08
Dec
2009
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.
Download the MP3 file, Subscribe using iTunes or listen using the player below.
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.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
iTunes
RSS
Follow Us On Twitter
Great podcast this week. Tom Harris was great value and the sound quality was much improved (don’t know what mic Charlotte was using but you should recommend it to all your guests).
I actually joined in the discussion on Mark’s favourite subject, though you didn’t seem to hear me until Stuart finally pointed out the aim should be to have the best system of Government, not the “fairest” system of election. A ‘fairly’ elected set of representatives that were impotent because of the lack of a majority would not create great policies nor help the country – look at out history or talk to the Italians about it! A moratorium on the subject for Mark for 3 weeks might be nice………..
Keep up the good work – I’m looking forward to the next week.
Thanks greendave! I agree on the 3 week moratorium, definitely.
Thanks for the feedback gd!
As for the moratorium, I’m afraid I can’t promise anything…
lol, well I use a CAD GLX2400 Condenser Microphone – you need a special box to be able to supply the 48v phantom power it needs – I use an m-Audio Firewire Solo.
I used to write and record my own songs and things. Don’t do it these days but I still have all the kit.
Hello, first time here, mainly because I have a life.
Meanwhile, I’ll make dinner, do all the Christmas shopping, make a trip to Copenhagen and back, and still be waiting for the mother, nope, download. ‘Cos, see here young Master Tom Harris, no matter how much tax any gvt slaps on to my landline I will be dead before this line achieves more than 0.5 Mbit/s because them that rule me have never studied rubber sheet geometry.
Oops, forgot to add Zanu somewhere.
Totally agree with Stu on so-called unwinnable seats. (Well done on reading The Guardian!) As an aside, which constituencies have never changed allegiance?
Rarely do people mention the Short money awarded to opposition parties, currently £14K per seat won plus £28 for every 200 eligible votes cast in the last g.election, when discussing changes in the voting system. If (!) FPTP lost out to a form of PR, what would replace the Short/Cranborne money?