tagged w/ Gordon Brown
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The last of the three leader's debates aired on BBC1 last night, and overnight figures show around 9 million of us watched it - that's about a million short of the first debate on ITV1. Well done us, on watching 4 and a half hours of men talking over each other. The question that gets asked immediately after each debate is "Who won?" swiftly followed by "Can I go to the toilet now?" Thankfully in the crazy cyber-land we live in, the media is able to instantly source opinions from Twitter, Google, "the worm" and multiple opinion polls conducted by various groups. Polls which mainly seem to suggest that David Cameron soundly won each debate.
Recently, the big opinion poll conducted by YouGov and The Sun - the one taken immediately after the debate - has been criticised, or more specifically accused of being fixed. In a blog post by the human rights activist Craig Murray, he points out that YouGov was "founded by the current Tory candidate for St Albans, and whose Chief Executive Officer is Stephan Shakespeare, close friend and former PR adviser of Jeffrey Archer, failed Tory parliamentary candidate in Colchester." KER-POW!So it suggests that YouGov and The Sun are biased - both by links to the Conservative party and to Rupert Murdoch, anti-Labour owner of The Sun (the newspaper, not the star at the center of our Solar System - even he's not that powerful yet). Certainly all three YouGov polls found that Cameron won each debate by quite a hefty margin. But did they actually fix the results?
Oh no you di'ntMurray's article links to another blog, by Michael Crick, the political editor of Newsnight. He says that the YouGov online poll for the second debate began before Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg has started his final speech, so "many of those polled by YouGov last night must have voted without seeing his final speech". Crick says that "It's all in the timing" something you can say about most things in politics, whilst Murray puts it in slightly more angry terms - "This poll enabled YouGove's main customer Murdoch's Sky News to shrill an instant victory for Cameron, ignoring all the other Clegg victory polls that were taken after he had had a chance to give his closing speech."
It's a challenge Murray made again after last night's debate, suggesting YouGov once again "fixed their poll by opening their online polling for a very brief window immediately after Cameron had finished summing up and before the others had summed up" and apparently he's also now recieved a scary sounding letter from YouGov's lawyers.Of course there's a big caveat for these online polls - they indicate who people think won that debate, they're not about who people will vote for - but it's hard to ignore the impact these polls (and subsequent media coverage given to them) might have on voters when it comes time to put a tick in a box next Thursday. I'm referencing the election there - not talking about a massive UK-wide noughts and crosses championship, though perhaps the voting will get us in the mood.
The last of the three leader's debates aired on BBC1 last night, and overnight... more
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Surprisingly, someone made this game called "Downing Street Fighter", where the three leaders Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, become Street Fighter-ish arcade characters. There is even a "Gilligan Duffy Bonus Round" in response to Gordon Brown's gaff to the voter.
Link to game: http://www.downingstreetfighter.com/Surprisingly, someone made this game called "Downing Street Fighter", where... more
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It's the final showdown between Cameron, Clegg and that grumpy guy who calls old ladies 'bigots'. In an increasingly unpredictable election, anything could happen. Print of this card and cross them off if they happen. If you get four, congratulations - you're the next Prime Minister! If anyone disagrees, just tell them we said so.
It's the final showdown between Cameron, Clegg and that grumpy guy who calls old... more
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Gordon Brown humiliated by that microphone still on? He might want to watch this mash-up PSA mixing with a 70's car safety PSA with the bigoted comments Gordon made.
Video from YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSIBnDptJvEGordon Brown humiliated by that microphone still on? He might want to watch this... more
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Gordon Brown, who let's face it needs all the votes he can get right now, may have lost a fair few yesterday after describing an elderly, widowed Labour voter, who's even look after disabled kids in her time (!), as "bigoted" to an aide, unaware his words were being picked up by a microphone that was accidentally still attached to his shirt.
After telling the woman "It has been very good to meet you - and you are wearing the right colour today. How are your grandchildren? A good family. Good see you," Brown climbed into his car and reportedly said the following:
"You should never have put me with that woman. Who's idea was that? Sue's I think. Everything she said - she's just a bigoted woman."
Updates:
Channel 4 think Brown's comment was in response to her saying "You can't say anything about these immigrants - all these Eastern Europeans were flocking in."
The Lib Dem press office responded on Twitter and advised Brown: "Say she had a small livestock holding and was a be-goated woman".
@bigotedwoman has already been set up on Twitter. Hat tip for speed to the person behind it.
Radio 2 plays Brown a recording of his 'bigoted woman' comments. His reaction, caught on camera, is utterly brilliant. Here's an audio recording of Jeremy Vine playing it to Brown. Video here.
