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You are a tinker...' - Tim Farron

Wednesday 10 August 2011

Harriet Harman was a disgrace on Newsnight last week. While we're at it, why weren't the Lib Dems invited on?

I see Ed Miliband has made some sensible, dare I see leaderly, comments on the recent unrest - for example:

'The causes are not simple, they are complex... the Labour Party is not going to engage in simplistic explanations about this'.

What a shame he didn't say this before Harriet Harman waded in on Newsnight last week with her facile, holier than thou, party point scoring, tribal nonsense. I was so angry - so angry - that I ended up nodding along with Michael Gove (YES I KNOW!!!).



It's also worth watching if you like a dust up on Newsnight.

Later classic comment from Matthew d'Ancona on Newsnight, as rioters ran amock in Liverpool, Manchester, Leicester at al:

'what we want to know is that people are safe on the streets of London'.

Oh dear.

But I'm also far from satisfied with Newsnight's performance in giving Lib Dem's a voice, both last night (Lib Dem representation: zilch) and during the week as a whole.

Nick Clegg was the first major politician to visit the scenes of the riots. Lynn Featherstone was the 'duty minister' on Sunday when this had all kicked off.

Why - as usual - isn't Newsnight giving us a fair crack of the whip? Answers on a postcard.

And finally: here's a great piece from Zoe Williams of the Psychology of Looting. Everyone should read it.

5 comments:

  1. oh I don't know, I've seen lots of news footage of Clegg being roundly jeered by the public on his tour of riot striken London.

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  2. well, quite - and very little of him spending lots of time in the areas affected seeing how he can help. rather specific BBC editing going on I'm afraid.

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  3. " her facile, holier than thou, party point scoring, tribal nonsense. I was so angry "

    So you posted a facile, holier than thou, party point scoring, tribal nonsense blog post!

    "holier than thou"

    Sorry, but it is beyond irony that a libdem derides anybody for behaving in a "holier than thou" way. You guys default setting was holier than thou until 15 months ago - "it's time promises were kept" ring any bells?

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  4. I don't think you really read my piece properly did you? I ended up agreeing with Michael Gove. This is a very unusual and unsatisfactory state of affairs I can tell you - but at least demonstrates I wasn't playing party politics (unlike Ms Harman), a view endorsed this morning by her leader.

    So in my post I endorsed the views of members of the Labour and Tory frontbenches. No party point scoring there.

    On the promises thing - we are implementing 75% of our manifesto following an election we didn't win. Not so dusty, really...

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  5. By the way, any chance of you voting for me in the Total politics Poll? .

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