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Returning to Dimbleby the Elder (after that unplanned detour onto Dimbleby the Younger), the interruption coefficients contained in the Dimbledata below don't quite to justice to the scale of Dave's bias.
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Boris Johnson was swiftly questioned over Lord Ashcroft, "Have you taken Ashcroft money yourself?" His answer was soon interrupted, Dimbleby contradicting him with "Well no, it doesn't show that. It shows he didn't run YOUR show. He appears to be running the show for large numbers of marginal constituencies where the Conservative candidates hope to win and he's been putting money in and is in charge of a unit to do that." When Boris began his answer "You know...", Dimbleby butted in and said with all his usual smug malice, "Don't say 'you know'! What's the answer?" The questions kept on coming (as you can see from the Dimbledata). Next was "and were they and were the Conservative Party leadership naive to trust what Lord Ashcroft said about permanent residence when it turned out for ten years he hadn't been a permanent resident. Were they right to trust him?" Boris's answer was soon interrupted again, "I was asking whether the party leadership was naive in trusting him, Hague and Cameron, in your view?" and within seconds of his answer beginning again came a further interruption, "Well that's not the answer to the question" followed with seconds by another interruption, "All right, Shirley Williams"? Boris, being Boris, didn't take it lying down and said lightly, "There's an answer contained in there". Dimbleby replied "no there isn't", like a kid trying to get the last word, but Boris was playing the same game and said "yes there is!" Dimbleby, being both the chairman and the bigger kid, got the last word after all, saying "Well that's what your leader says as well, but that doesn't answer the question about naivety but maybe we'll come back to it. Shirley Williams?" Mr Impartiality (sic) strikes again!!
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The other centre-right guest, Carol Vorderman, attacked Lord Mandelson (and quite right too!), which provoked a typical intervention from Dimbleby, "Well come back to the question, Christopher...". She ignored him and talked on regardless.
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Now, in fairness to Dimbleby, he did probe Lord Adonis over helicopters.
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Also in fairness to Dimbleby, he then kept trying to stop Boris from responding to attacks from the (Labour plants in the) audience on Conservative spending plans. This resulted in another amusing exchange between the two:
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Dimblebias: "You're mayor of London and you like to have your say, but I think you've had enough of it for the moment"
Boris: "So do you!"
Dimblebias: "I don't have my say at all, I'm just chairing this" (yeah, right!!!)
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Carol got told off again later. "You're diverting", said Dimbleby. (She certainly is!) "Just on Venables, what do you want the public to be told about Venables?"
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Dimbleby was soon back interrupting Boris. He had asked "Are you in favour of them?" (televised leader debates) and when Boris began his reply with "Of course!" Dimbleby leaped in with a curt "Why 'of course'? Boris, who's a canny guy, got in a sly dig at Dimbleby shortly after, "You were incredible! You interrupted me a lot in the run up to the one I did in the run-up to the mayoralty..."
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Dimbleby never allows himself to be bettered, and always liking to have his say, launched into this 44-second-long question, battled all the way by Boris: "You accused..you said of the Labour Party that they were sticking the dagger in the back of their leader, there are others who think that you are inimical to your own par.." (Boris, interrupting, "That is complete codswallop"). "Can I just finish the point, that you're inimical, and they cite various examples where you do things that seem to undermine your leader." (Boris interrupts "What were they?") "...You asked for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, when he said he didn't want one.." (Boris, "Hang on I asked for a referendum on the Lisbon treaty because...") "...you asked for an airport in the estuary when he said it's not Tory policy..you say that 50% tax is bonkers when he says he won't alter it..and you say that the word 'broken society' is piffle..well I won't..there are four examples where you appear to be just undercutting or undermining what your leader's saying." You would imagine that, in the spirit of fair chairmanship, Dimbleby would have allowed Boris some space to respond to such a long and detailed question. Dimbleby doesn't do fair however. After exactly thirty seconds, he tried to stop him, saying "All right, Shirley, Shirley" but Boris ploughed on, and asked what the other thing was again, to which Dimbleley answered "Lisbon Treaty?' before denying Boris the chance to answer on the point and ploughing on himself with a firm "Shirley Williams", telling Boris "Restrain yourself!"
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And to think that this man is going to be in charge of one of the televised leader debates during the general election!
Tory Veteran Tim Montgomerie Joins Reform
4 hours ago
I can do no more than point your viewers at this post - http://notasheepmaybeagoat.blogspot.com/2009/12/election-debates-some-points.html
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