected from inside their constituency though as neither lived in the constituency when they were selected. Miliband lived in London when selected for South Shields and Ming tried three different constituencies before ending up in North East Fife. In fact, you could say it was his third choice…
So if they agreed with you, they’d effectively be saying that their own elections were morally illegitimate. I think the best 646 people should be elected as MPs and it would be a huge coincidence if they all happened to live in different parliamentary constituencies.
I’m sure that people say they are unhappy on the doorstep when Lib Dems tell them that Jonathan has been parachuted in from miles away – what else would they say? The truth, of course, is somewhat different and it has yet to crop up in any of my canvassing.
I don’t think we’ll get an answer to that question on May 6 at all – the result in Woking will be a reflection of many different factors. Rosie and Jonathan’s personalities and CVs will form a part of the equation but so will other things and it will be impossible in the current climate to say how much the result is affected by any one of them.
All we will know on May 7 is who the MP will be.