White On Ming
The Guardian's Michael White in this week's Backbencher mailout;
Everyone is keeping a death-watch eye on Ming at the moment because he is doing persistently badly at PMQs. Did he do better? No. He asked about Dunblane, the school massacre of 10 years ago, and why hadn't a national gun register been kept? Well, Mr Blair said handguns had been banned, just as he said later to other questioners worried about stabbing, after the London schoolboy's murder last week, that steps had been taken.
Strange to say, Sir Ming Campbell, sticking to his script, regardless of the fact the question had already been asked, then said: three weeks ago the PM said the Home Office was fit for purpose, John Reid says it's not. Who's right? Which is it? Interesting here, Mr Blair is quite gentle with Ming Campbell, and went through it all quite kindly. It's as if it suits him to keep him where he is, rather than cudgel him into the ground, as he did with Charles Kennedy and Paddy Ashdown.
White hits the bullseye, Blair is either showing his tender caring side for aged opponents or he wants to keep Ming in place and flatlining the Lib Dems for as long as possible.
31 comments:
Poor old Mingo. At least he didn't have his 72 point font "PMQs for old duffers" notes to hand this week.
Also, a quick google image search of Ros Taylor brings up a particularly flabby Prescott, how very unfortunate for the lass!
Moses Blair doesn't give a fig anymore, all he is doing is treading water until a nice juicy international role comes along, or so he hopes, I hope the fucker gets a virulent form of Cancer pronto.
Unlikely it never happens to his kind, although a stroke.....
I think you hit the nail on the head here, Guido. Blair is many things, but stupid he is not. I'm sure he's wishing all his opponents were as incapable.
If Blair was that odious anonymous why does 'Daz' spend every waking moment trying to be like him?
But tell us how you really feel.
Posting quality deteriorating Guido. Please take action. I am pining for the days when there were just a few comments but all were quality.
Zero tolerance please.
Is it the ‘nice peoples party’ policy the attack Cameron (pbuh) because Ming’s poor performance is indefensible?
Re: comment posting quality.
Political tourettes sufferers receive no mercy from Guido - I do hit the delete button liberally. However sleeping, eating and drinking do take up some of my time.
Eventually they get the message, because their posts disappear. Either they up their game or go away.
This is a tricky game, though, because a lack of support for the Lib Dems may -- in fact, some would say *has* -- strengthened the Tories' position (who, after all, now lead the polls).
I agree with Michael White and think that Blair probably is playing quite a clever game...
However, I do find the whole persecution of Ming at PMQs slightly strange. He is definitely underperforming but I also think that the whole thing is massively biased against any one other than the gov or official opposition.
Frankly, I think it's ridiculous to compare performances of Cameron and Ming when Cameron gets far more questions, thus able to warm-up and also has a large bunch of cheering/jeering people behind him.
Yes, Ming is underperforming, but let's not get carried away here.
Yes, but be honest, half the basset hounds in the world appear to think quicker on their feet. Don't we all do better, in the comfort of our armchairs, shouting at the television? And we're not even being paid for it.
If a pensioner with a Zimmer frame tried to mug you, it just wouldn't be right to deck him by kick-boxing. Helping Ming by reminding him to turn the page of his notes and so on, is much kinder, and more cruel.
How can the 'caring' party do anything other than follow such a generous example and continue to support a leader who's differently abled?
Ming and Percy the Small Engine - separated at birth.
http://www.worldofbubble.com/images/thomas_friends_percy.jpg
I think the ming PMQ's problem is going to go the same way as IDS - he was literally embarrassing to watch as he was so out of his depth.
I would say and i am not a Lib dem that the days of being a "manager" of a political party are over. It is no good been good in private or small groups aka "john Major" - after 92 - 5 years of cringe worthy politics with cabinet ministers talking up John Major Urghhh!!!
Though i think Blair is crass, with a hybrid personality that encapsulates meglamania, naccisism despotism, stupitity and opportunitism - I give him one thing.
He gives a good speech - impassioned, engrossing and measured against the benchmarks of politians over the decades certainly part of the gold standard. I have never voted Labour and never would - they are berift of ideology & personality driven pre-maddonas. Maybe this is what the "24 hour media" demands?
Where blair has been strong and cameron follows rightly or wrongly "ming" is nowhere. Ming is alright a nice OAP but no 21st century political leader. Certainly the challange for cameron is to lift the best bits of Blair's leadership model and dump the morally and politically repugnent stuff. Parodoxically being a good manager is a thing a primeminster needs in spades and Blair has been wanting for years in this department. Which explains why everything of difficulity his government touches turns to stone - a mill stone around there collective necks.
