[Politics] Question Time 01/03/18- This could become feisty

[wellquickwoody]

Question Time is shit.

Thank you, next question please......

 

[Thunder Bolt]

What has happened? You mean Farage, despite not being elected to Parliament, becoming the most influential British politician of the 21st. century - because, whether you like what he has achieved or not, that is exactly what he has become.

Although his 'party' has completely collapsed around him. UKIP lost control of Thanet council last night, the only council where they actually had power. False promises and now the public has seen through them. Paper tigers.

 

[knocky1]

'Racist chancer. may be your very subjective view. The question is, though, has Farage been influential or not? As we almost certainly wouldn't have even had a referendum, let alone vote to leave the EU, without him, that makes him pretty influential. Now [B[that[/B] is objective. Stuff subjectivity - it's meaningless compared to objectivity.

Was Blair more influential in opening the door to 1 million Eastern Europeans into the UK in 2004 when the EU expanded?
Did he create the Frankenstein Farage?
Was Cameron more influential when he gave the referendum to stop losing Tory voters to UKIP?

 

[nicko31]

Sort of blows the remain argument that all leavers were pensioners. Another lie nailed

What argument? Its like saying all remainers are students

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Hilarious this whole thread has degenerated to whether or not Farage is influential. Shows how little anyone cares about QT. QT, for sure, is no longer influential. For influence you need outcome so arguably Farage is influential because we have had a Brexit referendum and his team won. In another world, we now have a great deal of safeguarding and awareness, thanks in part to the influential contribution of Jimmy Savile. And nobody can deny how influential Zaha has been with respect to Palace's results. Jesus Christ was also influential. As indeed was Joe Stalin. So, frankly, it doesn't bother me greatly whether Farage was influential or not.

The question for me is: is he a successful MP, with a long history of selflessness and a queue of admirers earger to share anecdotes of his kindness and generosity, or is he a self-absorbed showboating clown who can't even get elected as an MP after numerous attempts, let alone lead his own party properly, and is invited onto TV programmes largely for the potential car crash element and/or for stirring up the 'snowflakes' with his half-baked initiatives (the most recent of which was 'let's have another once and for all referendum')?

I will have to google him to find out.....or perhaps we coluld resolve the matter with a poll?

 

[Wardy's twin]

As for when he goes to Australia for I'm a celebrity get me outta here......

thought you were going to say he was going to Botany Bay

 

[ManOfSussex]

I always remember in 2001 when Farage stood for UKIP (and obviously lost) in Bexhill & Battle. I lived in that constituency then. He was endorsed and backed by Charles Wardle who was standing down as Tory MP to take on a full time job with Mohamed Al-Fayed, which some in the local Tory association couldn't see what the problem was and were sad and angry that Wardle was being criticised etc and it caused a bit of a split in the Bexhill & Battle Conservative and Unionist Association, with some coming out and backing Farage.

Anyway I do recall very clearly that along with Wardle, Farage continually stated in that campaign that you should vote for him because Greg Barker, who held the seat quite comfortably for the Tories, was a 'a highly inappropriate choice to be an MP'.

I never knew what Farage meant by that.

Subsequently in 2006 Greg Barker, as the front page of The Daily Mail revealed, left his wife and children for and set up home with an Irish male interior designer.

I knew what Farage meant after that alright - he's a real nasty piece of work is Farage.

 

[Blue3]

Farage has been incredibly influential on the one subject during the referndum campain he was able to clearly and concisely argue his cause which others were not largely due to his total lake of ever having held any public office within the UK enabled him to say what ever he wanted while other politicians needed to be wary of what they said in the past on the day and into the future for fear it would be held up in front of them.
Farage with no baggage of previous statements or actions outside of the EU was free to say almost anything and he did.
History will decide Blaire will be remembered for Iraq not for the Good Friday Agrement nor for the building of schools and hospitals, Cameron will be remembered for calling the referndum and then running away from the result, Farage will be remembered as a player on this one issue nothing more

 

[Jim D]

Hilarious this whole thread has degenerated to whether or not Farage is influential. Shows how little anyone cares about QT. QT, for sure, is no longer influential. For influence you need outcome so arguably Farage is influential because we have had a Brexit referendum and his team won. In another world, we now have a great deal of safeguarding and awareness, thanks in part to the influential contribution of Jimmy Savile. And nobody can deny how influential Zaha has been with respect to Palace's results. Jesus Christ was also influential. As indeed was Joe Stalin. So, frankly, it doesn't bother me greatly whether Farage was influential or not.

The question for me is: is he a successful MP, with a long history of selflessness and a queue of admirers earger to share anecdotes of his kindness and generosity, or is he a self-absorbed showboating clown who can't even get elected as an MP after numerous attempts, let alone lead his own party properly, and is invited onto TV programmes largely for the potential car crash element and/or for stirring up the 'snowflakes' with his half-baked initiatives (the most recent of which was 'let's have another once and for all referendum')?

