Tag Archives: TV

Rishi Sunak: worst prime minister on TV since Alec Douglas-Home?

Rishi Sunak on TV: at least he’s facing in the right direction in this image.

This Writer once saw a TV documentary about the 1964 general election campaign in which Labour’s Harold Wilson, easily the most intelligent person ever to have high office in the UK, walked all over then-Conservative prime minister Alec Douglas Home.

The reason? Home simply wasn’t good in front of a camera and Wilson was. The Tory looked awkward, sounded stiff and presented himself as someone who simply didn’t want to be bothered with people.

It’s possible that my interpretation of his campaign is coloured by the biases of the filmmakers, of course, but given the result of the election I doubt it.

Rishi Sunak looks like he’s going to be worse.

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To start with, he doesn’t seem even to understand that he needs to look into a TV camera – or at least face in the right direction – when he’s speaking to the public through it.

He fell at even that simple hurdle when he addressed the GB News People’s Forum on Monday, making his opening remarks with his back to the camera.

And from there it went downhill. There’s a Guardian review in the article below…

… but let’s go straight for the red meat (of Sunak’s jugular?) and watch Peter Stefanovic’s summary of everything that was wrong about Sunak’s TV time:

I’ve only got one full clip from the show – of when Sunak suggested his parents sent him to a private school because they had great aspirations for their children.

Labour’s Cat McKinnell called him out about it on ‘X’, although her words were clearly electioneering for her own party. Still, if you watch the clip, you can see what she means:

Here’s a more practical-minded response:

The verdicts afterward were damning. This one is kind in comparison with most:

The people invited to form the audience and ask the questions had all been chosen by the polling firm Survation which, it seems, had been asked to fill the room with Conservatives.

At least, they were Conservatives going in.

On the way out it was a different story, as we see here:

Only half of them came out saying they would still vote Tory.

Perhaps this is the most damning: a satirical poke at Sunak by suggesting his performance could become a segment on Would I Lie To You, with his part taken by legendary panellist Bob Mortimer:

We all thought Theresa May was shockingly bad, back in 2017.

Now we know we can look forward to a summer of seeing our prime minister running away, not only from his responsibilities but from TV cameras, the public and – most probably – the reality that he’s going to lose the election and probably his own place in Parliament.


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Watch Ian Hislop SHREDDING Tory Jake Berry over the #PostOfficeScandal

Ian Hislop: look at the disdain on his face as he addresses the claims flowing from Jake Berry.

Here’s something that is a joy to see: Ian Hislop giving Tory Party chairman Jake Berry the verbal kicking of his life on Robert Peston’s politics show.

Hislop was there to talk about the Post Office Scandal and the fact that only now – five years after the court judgment dramatised in Mr Bates vs The Post Office – the Conservative government has been bothered to lift a finger to exonerate and compensate the sub-postmasters who were falsely accused of theft.

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He explained his opinion here:

“The judicial system and the government preferred to listen to corporate bodies than to ordinary people.”

For This Writer – and I’ve been in a court case in which the judge preferred to listen to a so-called pillar of the Establishment rather than the ordinary person – this suggests that justice is deeply compromised.

Judges should not be swayed by the position in society of the people on two different sides of a court case. Their only concern should be the evidence. If they cannot detach themselves from such considerations, then they should not put themselves in a position to judge other people; their judgement would be impaired from the outset.

Also: “Two things tipped this – this drama, and the fact that there is an election.” Yes. Politicians are concerned that they need to be seen to be helping ordinary people because there will be a general election this year.

The implication is that, if there wasn’t an election this year and there was likely to be time for the public to forget about this issue, the politicians wouldn’t give two hoots about the injustice done to hundreds of sub-postmasters. Remember that when you’re deciding to vote Labour or Tory or for someone else!

Hislop then went on to the main event – verbally tearing strips off of Berry before our eyes. Watch:

The first point he makes is a bombshell: for the first time, someone is giving us a reason the Post Office ignored the sub-postmasters and insisted that there was nothing wrong with the faulty Horizon software provided by Fujitsu. “They were incentivised to make money for the Post Office.” Was that really Paula Vennells’s reason for ruining the lives of hundreds – thousands – of people?

“That led to ignoring what was going on in the hope of … better remuneration.” So the sub-postmasters were thrown under a bus so Vennells and her fellows could take home a better paycheque at the end of the month? If this is true, then not only are the government of the day (which goes right up to now) at fault for hiring people who thought that way but the Church of England as well, for taking Vennells on as a vicar (and is it true she was considered for promotion to be a bishop?)

“All of them should have to pay those bonuses back.” Unquestionably. Who are these people? Should we just target everybody at the Post Office who was paid a bonus related to this matter? Can that be tracked? What about Fujitsu staff who worked on it?

