I have just played back PMQs and written a blogpost about Brown's gaffe, which you can read tomorrow morning. One thing I do want to say though, is that I though the House's treatment of Nick Clegg was an absolute disgrace. The Labour and Tory benches when he said that a single mother had been to see him. There are many reasons to make fun of the LibDems, but frankly, that sort of thing is just plain childish and makes the whole House look puerile.
One of the great things about the House of Commons is that it allows for robust debate. That is a good thing, and makes it a much more relevant chamber compared to the monochrome appearance of chambers like the Bundestag. But today's behaviour during Nick Clegg's question did only one thing. It brought the House into disrepute.
14 comments:
I agree. Clegg made a stupid mistake talking to that magazine - just as William Hague did about his drinking bouts!! But he was making - and made -after the children stopped laughing- a valid point against Brown and his economic miracle and a one parent family and her financial problems.
Clegg really did well last week and I would have thought that there was an opportunity for the Tories to extend the hand of friendship - but after today I agree with you Iain.
Cameron working with Clegg could bring a quite different dynamism to PMQ's
Well said.
Yeah it was unedifying but it was a complete schoolboy error. Did you see Vince chuckling?
He really has to frame his questions better, he really does. He just hit first with abuse - continue the Me Bean arrack. Just a thought.
RUBBISH
"One of the great things about the House of Commons is that it allows for robust debate"
70% of our laws are now made in the European Union and of the competence's left to the UK Parliament 95% of the debate is Guillotine Motioned
A bit of slapstick on a Wednesday lunchtime is the only guarantee that some of us get to see your MP on the Parliament channel
I agree. I saw PMQ's repeated this evening and was disgusted and annoyed.Aside from the purile humour, don't some MP's realise the impression they give to the wider World?
I laughed my head off
The 646 idiots who tell us what to eat, what to listen to, what to smoke, drink or fart really did us proud.
Thank the Lord they are in charge of all 60,000,000 of us.
I don't have much time for Clegg, but the treatment of him, week after week is also a disgrace, when, mostly Labour MPs, keep heckling him as he tries to pay tribute to fallen British soldiers.
I don't like the way Clegg's approach is so personal to be honest, but I think you're right on this one Iain. They just get carried away and in this case it was distasteful. Clegg was actually making an important point about tax credit casualties and the MPs' salacious mockery jarred pretty badly with the seriousness of his point.
I don't like the way the MPs feel free to walk out whenever Clegg starts talking as well. I know their LibDems, but he's still the leader of the third largest party in the country, so whatever their personal feelings towards him, he does deserve a little respect.
(I did note that it was the first time in weeks Brown managed to answer Clegg without mentioning "20 millyon")
Quite right Iain, but the same goes for the atavistic point-scoring across the Despatch Boxes and the general air of partisan braying that the public perceives when the Chamber is broadcast. Time for the Speaker to enforce existing Standing Orders and conventions more strictly and to bring in new rules that would require questions to be answered, restrict any statements that do not provide genuine information and give the Speaker the power to slap down politically opportunistic speeches that are not designed to serve the public.
If the parties cannot stop navel gazing they will have to have adulthood imposed on them. PMQs etc may be entertaining but they aren't paid to entertain us.
There's no way to force the PM to give real answers any more than you can force Cameron to ask real questions. It's their time in the spotlight and the public will judge them on how they use it. The farmyard noises will stop when the whips make it clear how utterly embarrassing it looks. One bright spot appeared to be an apparent decline in the toadying govt backbench softball, or perhaps I imagined it. Those have always set my teeth on edge.
Well I have just been watching the Parliament channel do a re-run of PMQ's and the BBC commons commentator said it was Labour MP's laughing (Mostly). Though someone mentioned LD 's smirking i noticed the memebr for solihul smirking plus the pompus female London MP who ran for Mayor a few elections ago.
Whilst it maybe harsh and Clegg was asking a valid question, he set himself up for a fall. If Clegg was anygood after the speaker had settled the chamber he should have rebuked them. Before continuing his question, Clegg is simply out of his depth.
Clegg does not carry the house or have its respect.
Clegg is a useless leader for the LD's and is the head of a useless party. What amuses me most about them is their fence sitting and just as they tried to sit on the Tory side of the fence the credit crunch changed the game they have been squeesed out of the game!
LD's = LOL
Come the next election I look forward to the Yellow Taxi graphic!
As a LibDem, I actually found the laughter around Nick's opening words quite funny. I think he saw the funny side a little as well.
The bellowing and heehawing around Brown's gaff was over the top - although it was a comical and indicative gaff by Brown, the behaviour following it tended sadly once again to bring the House into disrepute. Brown came out of it well in the end because his opponents sounded like yobs.
While it did a little, it was an acorn compared to the oak of disrepute grown by Gordon Brown and Speaker Martin.
I did not hear the comment, but I can guess what was said. I was laughing, frankly. Clegg is significantly to blame for this with his daft life history article.
Well said Iain.
Post a Comment