Friday 15 June 2012

The Importance Of Question Time

As the only hint at a political programme with some connection to the public, BBC's Question Time should be an important piece of broadcasting. That it isn't even remotely so is due to the format and the political bias of the BBC. The format means it cannot be serious, because it requires brevity and so is unable to deal with the complexities politics throws up. Indeed it plays to the Blair style of the insubstantial.

Last night welfare came up. It is clear from any study of the subject that the most generous interpretation of Britain's welfare system is that it has many unintended consequences. The actual subject here was supposed to be the suggestion by Eric Pickles that 'problem' families may see their benefits cut. My problem here is that the law should be the weapon of choice and the cowardly police required to put down their speed guns for a little while and deal with real societal problems.

However, the mention of benefits sent the hounds off on a false trail. Peter Hitchens said that welfare and its promotion of fatherless families is hugely to blame for fracturing society. We then had a display of what I really, really hate about Labour. The dozy bint MP leaped in with what was probably a prepared speech, first demonising Hitchens to establish that he is a 'known' rabid 'right winger' and then went on with her diatribe. She apparently came from a council housed, single parent family, where the mother 'struggled' to bring up a family on her own and it was a happy family and they had done well.

Not that well luv, listen to yourself! She then got to the bit underlined in her script; 'how dare you say we were a problem family, how dare you!' Hitchens was at least allowed to point out that he had said no such thing and that her 'phoney rage' was typical of her party. Indeed it is. But the easily led audience mightily applauded her soundbite-providing 'outrage'.

This is what the programme genuinely promotes; soundbites. Politicians of no substance and dodgy morals are allowed to make sharp accusations and request Dimmo moves the 'debate' on. The audience fail completely to see how they are being misled, but are fed easily swallowed bites of political spin.

Hitchens was talking about a serious matter that needed some expansion to actually understand. Having read into the subject, I find it amazing that we are where we are today, as a welfare state. One woman, who I think thought she was opposing Hitchens said that we should do what works. Wow! That must have shocked and concerned the harridan Labour MP.

But the audience haven't studied the issue, are selected to provide a pro-Left view and respond only to the easily digestible. So you end up thinking some dangerous, self important twerp, with a strong line in vitriolic bile, is a useful Member of Parliament. You then get a dysfunctional welfare state and a wrecked economy, which you then blame on the likes of Peter Hitchens, because they are 'nasty' (or so you've been told).

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