Host Robert Peston points out that there is no mechanism for such clawback in UK law, and Berry suggests taking back “their massive taxpayer-funded pensions”. Hislop then wants to know why Berry and the Tories couldn’t do it “so long ago?” Having been told for their entire campaigning life that it’s a difficult, time-consuming and expensive matter, the sub-postmasters were told yesterday (January 10) that suddenly it isn’t.

As Hislop says: “It is absolutely fatuous for this government to claim, ‘Hey, we’re really acting now.’ Did nothing!”

Berry tried to claim that Hislop was talking nonsense (but this is clearly untrue. We know the government did nothing until yesterday).

As the programme’s theme tune started playing, Berry was trying to claim that £130 million had been paid out to the victims of the scandal since 2019 – but was this due to government action or was the government forced to pay because it is the sole shareholder in the post office?

Whatever the facts, it was a joy to watch – and we already know from Alan Bates (the Mr Bates in the title of Mr Bates vs The Post Office) that many victims will not be satisfied with the compensation plans announced yesterday.


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French President calls for ceasefire between Israel and Gaza

Emmanuel Macron: the French Head of State wants a ceasefire in Gaza.

Emmanuel Macron has taken to television to call for a ceasefire in Gaza – led by Israel.

But he stopped short of accusing Israel of war crimes:

He said he was a Head of State – not a judge.

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To This Writer, his words imply that he believes somebody in the Israeli government will be brought to book for the deaths of civilians in Gaza, sometime in the future.

Agreed?


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Teachers, doctors and Tube workers were on strike but you had to have German TV to see it

Did their Tory bosses order the BBC to keep coverage of the strikes off its website yesterday?

Apparently the only way to see the size and scale of the march that took place in London was via German television.

See for yourself:

Excellent journalism from German television.

But the BBC belongs on the ‘naughty step’ – again.


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Boris Johnson’s Partygate evidence will be broadcast live on TV

This is more for information than any other reason.

Buy popcorn.

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Matt Hancock to be on I’m a Celebrity? Isn’t that a contradiction in terms?

Here’s the story:

So: disgraced former Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who was removed from office after being caught on CCTV having a lockdown-busting snog with someone who wasn’t his wife, is to be a contestant on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

The problem is that he is still a sitting member of Parliament and, while he might insist that his office staff will continue to provide an adequate service to his West Suffolk constituents, he still won’t be in Parliament to take part in important votes during most of November.

It’s no wonder the Conservative Party has withdrawn its whip from him, then.

There’s a lot of commentary on this. Let’s have a couple of videos:

I love the comment about Hancock being “in a jungle, sucking on a worm”. Is his girlfriend also going to Australia, then?

And is it a justifiable criticism to suggest that Hancock is stealing his MP salary, because he is taking reality TV money as well?

Sorry everyone, but here’s Ann Widdecombe:

I’m willing to bet she does watch the show, in the end.

Her other points seem good, though. Hancock wants to raise his profile but, by doing so, he’s betraying the dignity of his office. He wants to raise awareness of a dyslexia campaign – but it will probably be edited out of televised episodes of the show.

But what do members of the public think?

I asked readers of the Vox Political Facebook page – and it’s fair to say the question attracted quite a few responses, in spite of the algorithm that restricts readership to only around 350 of the 42,000 people who follow the site there.

“I don’t usually vote for who does the trials, but this year I’m looking forward to voting, hope Hancock is ready,” wrote Rose Dixon. This may be an idea whose time has come.

Helen Selling seems to think so: “I’d be astonished if he didn’t get more votes to do foul tasks than all the others put together.” But she also stated: “ITV have probably given him at least twice the usual ‘celebrity’ fee because they know without a doubt they will rake in millions from all the people in the UK who will ring in because they have good reason to hate Hancock more than any other ‘celebrity’ ever.” That’s a depressing thought.

“He’s absent from work without any valid reason – that would be the sack in most places of employment,” pointed out Lisbeta Ingles. “Just suspending the whip isn’t enough.”

Fiona Dowdeswell Simmons may have commented for us all when she stated: “I’m hoping against hope that he gets lost in the jungle and at times there’ll be future random sightings of him waving a cobbled together spear while snarling.”

Andy Wrathbone may have been more realistic with this offering: “Just goes to show how desperate the media are for celebrities i guess. I hope the vile Tory mollusc chokes on a cockroach… (apologies to the cockroach)…Unless HE IS the Cockroach ,(perfectly feasible), In which case I retract my original Cockroach apology and hope he chokes on a Scorpion, (apologies to the Scorpion).”

Why is he going? Brian O’Reilly has a thought about that: “It might have something to do with him been responsible for the deaths of thousands of elderly people when he said we have put a ring around care homes and then sent people from hospital back into care homes without checking if they had Covid.”

Adding to this, here’s Andrew Turner: “Well somebody is keeping up the tradition of exporting criminals to Aussie..Hope he gets a one way ticket.”

But this leads us on to a new question – of public perception. Rob Allen makes the point well: “Disgrace. The man is appalling- yet watch the public ‘relate’ to him despite the tragic consequences of his tenure. People who had or have family in nursing homes know this well. What a nation of idiots we have become.”

