The coalition should of had a minister on the BBC Question Time panel last night. I also think Labour should of had a Shadow Minister on the panel to discuss the queens speech.
However the BBC had booked Alastair Campbell (the Labour spin doctor) and while there is a strong argument to say he is not elected and therefore can't represent Labour its also true that he has been very much involved with Labour policy and is practically an unelected MP.
I think a Minister could of point out Alastairs involvement with the Iraq dossier and could of taken him on. This has resulted in a political win for Alastair Campbell as he can now claim that the new government doesn't have the balls to stand up to him.
If the rumour is true that David Laws was going to be on the panel then I for one would of had full confidence that he could of done a great job for both the government and for the Liberal Democrats.
The government can not dictate who is on the BBC Question Time panel and this should not happen again, next time Ministers should face whoever it is. After all this is question time for the audience to question there MP's as well as commentators to question them on the panel.
I notice that Iain Dale (Tory Blogger) feels the same way on this subject as me see Two Wrongs at Number Ten.
Mark Reckons also thinks the government need to do better see here
UPDATE: Local Blogger Andrew Best as informed on the commentshas a good old fashioned rant while the show is still on see here.
Hey darren, i blogged on the same topic but took a much harsher view http://blogpolitica.wordpress.com/2010/05/27/question-time-beat-down/ (As the title of post suggests) It was fairly disgraceful that Number 10 decided not to put a minister on the panel and it was a disappointment that a shadow minister was not in place.
ReplyDeleteGood Point Andrew sorry I missed it
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