having been onstage with you, I found you have a quality of very intense *listening*, which made for a very enjoyable conversation (apart from everything else that made the conversation enjoyable!). I would love to read a piece by you on the skills of interviewing, and being interviewed. What are you listening for, when you're interviewing someone? What have you learned from being interviewed?
It occurs to me as Starmer is forced into more self created U turns than you see on Strictly & Reeves has to break more of her own promises than the Celebrity Traitors, that they are fundamentally good people who are just crap at politics.
Conversely we all know there’s some terrible people out there who are really good at the politics.
So my question…Is it too much to ask for good people who are also good politicians?
Given that the capture of the media by the right wing is almost complete what can anybody do to redress the balance and ensure that actual real news is both reported and widely seen
The world is on fire, extremism is seemingly the only oxygen in the room keeping that burning.
But most people are just normal. We want simple things. We mostly want to agree too.
So why on earth is it so hard for centrists to be popular right now, how can we make centrism cool, and despite being centrists and aligned with many people on important stuff (Brexit, decent local government, etc) why can’t the Lib Dem’s get any traction nationally? What do they need to be relevant?
The LibDems aren't getting traction because they're too busy sitting on the fence and not speaking/shouting about their values, instead they keep on coming up with random niche policies such as banning loud music on public transport or air con for nursing homes...all very laudable but hardly earth-shattering.
Much of what Zac talks about (trans rights, drug policy, wealth taxes) is stuff approved by LD members at past conferences...do HQ or the Parliamentary party say anything about this... no, they don't!
And I'm saying this as a (very frustrated) LibDem.
Agreed. I think having a charismatic presence helps (hello Zac and Zohran), but as you say also the fundamentals that people care about, not PR fun stuff that’s delivers headlines but not traction.
They were scared of Brexit for a while, but now that feels late. They need to be bold (eg calling out racism rather than Labour’s approach of pandering), but also attracting the right people as spokespeople, even if they’re not politicians. Centrism needs cool, engaging voices as it’s literally the mainstream, but just too quiet and apathetic.
I was 16 in 1967, so from a nostalgic point of view would agree with you, but isn't that the problem with nostalgia, every generation has a favourite reference point.
I have some heated discussions with people older than me, who see the 1950's as a golden age, forgetting about polio, measles, and smog.
I may be biased, but I think the 60s was the epitome of the generation gap. Youth accelerated away from what had gone before. Music, fashion, the peace movement, women's lib... mindset... all went through massive change. It was a decade of soft revolution. And I don't think we've seen any decade since bring about so much change. And...
I was living in England in 1966/67 , “the swinging 60s” , and grateful to have had that opportunity . But “the Troubles” in Ireland were about to begin , and the Six Day War happened in 67. So , dark undertones as well .
Ben Elton's book Time and Time Again has a portal where a succession of people try to go back to prevent the killing of Arch Duke Ferdinand, thinking that averting the first world war would solve a lot of problems. Spoiler...it doesn't go well!
Yes, I've read it. All time travel fiction seems to have unforeseen consequences. Even Dr Who warns against the dangers of altering the space/time continuum. I wasn't suggesting we go back and change stuff, rather that we learn from our mistakes.
Why is the whole of UK society almost completely blind to bribery and misconduct in high office?
If you find me on Twitter, my pinned thread gives an account of how firmly the Metropolitan police keep their blind eye firmly turned to the lies of the now disgraced former prime minister that got him thrown out of parliament. https://x.com/Hairyloon/status/1712388208892239934
They are an almost definitive example of misconduct in public office.
The offence is committed when:
a public officer acting as such
wilfully neglects to perform their duty and/or wilfully misconducts themselves
to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder
without reasonable excuse or justification
The prime minister lied to the police, claiming that the rules had been followed and the police, on behalf of the public trusted him and accordingly didn't investigate.
Can you imagine a clearer example of an abuse of the public's trust?