Is this the plan – for Hancock to be rehabilitated in the eyes of the public, despite the many thousands of deaths for which he is principally responsible? If so, it’s our duty to make sure the attempt fails.

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Why are Irish broadcasters complaining about news coverage of the Queen’s funeral?

This being a bank holiday weekend, This Writer is either otherwise occupied or almost totally incapacitated, so I’m putting up material that has interested me – and I hope it interests you. Make of it what you will:

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Will Tories sanction the Russian-owned firm that created Downing Street TV studio?

The never-used government TV briefing room: it has seen some action with internal Downing Street meetings but let’s face it – the vacuum cleaner (that I clipped from this image) has seen more use.

This is well worth resurrecting:

It was alleged last year that the £2.6 million studio created for White House-style Downing Street TV briefings was kitted out by a Russian firm called Megahertz.

Work done by the company included installing computers, cameras, microphones and a control desk.

I seem to recall writing on This Site last year that we don’t know what software extras might have been built into this studio, for the benefit of very serious people in Moscow.

But the question for now is simply this:

Has full payment been made for this work? If not, will it be withheld?

And will the firm suffer sanctions and be denied future government work?

Source: Exclusive: Russian-Owned Firm Played Key Role In Downing Street Media Refit | HuffPost UK Politics

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TV Comedian shreds Starmer

Keir Starmer: he’s not doing here what Sophie Duker suggested in the clip – but the look on his face may suggest he has been in the recent past.

This was too good to leave as a throwaway tweet so I’ve taken video and put it on TikTok to test the possibilities of that platform (and as practice for myself).

It’s from Frankie Boyle’s New World Order, in which comedian Sophie Duker (not Dukes, as the software insisted on renaming her) passes judgement on Keir Starmer’s tenure (so far) as leader of the Labour Party.

It’s not good:

@voxpolitical

Sophie Dukes shreds Keir Starmer (from Frankie Boyle’s New World Order).

♬ original sound – VoxPolitical

(To be honest, the clip isn’t that good either – sorry! But I’m sure it’ll get better once I’ve ironed out a few things.)

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News media accept supermarket food shortages are due to Brexit – contrary to Johnson’s propaganda

Lorries without drivers: news outlets are finally admitting the shortage is due to Brexit. Boris Johnson won’t like that!

This is an important admission from The Independent, although it lags a considerable time behind some of us in the social media.

The newspaper’s article Brexit food shortages could ‘cancel Christmas’ and last into 2022 acknowledges – in its headline – that Brexit is responsible for the emptying of your local supermarket’s shelves – not Covid-19.

It states:

Britain’s post-Brexit supply chain crisis could “cancel Christmas” and continue to cause food shortages well into 2022, industry leaders have warned.

Boris Johnson’s government has been urged to ease immigration rules so some EU citizens who left the UK during Brexit can return and help fill major gaps in the workforce.

McDonald’s had run out of milkshakes, [and] chicken shortages caused Nando’s to temporarily shut 50 stores last week because of supply problems linked to Brexit.

The RHA [Road Haulage Association] estimates that up to 20,000 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers from the EU left during Brexit.

Tom Southall, policy officer at the Cold Chain Federation, said Brexit was partly to blame for recruitment problems across the food sector – predicting that it would be 2022 before the nation begins to get to grips with the backlog of vacancies for drivers, pickers and processors.

Norfolk food firm Alfred G Pearce, which grows and processes vegetables, is also struggling with labour shortages, having seen its workforce reduced 20 per cent to 30 per cent down after EU employees returned home during the Brexit process.

Bryan Roberts, retail analyst at Shopfloor Insights, said it would take time to train new workers, even with a major recruitment drive. “Sadly I think things are only going to get worse in the run-up to Christmas and we’ve got a whole load more regulations coming in from Brexit in October,” he said.

Other news media have caught on and are starting to say the same:

It seems people in the UK are finally turning the corner and realising that the way to conquer our differences with the EU was to remain a member state and argue for change (in a rational way, not a David Cameron do-as-I-say-or-I’ll-have-a-strop ultimatum) and not to walk out and end all the trade agreements and border deals we had in our favour.

Of course, the shortage of lorry drivers would be over if Boris Johnson and his Tories would only make two decisions: first, they could swallow their misplaced pride and bring in drivers from the EU to cover the current shortfall; second, they should raise pay rates above subsistence level – otherwise there would be no reason for anybody to help out at all.

Some employers have seen the light and raised wages unilaterally…

… but Johnson and his gang won’t impose these changes nationally because they themselves are not suffering. They don’t care about you and they never did.

So you see now that Brexit was created to engineer the very shortages you are experiencing today, deliberately, by Johnson and his Brexiteer Tories.

Source: Brexit food shortages could ‘cancel Christmas’ and last into 2022, says industry | The Independent

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