Brown's reaction to hearing his comments back:
Gordon Brown, who let's face it needs all the votes he can get right now, may... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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One of today's big election stories is that the Conservatives are giving away their election broadcast slot on TV tonight TO ANOTHER POLITICAL PARTY! Hahahahah. No. They're not, as Google searches for "hung parliament' have soared, the Conservatives are using their latest party election broadcast to warn of the dangers of the outcome by showing a fake election broadcast from the "Hanged Parliament Party". In the broadcast, the fake party promises voters a paralysed economy - complete with 'economy' in 3D text falling through the sky and exploding, "more dithering policies" and "more behind closed doors politics" - talk about scare mongering eh? At least in the fake Marmite Love Party election broadcast they have the decency to reassure us that "nobody has ever caught fire from having too many B vitamins".And while the Conservatives have focused on the negative effects of a hung parliament, Labour has focused on Nick Clegg - with Peter Mandelson reportedly calling him "as arrogant as David Cameron", a message also repeated by Gordon Brown. Cameron meanwhile, seemed relived and almost slightly boastful that McNulty from The Wire didn't get a re-up from Sam Cam.
Picture via Flickr
One of today's big election stories is that the Conservatives are... more
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A great little spoof video of Peter Mandelson, Tony Blair and I'm guessing Alistair Campbell going over the debate footage and advising how Gordon should look less jellyfish like. The Eastenders line in the video is very gigglesome. There is also a second video. (heh, just noticed this video has already posted this here by same youtuber, sorry)A great little spoof video of Peter Mandelson, Tony Blair and I'm guessing... more
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The first leaders debate on ITV1 had viewing figures that peaked around 9.9 million, and while it's too early to see how many watched last night's second debate, it's probably safe to say that many of us did - either on Sky News, or on BBC News, online, or on the radio (take that Murdoch!). So how was the second part of this political trilogy? Was it an Empire Strikes Back? Or was it more like Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls?Certainly this time the gloves were off - Cleggomania was under attack from both Cameron and Brown. If Clegg was considered a sideshow act in the first election debate, that wasn't a mistake made this time. He particularly found himself the filling in a leader's sandwich over the Trident missile program - both Cameron and Brown found common ground on this - Cameron even made a point of saying how rare it was that he agreed with the PM over anything, while Brown told Clegg to "get real, Nick".Cameron also borrowed that phrase when it came to the environment - saying he told his party to "get real" over carbon emissions. Suddenly this sounded more like an episode of The Ricky Lake Show - Gordon gets a makeover, takes a lie detector test and admits his secret crush on Samantha Cameron. Oh no you diduuun't, sister! They all agreed that the Pope should be allowed to visit the UK this September (phew) although they all said they didn't share his views on abortion, homosexuality, contraceptives and the Loch Ness Monster. Just kidding about that last one - they all know it's the Queen in her natural form. The Pope's opposition to stem cell research was also not shared by the three leaders, or as David Cameron eloquently put it "I would be agreeing with you, and against the Pope in terms of, for instance, the need to make advances in... er... in science." Tempers between the three flared over Britain's position in Europe, with Brown and Clegg ganging up against Cameron over his 'isolationist' policies - though Clegg did again wheel out his "It took Brussels 15 years to tell us what chocolate is" line, followed by an anecdote about some bloke he met in Halfords whilst buying a new bicycle pump. Probably - I had to nip to the loo at that point.They also clashed over pensions, when asked if they thought a £59 state pension was fair. Thankfully none of them replied with "Yes?" Brown helpfully cleared up any issues about the pensioners gender, by starting out his response with "Women, and you are one of them..." whilst Cameron said that under the Conservatives pensions would be much better in 2016 - which must have come as a great relief to the 84-year-old woman who asked the question.I'm looking forward to part three, though let's hope it's no Return Of the Jedi. Nobody likes dancing Ewoks.
Full transcript of the second debate here.
The first leaders debate on ITV1 had viewing figures that peaked around... more
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Gordon Brown's advisers, such as Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson meet up with the Prime Minister and give him their views on his performance at the Leaders Debate. They focus a lot on Gordon Brown's mouth....Gordon Brown's advisers, such as Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson meet up with the... more
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In anticipation of tonight's leaders' election debate, we've put together a bingo card.
It's full of things the three leaders might do (and some things they hopefully won't) and should give minutes of fun to anyone daft enough to not be watching Current TV between 8pm and 9.30pm tonight.
In anticipation of tonight's leaders' election debate, we've... more
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Last week, Nick Clegg left much of the mainstream press on the back foot when the majority of opinion polls on the leaders' election debate declared the Lib Dem leader the winner. The Sun's ex-editor, David Yelland, claimed in the Guardian that for years newspapers ignored the Liberal Democrats, choosing to give the vast majority of coverage to Labour and the Conservatives, with whom good connections were already established. Good connections equal exclusive stories and intimate interviews, both of which sell papers, as well as close proximity to power. It was a nice set-up and even lasted beyond the rise and mass-adoption of 24-hour news, blogging and even social media sites like Twitter, to which MPs have flocked to get their messages across.
