Probably not the greatest of poll measures, but BBC News 24 has a show called Question Time Extra which discusses the show on BBC 1 and talks about the SMS text comments.
This evening's Question Time was, obviously, dominated by MPs expenses. Interestingly they normally receive around 2000 or so text messages. Tonight it was over 5000. The producers also said it was the angriest they've ever seen.
My guess is, as this saga rolls on, it will not be long before we finally have a by-election somewhere.
Postscript: I see Shahid Malik has said he claimed within the rules and won't be paying anything back. I give him a couple of days before a U-turn or a resignation.
12 comments:
Frankly, let's pay local councillors for their public service, and also ensure that they are not, like their Westminster counterparts, abusing the system. I know many local councillors who are active in local politics, putting many hours into local affairs and who also get paid for supposedly working full-time in Third Sector organisations, creating not only conflicts of interests between their different roles but also forcing the Third Sector to subsidize their public roles: one well-kown example is Labour Councillor Antonia Bance working with Oxfam's UK poverty programme. Now is the time to change the political system, and make it cleaner.
My mother never comments on politics. Even on occasion when I've shouted prick at the radio in response to the latest Brown initiative, except to yell at me for swearing.
Today she said something that truly shocked me.
"I don't believe for a second that cunt forgot he'd paid off his mortgage."
I was too gobsmacked to say what I was thinking.
Angry! Angry? That's not the word for it. I have never heard so many people so pissed off with the bloody government. What also is staggering is the number of people you hear discussing this ferrago.
Check on councillors - on my patch six cars go up the motorway with one 'snouter' in each all claiming their own 40 pence per mile.
They could go in one vehicle but don't. HOnk! Honk!
Some are on County and District adds up to cover £10k before extras.
What about all the freebees. Lots of lunches with developers - university courts, palace garden parties. So called conferences .
Lucerative Networking for petty business men / 'consultants'.
Then various appoitments when they retire
Disgusted Grange over Sands
I can
I am a Parish councilllor I don't get paid - you would be surprised on time taken up with that.- I run a small charity and get about £1 an hour.
They scken me
I was shocked by QT, and I'm a cynical bastard:
http://cassiuswrites.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-beckett-co-will-never-regain-trust.html
I go to an evening class most Thursdays, at a secondary school. Last night a groundsman (chap in his 60s, semi retired)walked across to me to vent his spleen over MPs snout-troughing.
The public anger is enormous. It will be most focussed in those 30 years and older - those with families to support or dependent on pensions, and critically those most likely to vote. People may have been more relaxed about this a year or two ago, but not in a recession!
Labour are about to be utterly massacred. Every time the likes of the pathetic Beckett or Malik open their greedy mouths, they drive away tens of thousands of voters. Cameron and the Tories are unlikely to suffer too much in the long term if they maintain their current approach.
Malik has been suspended
"Malik has been suspended"
By the neck would have been preferable.
QT was great.
Photoshop of Beckett on my blog
I'm obviously a bit strange because I really don't get this. It all seems incredibly trivial to me, bordering on comic, and my principal reactions are to smile or yawn.
The real power today lies in the corporate sector where truly jaw-dropping levels of looting and dishonesty go on all the time. Bankers like Fred Goodwin have given us a tiny window into this world but there is so much more going on than that.
So I'm not angry at all. Not even a little bit cross. Sorry.
The only way to draw a line under this is for the government to resign, after introducing Swedish style expense rules and reorganising the Fees Office. A General Election will sort the wheat from the chaff, and I'll bet the turnout is higher than in recent years. Let's go for it.
Deselect these Bas*ards
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