Can you appreciate how offensive and hurtful it is for a rape victim to open a news story and find her violent rapist described as 'she' and a 'woman', because the news outlet has made the ideological choice not to upset him?
Hi Ian, you said in a recent podcast, “there is no ‘gender ideology’, there’s just gender.”
Can you then explain what ‘gender’ is, taking the word in the sense of an innate personal attribute that is taken to be more important than a person’s sex?
How, for example, does a man who identifies as a woman have any authentic *direct* sense of what it is to ‘be a woman’, as opposed to ordinary observation and inference?
I mean, as a boring normie man I have no direct knowledge of what it is to be a woman - because I am a man, not a wonan.
How does a trans-ID’d man have any more privileged access to the lived experience of women - isn’t his sense of being a woman just a projection of his own (inevitably male) idea of what a woman is?
I expect you will sigh and classify this question as ‘anti-trans’. But maybe you could get past that and apply your undoubted intelligence to my question.
My question is Why are GBnews being allowed to be so biased towards a agenda while being registered as a news channel. I do watch it late at night for a while at paper review time and am amazed evert time that they are getting away with peddling there agenda which is directly benefiting Reform UK polling figures. My opinion-The problem is not the BBC it is GBnews-. ( Will this ever become a mainstream view)
having been onstage with you, I found you have a quality of very intense *listening*, which made for a very enjoyable conversation (apart from everything else that made the conversation enjoyable!). I would love to read a piece by you on the skills of interviewing, and being interviewed. What are you listening for, when you're interviewing someone? What have you learned from being interviewed?
Like the idea of this a lot!
LOVE this question!
It occurs to me as Starmer is forced into more self created U turns than you see on Strictly & Reeves has to break more of her own promises than the Celebrity Traitors, that they are fundamentally good people who are just crap at politics.
Conversely we all know there’s some terrible people out there who are really good at the politics.
So my question…Is it too much to ask for good people who are also good politicians?
Driver Andy
Given that the capture of the media by the right wing is almost complete what can anybody do to redress the balance and ensure that actual real news is both reported and widely seen
What can we do about this is something I ask myself frequently so any response would be welcome.
The world is on fire, extremism is seemingly the only oxygen in the room keeping that burning.
But most people are just normal. We want simple things. We mostly want to agree too.
So why on earth is it so hard for centrists to be popular right now, how can we make centrism cool, and despite being centrists and aligned with many people on important stuff (Brexit, decent local government, etc) why can’t the Lib Dem’s get any traction nationally? What do they need to be relevant?
The LibDems aren't getting traction because they're too busy sitting on the fence and not speaking/shouting about their values, instead they keep on coming up with random niche policies such as banning loud music on public transport or air con for nursing homes...all very laudable but hardly earth-shattering.
Much of what Zac talks about (trans rights, drug policy, wealth taxes) is stuff approved by LD members at past conferences...do HQ or the Parliamentary party say anything about this... no, they don't!
And I'm saying this as a (very frustrated) LibDem.
Agreed. I think having a charismatic presence helps (hello Zac and Zohran), but as you say also the fundamentals that people care about, not PR fun stuff that’s delivers headlines but not traction.
They were scared of Brexit for a while, but now that feels late. They need to be bold (eg calling out racism rather than Labour’s approach of pandering), but also attracting the right people as spokespeople, even if they’re not politicians. Centrism needs cool, engaging voices as it’s literally the mainstream, but just too quiet and apathetic.
This is a question I've been pondering a lot as well
If you could force every MP to read one book (not yours), what would it be and why?
AMA
Where did it all go wrong, and at what point in history would you return and put it right?
Sorry, I can't leave this just for Ian...
It all went wrong in 1979 - Thatcher elected.
1967 - mainly because it was such a brilliant time to be alive. Peace man.
I was 16 in 1967, so from a nostalgic point of view would agree with you, but isn't that the problem with nostalgia, every generation has a favourite reference point.
I have some heated discussions with people older than me, who see the 1950's as a golden age, forgetting about polio, measles, and smog.
