ARmy Rumour SErvice

Originally Posted by DemsMaShoes

Surely the job of the opposition is not just to oppose everything. They would find more support if they joined the government in trying to clear up the (financial) mess? It's so easy to find fault without offering a workable alternative, which is just what this bunch of mumbling idiots is doing.

The job of the opposition is to shadow the government. That's something this opposition does and provide their own policies. Something this opposition has also done and which are well published and different to the governments.

Originally Posted by rgjbloke

The job of the opposition is to shadow the government. That's something this opposition does and provide their own policies. Something this opposition has done and which are well published and different to the governments.

Fine. However aren't they allowed to agree sometimes, instead of just trying to torpedo everything? Or even offer useful assistance? Could call it a coalition.

Originally Posted by DemsMaShoes

Fine. However aren't they allowed to agree sometimes, instead of just trying to torpedo everything? Or even offer useful assistance? Could call it a coalition.

There are some things where there is cross party agreement. The debate on PMQ's today was about matters that obviously doesn't include any of them.

Let's be honest, they are all as bad as each other. The premise of PMQ's is a good one, allowing back benchers the opportunity to raise serious local issues and putting the Governing party on the spot. Unfortunately, the modern-day version has been ruined and is dominated by a combination of:
a). Meaningless soundbites from the PM and Leader of the Opposition whenever a member of the Armed Forces has fallen (multiplied in its insincerity if there are multiple casualties that particular week). This is sometimes accompanied by further meaningless condolences to the emergency services/journalists/politicians/musicians etc if one of theirs has fallen. Not knocking the sentiment here, it just seems the wrong place to say it and eats up far too much of the half hour.
b). Tit for tat rubbish from the PM and leader of the Opposition for the next 15 minutes.
c). The remaining 15 minutes or so dominated by "placemen" questions from both side of the floor, either saying how great or how crap the present Government is.
d). Endless repetition of the same statements, namely; "sorting out the mess we inherited", "we are all in this together", "the NHS is not safe in Conservative hands" yadda yadda.
e). The Prime Minister regularly losing his rag and acting in a petulant, immature manner, unbecoming of his status. Today was a good example, but I also cringed when he called Dennis Skinner a dinosaur the other week. He needs to raise his game, as the opposition are getting to him.

I am not an apologist for New Labour (or whatever name they are going by now) and can't stand Balls, Skinner, Harman and the rest. But the coalition has also been a massive disappointment and I just don't see any leadership at the moment.
Mother of all Parliaments? God help us.

Originally Posted by Alsacien

I'm not sure its a fundamental problem with PMQ's, or just the way its run.
Seems to me that oratation skills are given far more credence than substance. I've seen back benchers raising serious issues, only to get ridiculed by a front man with a uni debating society background more comfortable with the mic.
If I wanted live entertainment I would go somewhere that had a stage, not to the HofC......

Definitely the way it is run. CMD has a responsibility for it to be an arena for sensible debate and comments. He is PM so should not have got into unparliamentary language and should have accepted the rebuke instead of trying to be clever. Ed Balls is far from being an idiot, (totally misguided and with his own agenda for self-promotion but no idiot). Cameron has previous for lowering the standard of PMQ to just slightly lower than the Fast Show. His previous "Calm Down Dear" comments were rather silly and demeaned him. It was neither witty or purposeful. Cameron is trying to be a PR master with PMQ but ends up looking like an arse.

Milliband is not involved in this spat, but usually doesnt do much more than provoke Cameron into going off on one. With Mr Cameron's affection for catchphrases I expect its only a matter of time before he says "Thats you that is" The best I can say for Cameron is that his performances are only slightly better than Gordon Brown becoming incontinent of urine during PMQ.

Tony.... Blair..... with....his ....measured delivery....... perfect for........ soundbites..... was ..... much .....more ........effective......at ........ Prime.... Minister's ...........Questions................(OK so he lied through his teeth but it sounded better!!)

Why apologize?

Ed Balls is indeed an idiot of the muttering persuasion.

Originally Posted by tuffy52

At least he's an English muttering idiot which is more than can be said for his leader who happens to be a gibbering idiot son of a immigrant Jew....

And Ed Balls's father is a complete and utter hypocrite......

Anti-semitism is so 1930s......

If Balls is called a muttering idiot by Cameron I would dread to think what that makes Osborne.

Agree that Balls dad is a hypocrite - not his son's fault though. Balls would have gone to the same Comprehensive as me had his dad not sent him to Nottingham High School. It was a good Comp, his dad wasted his money

Cameron is getting increasingly petulant and losing his rag more often. He is not fit for purpose

I don't know if Ed Balls is really a muttering idiot but he definitely is an odious little ****.

If Cameron is really such a straight talker he'd have called it like it is...