Question Time LiveBlog 23rd Sept 2010

Question Time tonight comes from Liverpool, home to the United Kingdom’s first council house and the first Juvenile Court. This may not be a coincidence.

Controlled by Labour and without any Tory representation, Liverpool City Council was rated in 2008 as the worst-performing council in the country. This may also not be a coincidence.

On the panel we have the BBC’s newly re-haloed St Vince of Cable, John Redwood, Caroline Flint, Ian Hislop and the nutter’s nutter Mehdi Hasan.

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we’ll be playing the LibDem Conference Rules which means players are banned from bringing knitting needles or helium balloons. Bonus points tonight for Spivs and use of the word Comrade. Be aware of the diagonal moves allowed on the new bingo cards, meaning for example that getting Thatcher, cuts and starving orphans in one answer, or perhaps Carriers, Bribing and Labour Voters on the purple squares, is an instant win.

Returning as well, the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, presented by Brillo in cahoots, apparently, with Michael Portillo and Diane Abbott again. Is she really back? Can this be true?

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be engaged in legitimate crowd control here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 16th Sept 2010

Question Time is back tonight with a Labour leadership special – where the five candidates will be on the panel facing questions from a hand-picked audience.

The live-chat, moderated as usual by David Vance, David Mosque and TheEye, will start here just before 10:35 and finish just after 11:35 (UK time).

Question Time LiveBlog : The Return!

Our old favourite – Question Time is back tonight!

Not just any jewel, but the very Koh-I-Noor of BBC bias returns with a peach of a broadcast:  a Labour leadership special where the five candidates will be on the panel facing questions from a hand-picked audience.

You should all have received your new-season Buzzword Bingo cards by now. For the first programme you’ll need the set which has a picture of David Cameron eating a kitten on them. Play is expected to be brisk, as Thatcher, cuts, evil, fairness, and equality will all go quickly. References to private education win you a Diane Abbott shaped Souvenir SoapOnARope from the BBC Executive Washrooms. Bonus roll of the dice for any mention of Harriet Hatemen having 4 votes in the election.

Reverse triangulation is in play, and because of weekday maintenance on the Circle Line, this week Trade Unions are only valid with a common people undercard, and riots are wild unless your strike action joker has lapsed.

See you here on the picket-line, in the company of David Vance, David Mosque and TheEye, from just before 10:35 until just after 11:35.

Question Time LiveBlog 22nd July 2010


Question Time tonight comes from Hartlepool; famous for hanging a monkey for being French, providing a guitarist for Iron Maiden and having an unwanted terrace house once owned by Peter Mandelson.

On the panel we have Immigration Minister Damian Green MP, Sadiq Khan MP (Lab, Tootingstan), Nigel Farage MEP, Bob Crow (self described Communist; salary £105,679) and Ruth Lea.

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we will be using the Either Banned Or Compulsory Rules – so ‘burqua’, ‘death tax’ and ‘national citizen service‘ are worth double BiasPoints. Any references to the Big Society win a BBC poster of David Cameron eating a kitten. Because of weekday maintenance on the Circle Line, this week Thatcher‘s are only valid with a Recession undercard, and Obama‘s are wild unless your BP joker has lapsed.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, which continues its trawl through the Labour leadership candidates on the Sofa Of Despair. Tonight it’s Ed Miliband (no, not the banana one, the other one – think polyester suits).

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will have fingers on the moderators’ kill-switch here from 10:30pm.

(UPDATE: Bumped for the event)

Question Time LiveBlog 15th July 2010


Question Time tonight comes from Bexhill-on-Sea; famous for staging the UK’s first ever motor race and the discovery of the world’s oldest spider web encased in amber. The constituency of Bexhill and Battle is represented by Greg Barker (C)

On the panel we have Francis MaudeAndy Burnham, George Galloway, Nick Ferrari and self-confessed binge-drinking druggie slapper Sally Bercow.

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we will be using the Educashun Educashun Educashun Rulez which means that ‘graduate tax’, ‘school building plans’ and ‘two year degree‘ are worth double BiasPoints. Any references to Ken Clarke win a BBC Hidden Agenda bonus turn, and a successful pairing of Raoul Moat with Thatcher is an instant champagne win. Nothing said by Sally Bercow will be valid for point scoring purposes if she is visibly under the influence.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, which sees the scary duo of Michael Portillo and Ed “Blinky” Balls partnered on the Sofa Of Despair.

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be taking an axe to red-tape here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 8th July 2010


Question Time tonight comes from Edinburgh, often known as the “Athens of the North” – because it is full of striking socialists and unemployed alcoholics Irn Bru drinkers.

