House of Comments

08a: Blocked By Nadine

After we’d finished recording yesterday’s podcast with Tory Rascal, we got to talking about Twittering MPs and the recent spat of ‘blockings’. Since we had the conversation recorded, but it didn’t fit into the main body of yesterday’s podcast, we thought we’d release it separately as a short supplemental episode of the podcast.

Hope you enjoy!

Download the MP3, or listen using the web player below.

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08: Shakespearean Tragedies and Toast Mathematics

This week we were joined by Tory Rascal.

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• Tory Rascal thinks defence spending may have been cut by sleight-of-hand in the Pre Budget Report to the tune of £2.2bn
• Rumours abound that there may be a March election – is this likely, or will Gordon Brown hold on to the last possible moment?
• Tory Rascal is feeling some pity for Gordon Brown. Should he, or did Brown crate his own fate?
• Tony Blair has told interviewers that he would have taken us to war in Iraq with or without evidence of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Is this an admission from him, or just a confirmation of what we knew all along?
• The poll gap seems to be narrowing again – but do polls reflect the political weather, or o they make it?
• David Cameron has said he will legislate to ensure MPs are domiciled in the UK for tax purposes – but why can’t he sort this out without legislation?
• Lastly, Stuart has dug up some silly Christmas stories to end on. Including an entirely new system of mathematics…

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07: “Sympathy for Malcolm Tucker”

Tom Harris MP and Charlotte Gore join regulars Mark Thompson and Stuart Sharpe to talk about politics, the blogosphere, and the events of the last week.

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Show Notes:

• A new poll put Labour on 30%. How much does Prime Minister’s Question Time affect polling?
• Are so-called ‘planted questions’ at PMQs really planted, or is it just a case of MPs helping out their own party?
• We want to know what it is about the internet that makes people unpleasant to each other? Charlotte has recently been taking some abuse in her blog’s comments after writing a post taking Rod Liddle to task over his opinions on crime and race.
• Charlotte has stopped blogging under a Lib Dem banner. Is non-partisan blogging the future, or is it too hard to get started?
• The Government are considering offering a referendum on electoral reform. Mark and Tom discussed whether it is necessary, and whether is it being done for the right reasons.
• ‘Class warfare’ still hasn’t gone away – is it an effective strategy for Labour, or does it ’smack of desperation’?
• And Finally… With the latest series of BBC political comedy The Thick of It drawing to a close, we asked Tom how accurate Armando Iannucci’s portrayal of the inner workings of government really is. [Caution: May Contain Mild Spoilers]

Enjoy the show, and we’ll see you again next week.

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06: The Expenses Saga, Zac Goldsmith and the Impartial Civil Service

Featuring: Harry Cole (Tory Bear) and Alex Hilton (Recess Monkey) alongside regulars Stuart Sharpe and Mark Thompson

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Topics we discussed:

• The expenses crisis – the story that just won’t go away. Is parliament doing enough to reform the current system – and if not why not?
• Tory PPC and environmental campaigner Zac Goldsmith is a non-dom and doesn’t pay much British tax at all. Should he be allowed to be a PPC or an MP?
• The new chair of Young Labour works at DEFRA in an ostensibly non-partisan position – should politically neutral civil servants be allowed to take positions of importance within a political party?

Enjoy the podcast and we’ll see you next week!

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