I will have to google him to find out.....or perhaps we coluld resolve the matter with a poll?

In about 100 years time, when someone writes a history of the UK in the 21st century (assuming there is still someone around to write it - and can write) I would guess that Farage and UKIP would have a chapter of their own, in much the same way that the Chartists or the Corn Law protesters had in the 19th century. As for the others on QT, perhaps Ken Clarke might get a paragraph. You don't need to be a royal or an MP to be influential but you do need to have done something to achieve change - and Farage has certainly done this. No matter how this ends for him (or us), he will always be seen as the person that got us Brexit.

 

[oneillco]

Sinn Fein politicians don’t take their seats as the elected representatives for their constituencies, and they take salaries and expenses to further their political objectives. Those that voted for them are unconcerned with this arrangement, it’s a means to an end. You should have been moaning about them for years.

UKIP and Farage are supported by an electorate that are equally unconcerned with how Farage and UKIP conduct themselves as MEPs. You and others that make the argument that they are somehow selling out their supporters are only demonstrating your niavety about politics and the motives of much of the electorate.

In what way is Thunder Bolt demonstrating "niavety" (you need to check your spelling) about politics? He is being realistic. By all means share your point of view but I don't understand why you have to insult people. I can't see that your comparison of Sinn Fein's political statement of refusing to take their seats in a "foreign" parliament as a valid comparison with Farage's hypocrisy; he decries the plight of the British fishing industry but never attends the fisheries committee to speak-up for it.

 

[BUTTERBALL]

Thought QT was tame last night. Clarke was nothing but an old windbag, Farage was a bit more toned-down than usual and nobody else really bought anything else to the party. Disappointing.

 

[Surf's Up]

Thought QT was tame last night. Clarke was nothing but an old windbag, Farage was a bit more toned-down than usual and nobody else really bought anything else to the party. Disappointing.

Agree with your conclusion but Clarke and Farage are both windbags, the difference being that Clarke is an old windbag.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Thought QT was tame last night. Clarke was nothing but an old windbag, Farage was a bit more toned-down than usual and nobody else really bought anything else to the party. Disappointing.

Possible that after recent QT's hijacked by Piers Morgan and Terry Christian, Farage was asked or was conscious of the need to tone down.

 

[Gwylan]

No matter how this ends for him (or us), he will always be seen as the person that got us Brexit.

I don't see that at all. CMD called a referendum because he couldn't control his own party and wanted to shut up the likes of IDS, Gove, Davis etc. Farage had nothing to do with that. Nor was Farage chosen to lead the official Leave campaign, indeed many of the Leave campaigners were disowning remarks he'd made.

I'm sure that Farage will merit a paragraph or two in history books of the future but he's going to be more like the Feargus O'Connor of the 2010s rather than the John Bright.

 

[Not Andy Naylor]

In what way is Thunder Bolt demonstrating "niavety" (you need to check your spelling) about politics? He is being realistic. By all means share your point of view but I don't understand why you have to insult people. I can't see that your comparison of Sinn Fein's political statement of refusing to take their seats in a "foreign" parliament as a valid comparison with Farage's hypocrisy; he decries the plight of the British fishing industry but never attends the fisheries committee to speak-up for it.

She

 

[Blackadder]

I don't see that at all. CMD called a referendum because he couldn't control his own party and wanted to shut up the likes of IDS, Gove, Davis etc. Farage had nothing to do with that. Nor was Farage chosen to lead the official Leave campaign, indeed many of the Leave campaigners were disowning remarks he'd made.

I'm sure that Farage will merit a paragraph or two in history books of the future but he's going to be more like the Feargus O'Connor of the 2010s rather than the John Bright.

And add to this, the fact that Corbyn hates the EU.

Cameron's dreadful campaign. Corbyn's luke warm approach, foreign owned newspapers influence and Boris's claims.

Any other time and it probably wouldn't have happened.

 

[GT49er]

No that's subjective too.

You don't know what would have happened if Farage didn't exisit, you subjectively think that "we almost certainly wouldn't have even had a referendum". You are giving your opinion, nothing objective about that.

OK, Farage didn't influence anything, didn't have anything to do with making the referendum and Brexit come about. You know best (although that is your subjective view). Funny how all remainers curse his name, though..............

 

[portslade seagull]

What argument? Its like saying all remainers are students

Not one you have used then with your pals time and time again in you ageist frenzy

 

[nicko31]

Not one you have used then with your pals time and time again in you ageist frenzy

They are still the selfish generation and benefited massively from the EU, and are deluded by a false nostalgia before we joined the EU that doesn't exist

Still happy for you to trawl the Brexit thread for evidence that all leavers are pensioners

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Poor show last night, in fact been poor for a while, same old questions asked every week with no answers, British public really are just sheep

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