On the panel we have an interesting mix: a double-Coalition effort of Lord Forsyth and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore MP, Wee Dougie Alexander MP, Nicola Sturgeon MSP and voice of the Carphone Warehouse adverts, failed comedian Ed Byrne.

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we will be using the Slash And Burn Rules (2010 revision) which means that ‘cutting red tape’, ‘liberty’ and ‘dead hand of socialism‘ will not appear on the BBC, but  ‘the dead unburied’, hitting the poor hardest’ and ‘schools’n’hospitals’ are worth double BiasPoints. Snide comments about Michael Gove apologising for a civil servant’s typing error win a free dice roll, and ‘Worse than Thatcher’ is an instant win if played together with a ‘Nasty Party’ joker.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, which sees the scary duo of Michael Portillo and Miliband (D) draped over the sofa in glorious widescreen.

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be standing on the shoulders of giants here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 1st July 2010

Question Time tonight comes from Ipswich, parliamentary seat of Conservative Ben Gummer, son of John Gummer.

On the panel tonight is the Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith, the shadow home secretary Alan Johnson, Telegraph columnist Simon Heffer, Professor of Classics Mary Beard and social policy campaigner Dame Dr Camila Batmanghelidjh (go to that link just to look at the outfit).

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be engaged in legitimate crowd control here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 24th June 2010


Question Time tonight comes from Glasgow, where in 2006 the Centre for Social Justice reported that 29.4% of the city’s working-age residents were “economically inactive” and where the city council has been controlled by Labour for over 30 years. Coincidence?

Update: Yes, apologies, it was in Canary Wharf. Was reading the wrong list.

On the panel we have the halo-tarnished Business Secretary St Vince of Cable (let’s see if the BBC love him these days) the shadow education secretary Ed “Blinky” Balls, the leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas MP, Mail on Sunday columnist Peter Hitchens, and the founder of lastminute.com Brent Hoberman.

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we will be using the Coalition Bashing (Budget) Rules (2010 Volume3) which means that ‘Bank Levy’, ‘VAT’ and ‘hit the poor’ will only score if played with your Evil Tories joker. ‘Capital Gains Tax’ is wild and references to ‘Thatcher’ are worth triple points if in the same sentence as ‘cuts’. Getting ‘Dead Rotting In The Streets’ on your card is an instant win.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, which sees the deadly duo of Michael Portillo and Diane Abbott reunited in glorious widescreen.

TheEye and David Mosque will be standing on the shoulders of giants here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 17th June 2010

Question Time tonight comes from Witney, the Westminster seat of David Cameron, and famous only for having had a woollen blanket making industry…now closed.

On the first coalition Tory-free panel (no, Theresa May technically did count as one) we have Chris Huhne, Peter Hain, Jeffrey Donaldson, “Baroness” Helena Kennedy and Amanda Platell

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we’ll be playing the Lord Servile Rules which means players may bring a sub-machine gun along but have to deny it afterwards. Nail-bombs will be confiscated at the door. Bonus points will be awarded for combinations of Palin and Thatcher on the same card, BP and Obama, Ed Balls and Loser, and also for any reference to Belgium.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, presented by Brillo in cahoots with his “resident helper” Michael Portillo. No sign as yet if it’ll be Flinty there for “balance”.

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be engaged in legitimate crowd control here from 10:30pm.

Question Time LiveBlog 10th June 2010

Question Time tonight comes from Plymouth, a city with the 11th largest University in the United Kingdom by number of students, and the largest operational naval base in Western Europe – HMNB Devonport.

Plymouth is represented by the three constituencies of Plymouth Moor View (Oliver Colvile Con), Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Alison Seabeck Lab) and South West Devon (Gary Streeter Con).

On the panel we have SecState for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport Jeremy Hunt, his Shadow Little Ben Bradshaw, Respect leader and Spokesman for Birmingham Central Mosque Salma Yaqoob, food writer Toby Young and Katie Hopkins (apparently a 2007 contestant on The Apprentice, once a stand-by contestant for Big Brother and with a sex life frequently splashed in gruesome detail across the tabloids).

For those playing the Buzzword Bingo, we’ll be invoking the Nothing New Under The Sun Rules which means that all of last week’s topics Gun Control, Israeli Piracy, and BP Oil Slick score a rollover bonus. Those with the phrase “Afghanistan” or “Labour Leadership” on their cards advance four squares, and any positive references to “Geert Wilders” result in an instant win.

As usual the LiveBlog will also cover the entertainingly awful This Week, presented by Brillo in cahoots with Michael Portillo and Caroline Flint.

David Vance, TheEye and David Mosque will be holding back the hordes of barbarians here from 10:30pm.