Each Sunday Radio 4's 'Westminster Hour' hosts a panel of MPs to discuss the week in politics, but this week our holiday-making legislators were rested & in their place Carolyn Quinn talked to a panel of 'senior commentators'.
Inevitably one of these was 'genial Geordie' Kevin Maguire of the 'Mirror' - a man the BBC can't get enough of, despite his highly dubious dealings with the Draper/McBride 'smear'-ring. This nasty Brown-backing Labour loyalist was pitted against Ben Brogan, true-Conservative chief political commentator at the 'Telegraph'. The third voice was obviously a Liberal Democrat supporter? No. A Green? A UKIP supporter? No and no again. It was John Rentoul of the 'Independent', a fine columnist but another Labour supporter (though this time very firmly in the Blairite camp).
So 2 Labour, 1 Conservative and....nobody else. A balanced panel?
Only at the BBC.
'Westminster Hour' later moved on to a discussion of Conservative foreign policy that pitted Tory spokesman Keith Simpson against Labour's Denis McShane - a discussion that McShane dominated in terms of air-time, talking without interruption for a total of 4 mins 58 seconds. In contrast Simpson only got to speak for 3 minutes 13 seconds, and was still cut off by Carolyn Quinn!
P.S. There was also a fairly light-hearted report into political gobbledygook. Among its critics was an MP, Keith Hill, a former Labour minister. He was the only MP in the feature and sounded a sympathetic character.
I just mention that in passing. Another Labour man, cast in a favourable light. Just in passing, that's all.
Inevitably one of these was 'genial Geordie' Kevin Maguire of the 'Mirror' - a man the BBC can't get enough of, despite his highly dubious dealings with the Draper/McBride 'smear'-ring. This nasty Brown-backing Labour loyalist was pitted against Ben Brogan, true-Conservative chief political commentator at the 'Telegraph'. The third voice was obviously a Liberal Democrat supporter? No. A Green? A UKIP supporter? No and no again. It was John Rentoul of the 'Independent', a fine columnist but another Labour supporter (though this time very firmly in the Blairite camp).
So 2 Labour, 1 Conservative and....nobody else. A balanced panel?
Only at the BBC.
**********
'Westminster Hour' later moved on to a discussion of Conservative foreign policy that pitted Tory spokesman Keith Simpson against Labour's Denis McShane - a discussion that McShane dominated in terms of air-time, talking without interruption for a total of 4 mins 58 seconds. In contrast Simpson only got to speak for 3 minutes 13 seconds, and was still cut off by Carolyn Quinn!
**********
P.S. There was also a fairly light-hearted report into political gobbledygook. Among its critics was an MP, Keith Hill, a former Labour minister. He was the only MP in the feature and sounded a sympathetic character.
I just mention that in passing. Another Labour man, cast in a favourable light. Just in passing, that's all.
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