Paxman On Fire

[Uncle Spielberg]

Good grief. I didn't know there were people who still think like that.

She put herself up as a politician. She receives a salary as a politician. He therefore addressed her as a politician, not as 'a lady' (however that line of questioning supposed to manifest itself)

She did crumble. Everyone else saw it.

I disagree and am happy I think like that. I personally don't think she crumbled and if she was a Labour MP I can 100% guarantee you would be saying she was heroic in her defence with Paxman. Paxman was an absolute tosser and just asked questions he knew she did not have the authority to answer live on tv and carried on with this line of questioning to make her look like a fool and humiliate her. If you think this is fine, great but there is a way of asking questions and actually getting some info and Paxman achieved absolutely f*** all in the 8 minutes, but to bully a Woman.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

If she did not have the authority to be there, why was she?

Osborne is not only an arroagant failure, but a coward as well.

Utter shambles.

She was a puppet for Osbourne. She does not have the authority to answer the questions directed at her as Paxman knew full well.

 

[Gwylan]

She was a puppet for Osbourne. She does not have the authority to answer the questions directed at her as Paxman knew full well.

Total rubbish. The question that kept refusing to answer is "When did you hear about the change of policy". That's a simple factual question concerning her personally, nothing to do with authority. But she refused to answer a simple question.

Osborne shouldn't have sheltered behind her but she brought a lot of the questioning on herself by deadbatting this question.

 

[JetsetJimbo]

If someone's going to be sent there to save the Chancellor's face, he or she should expect to be grilled just as much as Gideon Osborne himself should be. She was obviously out of her depth; I don't blame her for that, I think what we've seen is the Peter Principle at work. Osborne, though, is an absolute coward for sending her.

 

[CHAPPERS]

I disagree and am happy I think like that. I personally don't think she crumbled and if she was a Labour MP I can 100% guarantee you would be saying she was heroic in her defence with Paxman. Paxman was an absolute tosser and just asked questions he knew she did not have the authority to answer live on tv and carried on with this line of questioning to make her look like a fool and humiliate her. If you think this is fine, great but there is a way of asking questions and actually getting some info and Paxman achieved absolutely f*** all in the 8 minutes, but to bully a Woman.

Nope. Being female makes no difference, she's there as a politicial representing the chancellor.

Paxman was, quite rightly, trying to get out of here when she had heard of the change in policy and where certain underspends had happened to try and understand just when the knee jerk policy change had occured. If she did not know where the money had been saved then why was she went on Newsnight, Channel 4 etc?

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Nope. Being female makes no difference, she's there as a politicial representing the chancellor.

Paxman was, quite rightly, trying to get out of here when she had heard of the change in policy and where certain underspends had happened to try and understand just when the knee jerk policy change had occured. If she did not know where the money had been saved then why was she went on Newsnight, Channel 4 etc?

The problem with these debates is that if she were a Labour MP you as a Labour supporter would have applied a completely different set of standards and be supporting her. As it is everything a Tory MP does is a default mode of bad and everything a Labour MP does is a default mode of good so it is very difficult to have any sort of intelligent debate with this agenda in place.

 

[CHAPPERS]

The problem with these debates is that if she were a Labour MP you as a Labour supporter would have applied a completely different set of standards and be supporting her. As it is everything a Tory MP does is a default mode of bad and everything a Labour MP does is a default mode of good so it is very difficult to have any sort of intelligent debate with this agenda in place.

I vote Green.

I would not have supported someone trying to explain a knee jerk policy change that I don't agree with, especially if that policy change completely contradicts 'the plan' that the government keeps banging on about.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

I vote Green.

I would not have supported someone trying to explain a knee jerk policy change that I don't agree with, especially if that policy change completely contradicts 'the plan' that the government keeps banging on about.

Yes but she had no choice. Osbourne made the decision, she had to take the flack for him. She was probably just thinking the whole time, how do I get through this without completely f***ing up the boss. I find these political debates boring as the lefties and there are many on here will just apply double standards to back up their agenda and would never give any credit to anything or any policy the tories came out with and vice versa but the lefties are particularly impossible to have any sensible debate with so it's not even worth trying.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Yes but she had no choice. Osbourne made the decision, she had to take the flack for him. She was probably just thinking the whole time, how do I get through this without completely f***ing up the boss. I find these political debates boring as the lefties and there are many on here will just apply double standards to back up their agenda and would never give any credit to anything or any policy the tories came out with and vice versa but the lefties are particularly impossible to have any sensible debate with so it's not even worth trying.