A week's indeed a long time in politics; in the last seven days the press has caught up and Nick Clegg's been a regular feature on front pages. With the second debate taking place tonight (8pm, Sky News), newspapers appear keen to show their political allegiances. The Guardian, late to join the pro-Clegg camp but making up for lost time, features an exchange with the man of the hour, headlined 'Only the Lib Dems listen to Britain', while The Independent also has a front cover Clegg interview.
The right wing press isn't so favourable, however, as today's paper's show.
The Daily Mail has the most eye-catching headline. Nick Clegg throwing it all away this close to the election with a Nazi slur on the nation? Surely not!
Well, no. The Nazi slurs the Daily Mail claims he made in fact refer to an article Clegg wrote for the Guardian eight years ago about how Britain should put WW2 behind us, stop allowing prejudice against Germans to happen, and get over our superiority issues. The Mail even gets Winston Churchill's Tory MP grandson Nicholas Soames to proclaim that "Nick Clegg is unfit to lead his party, let alone the country. [His views] are an insult to the memory of Britain's war dead."
These kind of cheap press tactics are outrageous, dirty and as dated as the kind of politics swathes of the general public seems to be tired of but it's exactly the sort of thing Nick Clegg needs to get used to and, if anything, a sign the Lib Dems have finally stepped on to the stage of British politics and rattled some cages.
Last week, Nick Clegg left much of the mainstream press on the back foot when the... more
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richjm
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Vote Clegg, get Brown: so says David Cameron, and he's not talking about his tan. After last week's TV debate, the Lib Dems do seem to be enjoying a honeymoon period with voters. So much so that the Conservatives reportedly made a last minute change to an election broadcast - instead of attacking Labour they turned on Clegg, with Cameron warning that "a hung parliament could leave the country stuck with Gordon Brown." He's also said that the public was ''grabbing on to anything new'' in a bid to find a different direction for Britain and there was a risk the country could end up mired in ''uncertainty, fudge and division''. Mmmmm, fudge. Various polls do seem to suggest a surge in Lib Dem popularity, at least for now. Labour has been less quick to attack Clegg - one reason may be that the polls suggest Lib Dem supporters would prefer to support a Brown minority government than a Cameron one. And there is an element of truth to Cameron's "Vote Clegg, get Brown" warning - the PM recently told the Sunday Telegraph "I think Labour and the Liberal Democrats have similar policies about the scale of political reform that is needed".
Cameron insists that the British public is "crying out for change" but with a Financial Times poll finding that most people can't name a single female Conservative MP, and business tycoons who have donated large amounts of cash to the Torys getting into the house of Lords, you could argue they still resemble the elitist, old boys club of old.
Vote Clegg, get Brown: so says David Cameron, and he's not talking about... more
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It would appear so, after the Lib Dem leader admitted in a Radio Times interview that he doesn't watch Coronation Street, Eastenders or The Bill - instead he's apparently a fan of Come Dine With Me. And when asked about his favourite recent films he shunned Avatar, The Hurt Locker and even Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (crazy, I know - it had giant robots in it and everything), and instead opted for the 2008 French film The Class - which is about a school, rather than posh vs. poor. Thankfully the Radio Times also interviewed Gordon Brown. He's apparently "too busy" to watch films (he's running the country and single-handedly saving trapped Brits from Calais or something) but guess what his favourite TV show is? Yes, it's the kid's show Balamory - presumably he likes all the primary colours. And what about David Cameron? Does he like nothing better after a hard day on the campaign trail to come home, kick off his shoes and dip into the Brideshead Revisited DVD box set? The Radio Times hasn't published his interview yet, but in the past he's told GQ how he started watching Shameless because his wife, the fragrant Samantha Cameron, watches it.He's also previously talked of how Samantha would “much rather sit at home watching The Wire with a plate of pasta” than go out with him - clearly tortellini and Baltimore crime is clearly the new "Sorry I've got a headache".
It would appear so, after the Lib Dem leader admitted in a Radio Times... more
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When under investigation for fraud in the US, many are shocked at Goldman Sachs resent roll of £3.5 billion bonus payouts to London staff after a stated 3 months of work.
The Guardian reports the fraud charges relate to accusations that the company used 'misleading mortgage investment deal' to get $1bn out of its clients. According to the paper one man named in the case is still working for Goldman Sachs in London.
Recently, both Gordon Brown and Angela Merkel have spoken out against the Goldman Sachs on bonuses and the charges of fraud.
"Gordon Brown ordered a special investigation into Goldman, accusing the bank of "moral bankruptcy". He threatened to block multimillion-pound bonus payouts if the firm is found guilty of wrongdoing.
