Cheers Bap but it appears Leo has a case of the humpty-dumpties, as well as talking nonsense

Hey Spotty, someone nicked your you-know-whats?

Ach weel, this piece by the delectable Isabel Oakeshott should cheer him up again …

The row over “racist” abuse of Diane Abbott shows how far Momentum will sink

Let me start by confessing that Diane Abbott made my heart sink long before she opened her mouth on BBC Question Time last week – and she has made it plumb the depths since.

The confected row over the shadow home secretary’s “treatment” on the show showcases all that is rotten about the current Labour leadership, and the warped priorities of deeply unpleasant Momentum activists behind it.

Neither Abbott nor I were thrilled to find ourselves sitting in close proximity on the train north for the recording of the show: nothing personal on my part, but less than ideal for rehearsing lines or taking sensitive telephone calls.

I briefly considered moving to another seat but didn’t want to be rude. There’s an unwritten rule on Question Time that however great their political differences, panellists are nice to each other off-air. After all, we’re all in it together in that bear pit. So I stayed put and went out of my way to be friendly.

By contrast, the shadow home secretary could not be bothered with the most basic civilities. In 15 years at Westminster I’ve rarely seen such bad manners – but that is by the by. Politicians are entitled to be rude, and express their distaste at sitting near me.

It is the faux allegations of racism and sexism towards Abbott on the show that really depress me – and tell us so much about the poisonous culture in sections of the Labour party.

At the heart of the controversy is a bizarre claim that during rehearsals with the audience, presenter Fiona Bruce made an off-the-cuff remark about Abbott’s fling with Jeremy Corbyn decades ago.

I can’t be certain that she didn’t, because I wasn’t in earshot. Nor was Abbott, who is relying on hearsay. However, it seems vanishingly unlikely that the ultra-professional presenter of the Antiques Roadshow would have indulged in any type of inappropriate banter in such an environment moments before the cameras rolled.

The second allegation is that the Question Time team deliberately “whipped up” the audience against Abbott before the show aired. This further stretches credulity. Such an exercise was entirely unnecessary. Labour’s incoherent Brexit policy is enough to challenge even the most loyal Labour supporters. The party leader’s childish refusal to engage in talks with Theresa May about Brexit unless she rules out “no deal” is a further gift and would have been quite enough to set off the audience. A third allegation concerns my suggestion on the show that Labour is “way behind” the Tories in the polls.

As this entirely confected row has dragged on, some Labour type with far too much time on their hands has worked out that Abbott was interrupted significantly more often than other panellists. The best explanation her supporters can come up with for this is racism, sexism or political bias on the part of the BBC.

The truth is much simpler: she talks agonisingly slowly, opening up plenty of opportunities for intervention. And once she starts, she never stops. If we all waited politely for her to finish, nobody else would ever speak.

That the Mirror’s Kevin Maguire should declare without any apparent irony that all this entirely trivial row “puts the public service broadcaster in crisis,” shows just how badly the Labour party has lost its way.

Perhaps if they spent less time pursuing trumped up grievances, and more time coming up with credible policies, they would have some chance of ousting the Tories.

https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/01/the-row-over-racist-abuse-of-diane-abbott-shows-how-far-momentum-will-sink/
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Don't forget to check the link for some belting comments

Spectator also employs the most wonderful Isabel Hardman (they should do a tasteful "Isobels of the Spectator" calendar :)) AND a guy who isn't afraid to seek and state the Truth, Douglas Murray, plus some other very good journalists. I should start subscribing. God knows in this day and age we need good journalists to be supported. Most of the uselesss b*stards now seem to make a career trawling social media for "outrage"..

you are not allowed to mention douglas murray - there will be a meltdown - the devil's.......etc etc etc  ha  haahah

Once again political correctness has been misappropriated and advantage taken of. Let's hope the BBC do not have her on again until post the next election; she's well-past-it politically.

Of course the Tories would like Labour to think Labour have the policies, why? So that Labour would persevere with them, and go down a blind alley that will only lose them the next election; Corbyn is the other liability. And, until the rebel Labour MPs that boycotted their front bench presently staffed with the politically lightweight cronies of Corbyn the Labour Party will be un-electable for many years to come, Brexit or no Brexit.

Were you King Louis last year on here i wonder ?

I think it was bruce and oakshott doing the bullying  , it was there for everybody to see

abbot actually tried to interrupt oakshot twice in her short speech

i doubt very much whether leave /remain  or tory /labour can seed any audience , if they can it will only be minimal

Im not defending abbot she should not be on the tv because she is not fit to be on there , but its nonsense to keep going on about momemtum who have done a lot of good campaigning for Labour so much so that the tories are desperately trying to find an answer to them

Dont they all interrupt each other anyway all the time , its a punch and judy show these days anyway, who gets the biggest cheer seriously who gives a fook

The truth of the matter is that both sides all compete to get on your big tv to boom out their message , with whatever dirty tricks or dirty money they can raise or fund , even online and the digital age has brought in a power struggle on facebook , Instagram etc , you will not see a return to the hustings or debates on tv from yesteryear whatever side you are on

It is ever thus - me - I can't stand just about any of them - they NEVER answer a question EVER - 

we are hovering on trouble for parliamentary democracy.  It does worry me what groups may seize on during and after the brexit discussions.

Akabula you are so wrong , next time Jeremy will destroy the Spivs , the youngsters have rejected the the spivs and their lies and trickle down

Global elites the Rothschilds the enemy of the peoples ok toryfanboy

the youngsters have rejected the the spivs

Jeremy "Vote for Labour and we will wipe out all student debt".
So who are the spivs anxious?

Most people not daft enough to vote for a Corbyn/Abbott/McDonnell led Labour party.

I wonder what the guardian would make of this little charmer?   A view of the irish??

https://www.buzz.ie/celebs/azealia-banks-slammed-irish-people-314412

Just Checking, I think you mentioned you were thinking of subscribing to the Spectator?

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