Blogger name: Foxa
Since I arrived in this country a few years ago, I've been considering a second career in politics after my penal servitude in Visaland ends. My dilemma has always been - which political party to support? Despite my natural Tory inclinations, I find them to be a wee bit too inbred and out of touch to stomach. Cameron understands that one needs to appeal to the great middle class of England. Without the aspirational professional class - men and women, perhaps starting a family - the Conservatives will never rise again.
These are the people that work selling mortgages, in PR or advertising, publishing houses and magazines, the law, finance, insurance, IT managers and code jockies ...
The Liberal Democrats need to squash their big yellow thumb down in the middle of the electorate and drown out the voices of Left/Right nuttiness that forever threaten to consume Labour and the Tories. Why oh why can't the LibDems come up with a leader that owns this space? They seem to understand this at the local level. Isn't there a critical mass of professional political talent in the Parliamentary Party?
Of course, the real question for me is: which political party has the best soriees to attend and the most supple women?
Really need to send my meager clips to the Spectator ...
Why should TB waste his breath attacking Ming when it's obvious he (Ming) is already finish?
The truth is that if he monstered Ming, sympathy would go to Ming. Not attacking him only makes it worse - especially as people then write that Tony doesn't attack Ming because Ming is sooo bad.
Tony is even cleverer than people realise. (Not for the first time). Mwah ha ha.
Professor Quatermass: suggest you re-emigrate. (a) We have too many politicians already. (b) We have too many humans already. (c) You say "why oh why" like some correspondent on Points of View (RIP). (d) You waste your time posting messages on blogs. If you insist on cluttering up our country, why not seek employment cutting cabbages or cleaning the Home Office?
As part of your citizenship training, you need to learn the following:
THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS ARE COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT.
Ming is the reincarnation of IDS!!!
Surely if Blair is spending long amounts of time answering Mings questions he can avoid harder to answer ones from other politicians, as he attempt to run the clock down..
Secondly Blair knows Ming is no threat so he can just leave him to destroy his own party.
"...personality driven pre-maddonas..."
Would-be pop-stars?
Not like you to be nice about Sir Michael...but yes, I think you're right. Surprised you missed another opportunity to plug Clegg though ;-)
After his cock-up confusing Eric Forth's funeral with the by-election writ being moved, poor old Ming is having a rough time entirely of his own making. Lib Dems I know can't wait to see the back of him.
Sod Blair, as a Labour activist "I" want to keep Ming there as long as possible, he's doing a great job.
Well that’s settled then, Labour wants him to stay, the Tories want him to stay and the Limps are defending him to the hilt. Your fucked we’re happy now let the geriatric old fart be.
Yes I think the Tories was to keep Ming there a long time as well. He is making Cameron, no matter how daft he is sounding at any given moment, look really clever.
Do you write Ming’s speeches?
someone writes Ming's speeches?
I don't think Ming did so badly this time - that Blair said the home Office was fine & Reid said it is crap means somebody is said something that wasn't true & I think we all know who. Not so surprising since the party were all called in to get a good question.
We may be at the stage where, having lost the respect of the House, it no longer really matters how hw does it will be jeered.
Something similar happened to the much more capable Roy Jenkins as SDP leader although in his case it was purely because Labour MPs shouted him down & obviously he had so few supporters. Nobody tries to shout Ming down.
I find Ming at PMQs, voice quavering with fear, problematic.
Ming soldiers on because the synapses that would have once told him to sit down you bloody old fool, have clearly atrophied, and I find the spectacle of the old water buffalo surrounded by the snapping predators unbecoming.
On the other hand, the lib dems, the yellow peril -- a ship of fools, led by an old fool, sucking up the votes of fools...a sotto voice whispers, revel in their misery, they deserve it.
Anyway I tend to switch off when M-M-Ming stands up.
"After his cock-up confusing Eric Forth's funeral with the by-election writ being moved, poor old Ming is having a rough time entirely of his own making. Lib Dems I know can't wait to see the back of him".
Wonder if he has any real authority over the party. Pete Dollimore should have resigned or been given his marching orders and forced to reign his position as London Region Campaigns chair immediately.
i would have emailed you but could not find your details, therefore thought i should leave a comment in a relevant post.
Anyhow Sir Micheal has an article in this week's Whitehall and Westminster World on the Charles Clarke interviews which made me choke. at one point he says that clarke told him before and after his interviews that he hadnt intended to attack blair (that was prompted by media questioners, apparently), merely to defent his own record against reid. Sir M then writes: "Sceptics doubt that, and are entitled to do so....Myself I believe what politicans tell me, until they individually prove themselves liars. Mr Clarke has not done so." !!!!
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