In Berlin, Angela Merkel's government said it had sought information from the US Securities and Exchange Commission with a view to evaluating "legal steps" against Goldman."-The Guardian.When under investigation for fraud in the US, many are shocked at Goldman Sachs resent... more
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Do you think Labour is right to campaign with its economic message?
Have Sky news and The Time analysed this correctly?
With the the polls shifting around to levels that the parties campaign planners wouldn't have predicted, the next step up for the parties is to focus on a message and hope the Lib Dem surge is temporary, like they keep saying.
For Gordon Brown and the Labour party the word is substance over style, while promoting their position on the economy.
"After polling showed the economy to have been Mr Brown’s strongest card in the leaders’ debate last week, Labour will again seek today to undermine Tory plans to cut more than £6 billion from government spending this year"-Times
However, news sources like The Times and Sky News state it's risky move for Labour, since soon to be released statistics will undermine Labours campaign message.
"It found that Britain did less than other leading economies to reduce its deficit in the lead-up to the financial crisis.
The respected think-tank said Labour had cut the level of borrowing and debt inherited from the Conservatives in 1997.
But it added the "vast majority" of other nations had gone further in strengthening public finances."-Sky News
Sky News article: http://tinyurl.com/y6hzvxmDo you think Labour is right to campaign with its economic message?
Have Sky news... more
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At the end of a fairly insipid Guardian article about the electoral TV debate, in which Marina Hyde writes about how she went to a Sports Bar and was surprisingly taken aback to see people weren't too interested in watching politics, there's an astonishing interview with the James Wannerton, the president of the UK Synaesthesia Association.
He experiences words as tastes and textures, a neurological condition known as lexical-gustatory synaesthesia and here's what he had to say about the party leaders.
"Gordon Brown's name tastes horrible, and his flavour was nasty – like soil mixed with Marmite. That said, he was good on education, when he tasted of peaches, sliced potato and bacon.
Nick Clegg tastes of a pickled onion yet he kept turning soft, mushy and warm. Immigration was good for him. His speech reminded me of sweets I had as a kid – fruit pastilles, Spangles and liquorice.
David Cameron's flavour was best. He gave me a taste of ink, which I find comforting. His name tastes of macaroons, but he said sorry so frequently it covered the macaroons with condensed milk."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/apr/16/leaders-debate-on-tellyAt the end of a fairly insipid Guardian article about the electoral TV debate, in... more
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richjm
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2 years ago
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Some little known Prime Ministerial rules:
1. Never, ever open a door for ladies and let them go first if photographers are around.
2. Under no circumstances should you acknowledge any party lackeys as they kneel hunched over, holding a door open for you, no matter how awkward it gets.
3. The above rules are null and void when it comes to shower doors, toilet doors and cupboards.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/uknews/7563608/General-election-2010-in-pictures.htmlSome little known Prime Ministerial rules:
1. Never, ever open a door for ladies... more
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richjm
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Tonight on ITV1 at 8.30pm sees the first live TV election debate in British electoral history. Brown, Cameron and Clegg will attempt to win over the public, or at least those who haven't switched over to catch the last half of Country House Rescue on Channel 4.The Telegraph says the debates are "likely to be the most policed, regulated and structured hour and a half of live broadcasting in British television history" Certainly since that live episode of Eastenders when Jack Branning fluffed all his lines (and look what happened to him). Apparently the rules, set out in a 76-clause document, cover everything from the leaders' shaking hands at the end of the broadcast, to not filming audience members when the leaders are speaking. Reportedly there are also restrictions on clapping - i.e it's not allowed at all. The ban on applause is supposedly to allow time for more questions, but it was reported that the parties were nervous that studio audience reaction could influence TV viewers.The Telegraph is also running a debate about the debates, with readers suggesting ideas to improve the whole experience. Currently, the second most popular idea is to not actually watch the debates, but to do something "pleasant and creative at home alone or with friends and family as alternative" with suggestions including "look at your stamp collection, expose yourself to art, look at the stock exchange, etc etc".In contrast, The Times suggests that the debates will do much to deal with voter "meh", urging people to "turn on your TV and you’ll turn off apathy" suggesting that the leaders performance in the three debates could change the course of the election. It's a viewpoint shared by the BBC, or as they put it "a little bit of telly over three Thursday evenings could transform a relatively open election in a way that - so far - nothing else has done." Thankfully they've also got a list of seven things to look out for - debate bingo - including 'the positioning' and 'the attack', which makes it sound more like a mixed martial arts championship than three men arguing over the finer points of National Insurance contributions.Although if things do get a little dull, there's always the prospect of David Cameron reading from the book of erotic Vegan poetry he was given recently during an interview on Kingston hospital radio.Tonight on ITV1 at 8.30pm sees the first live TV election debate in British electoral... more
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