Do you agree with this policy u-turn?

 

[The Large One]

I disagree and am happy I think like that. I personally don't think she crumbled and if she was a Labour MP I can 100% guarantee you would be saying she was heroic in her defence with Paxman. Paxman was an absolute tosser and just asked questions he knew she did not have the authority to answer live on tv and carried on with this line of questioning to make her look like a fool and humiliate her. If you think this is fine, great but there is a way of asking questions and actually getting some info and Paxman achieved absolutely f*** all in the 8 minutes, but to bully a Woman.

Absolute bollocks.

Fact is, you're playing the sexism card - a cheap and meaningless stunt. In other words, you're saying she shouldn't be spoken to like that because she's 'a lady'. How insulting is that? Far more than Paxman, for a start.

We're paying this woman to play her part in running a government department properly, and in the face of an apparent shambles, she is rightly being bluntly questioned on some Page One errors. Her gender has f*** all to do with it, and it's extremely low for you to bring that up.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Absolute bollocks.

Fact is, you're playing the sexism card - a cheap and meaningless stunt. In other words, you're saying she shouldn't be spoken to like that because she's 'a lady'. How insulting is that? Far more than Paxman, for a start.

We're paying this woman to play her part in running a government department properly, and in the face of an apparent shambles, she is rightly being bluntly questioned on some Page One errors. Her gender has f*** all to do with it, and it's extremely low for you to bring that up.

Hey, ho will will have to disagree. Your bludgeoning style is not going to change my opinion. You have your opinion, I have mine, that is it.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Cameron only gave her the job because he thought she was a qualified accountant. She isn't.

And he wanted more young women in government, because this would enhance the Tory Party's image with the public.

 

[The Large One]

Hey, ho will will have to disagree. Your bludgeoning style is not going to change my opinion. You have your opinion, I have mine, that is it.

And your total mis-reading of the situation isn't going to change my opinion.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

And your total mis-reading of the situation isn't going to change my opinion.

That's ok then.

 

[kano]

Look at it from another view. What was Paxman supposed to do??

He was sent someone from the government to defend this U-Turn in policy. It would have been a short interview if he asked her a couple of questions...realised she didn't know fuckall and just had to move on. I imagine he gave her a kicking so that he doesn't get insulted like that in the future and perhaps the cowards that sent her out like a lamb to the slaughter would come out themselves next time and he could get some meaningful answers from someone.

 

[The Large One]

Yes but she had no choice. Osbourne made the decision, she had to take the flack for him. She was probably just thinking the whole time, how do I get through this without completely f***ing up the boss. I find these political debates boring as the lefties and there are many on here will just apply double standards to back up their agenda and would never give any credit to anything or any policy the tories came out with and vice versa but the lefties are particularly impossible to have any sensible debate with so it's not even worth trying.

For the Christ-knows-how-many-eth time, this has nothing to do with your archaic political sensibilities ('lefties' - Jesus), and everything to do with communication.

Their own MPs are pissed off with Osbourne.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

So your plan B is the Brown/Balls plan. God help us all.

Yes its exactly the same isnt it?!

Actually you seem very critical of alternative plans for the economy. I would be interested in hearing you defend the current approach and point out its successes.

Go ahead.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

For the Christ-knows-how-many-eth time, this has nothing to do with your archaic political sensibilities ('lefties' - Jesus), and everything to do with communication.

Their own MPs are pissed off with Osbourne.

You can only communicate if you have the mandate to do so. Anyway to be honest I don't really give a rat's arse about this or the fact you have " owned me " again. Chalk another victory up. I have better things to do.

 

[Tubby Mondays]

Because I thought both posts were from him.

So you read who says what in depth then, before you take time to reply?

It explains the intelligence you display in your responses.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

If she did not have the authority to be there, why was she?

Osborne is not only an arroagant failure, but a coward as well.

Utter shambles.

Chloe Smith is Economic Secretary to the Treasury, FFS. By my reckoning, that makes her number five in the government department that's supposed to look after the country's economic welfare. On the treasury website, top of the list of her responsibilities is "Environmental issues including taxation of transport."

Whether or not she is competent to do this job, if anyone had authority to answer questions, it ought to have been her. If the government puts her up as a representative of the treasury, Paxman is entitled to go in with all guns blazing. If they thought that he might hold back a bit if they put a slightly hopeless woman up, then that's utterly shameful.