The Political Thread

[Goaty]

Wow, never see so much hated in media for one guy?

[Professor Bear]

What we're seeing right now is old media trying to reassure itself it can be a silver bullet.  I don't think they've quite realised yet that they're fighting a war on two fronts: one against Corbyn's growing popularity, and the other against anger at the Tories, and one feeds the other.
I think it might also be that they're panicking because it looks like Corbyn might be blanking old media outlets that smeared him in the past.  I don't know if it's a strategy or if he just doesn't think it's worth bothering with them, but it might be pretty canny in the long run, as if there's one thing that a younger social media using base can relate to, it's the need to block a troll every now and then to make sure you aren't distracted from getting more followers.  Younger voters especially will understand what it's like to be bullied through the media, so this may very well backfire spectacularly when those millions of young voters come of voting age between now and the next GE.

[Banners]

Really hope Corbyn introduces his 'crowd-sourced' questions at PMQs like he's a local radio presenter eg.

"Mr. Speaker, Derek from Godalming has written in – thanks, Derek – and as a keen allotment owner, he would like to know what is the Prime Minister's favourite vegetable, and does the Right Hon. Gentleman have any tips for dealing with unwanted aphids? Mr Speaker, he also says 'Hi' to everyone who knows him, and requests a track by Barclay James Harvest. But first, the Travel News..."

[IndigoPrime]

I think the crowdsource thing is smart, if it's doable. Cameron might shit all over Corbyn, but he's going to look like a dick when roundly dismissing voters every PMQ. As for Corbyn's TERRIBLE DISSING OF THE QUEEN, it's fantastic to see that across almost every newspaper front page this morning. After all, there's nothing more important going on, such as MPs passing £4.4 billion in tax credit cuts.

[Goaty]

[Dandontdare]

well I was a committed Corbynite (wasn't that a Star Trek episode?) but he has gone too far now, and I have finally come to accept that he should never PM.

nationalisation, pacifism and republicanism are fine but (*choke*) he DIDN'T FASTEN THE TOP BUTTON OF HIS SHIRT!!!! What a bastard!

[Richmond Clements]

but he's going to look like a dick when roundly dismissing voters every PMQ.

Exactly - it's a masterstroke of an idea because of that. If Cameron employs his usual semi-sarcastic remark and no answer, I look forward to an interview with the little old lady who posed the question and how she was insulted by the gammon faced twat.

[Proudhuff]

Really hope Corbyn introduces his 'crowd-sourced' questions at PMQs like he's a local radio presenter eg.

"Mr. Speaker, Derek from Godalming has written in – thanks, Derek – and as a keen allotment owner, he would like to know what is the Prime Minister's favourite vegetable, and does the Right Hon. Gentleman have any tips for dealing with unwanted aphids? Mr Speaker, he also says 'Hi' to everyone who knows him, and requests a track by Barclay James Harvest. But first, the Travel News..."

Which would be more productive that what happened previously 

One paper ignored the nonsense: http://www.thenational.scot/ and lead with news shock!

[Professor Bear]

Cameron kept his cool, but in the end it was his party that let the side down, sniggering every time a member of the public's name was mentioned because common people asking questions of their betters is an inherently hilarious scenario.  Of course, then DC went and lost the rag at an SNP member - must have been simmering below the surface.

[The Legendary Shark]

The idea of crowd-sourced PMQs is good in theory but who decides which questions get asked and how long before we get, "Rupert from Kensington asks, 'would the Prime Minister agree with me that the government is fantastic in every way?'"?

[The Legendary Shark]

DP - sorry. Having problems with my 'phone service recently

[Old Tankie]

It's a shame the leader of the opposition party didn't have a question of his own.

[Professor Bear]

The idea of crowd-sourced PMQs is good in theory but who decides which questions get asked

I imagine once they've vetted out people asking "why is the PM such a fucking cunt?" they randomly pick one of the five questions they have left.

[Theblazeuk]

It's a shame the leader of the opposition party didn't have a question of his own.

Heh, of course.

[TordelBack]

One of my usual less welcome street correspondents (not every talkative al fresco beardy can be Robin Williams or the Legendary Shark) decided to unburden himself on the subject of migrants today (he was sorry for the drowning kids, not so much the ones that made it to shore). From the relative comfort of his Council apartment he naturally objects to scroungers and socialists (unless they're former terrorists), and so moved seamlessly onto a sustained attack on Corbyn and his shameful snubbing of the Queen, which I had trouble squaring with his tricolour-painted walking stick and previous lengthy dissertations on the appalling vista of the state visit in 2011 and the desperate imperative that she not be invited to the 1916 celebrations next year. Powerful stuff, the media.