I may be biased, but I think the 60s was the epitome of the generation gap. Youth accelerated away from what had gone before. Music, fashion, the peace movement, women's lib... mindset... all went through massive change. It was a decade of soft revolution. And I don't think we've seen any decade since bring about so much change. And...
... we are massively OT now.
Indeed , polio and measles were also a blight in Australia in the 50s . I remember lining up at school for the Salk vaccine to combat polio .
I was living in England in 1966/67 , “the swinging 60s” , and grateful to have had that opportunity . But “the Troubles” in Ireland were about to begin , and the Six Day War happened in 67. So , dark undertones as well .
Ben Elton's book Time and Time Again has a portal where a succession of people try to go back to prevent the killing of Arch Duke Ferdinand, thinking that averting the first world war would solve a lot of problems. Spoiler...it doesn't go well!
Yes, I've read it. All time travel fiction seems to have unforeseen consequences. Even Dr Who warns against the dangers of altering the space/time continuum. I wasn't suggesting we go back and change stuff, rather that we learn from our mistakes.
Why is the whole of UK society almost completely blind to bribery and misconduct in high office?
If you find me on Twitter, my pinned thread gives an account of how firmly the Metropolitan police keep their blind eye firmly turned to the lies of the now disgraced former prime minister that got him thrown out of parliament. https://x.com/Hairyloon/status/1712388208892239934
They are an almost definitive example of misconduct in public office.
The offence is committed when:
a public officer acting as such
wilfully neglects to perform their duty and/or wilfully misconducts themselves
to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public's trust in the office holder
without reasonable excuse or justification
The prime minister lied to the police, claiming that the rules had been followed and the police, on behalf of the public trusted him and accordingly didn't investigate.
Can you imagine a clearer example of an abuse of the public's trust?
If you had no choice and had to pick one, who would you be willing to spend an hour in the company of?
Trump or
Musk
It might be interesting to have both of them present , to bounce off each other in reply to your expert questions . Potential fireworks there …..
Trump. I would like to measure the size of his head with a tape measure and see if it really is as big as it looks on TV.
Which future dystopia from comic books is more likely? V for Vendetta or Judge Dress?
I am absolutely here for the authoritarian vision wearing a pretty summer dress…
That's a hilarious typo! :-D
Autocorrect!
Please don't correct it! I've got some really funny images in my head now!
There is a reasonable proportion of the judiciary for whom a dress is appropriate clobber
Can you appreciate how offensive and hurtful it is for a rape victim to open a news story and find her violent rapist described as 'she' and a 'woman', because the news outlet has made the ideological choice not to upset him?
What’s your favourite soup?
Hi Ian, you said in a recent podcast, “there is no ‘gender ideology’, there’s just gender.”
Can you then explain what ‘gender’ is, taking the word in the sense of an innate personal attribute that is taken to be more important than a person’s sex?
How, for example, does a man who identifies as a woman have any authentic *direct* sense of what it is to ‘be a woman’, as opposed to ordinary observation and inference?
I mean, as a boring normie man I have no direct knowledge of what it is to be a woman - because I am a man, not a wonan.
How does a trans-ID’d man have any more privileged access to the lived experience of women - isn’t his sense of being a woman just a projection of his own (inevitably male) idea of what a woman is?
I expect you will sigh and classify this question as ‘anti-trans’. But maybe you could get past that and apply your undoubted intelligence to my question.
Thank you.
My question is Why are GBnews being allowed to be so biased towards a agenda while being registered as a news channel. I do watch it late at night for a while at paper review time and am amazed evert time that they are getting away with peddling there agenda which is directly benefiting Reform UK polling figures. My opinion-The problem is not the BBC it is GBnews-. ( Will this ever become a mainstream view)
Politically, what gives you the most hope right now?
What's the relationship between music and politics?
Dream cabinet? Dead or alive, any party (or none), but they have to be British
Not one full of wine