Balanced Question Time panel tonight - of course not! Vol 3

[markyb_lcy]

Ridgemont said:

But would they want to?

I don't know. They were making BBC programmes themselves, not a wild idea that they might want to watch them and others.

[Dont like rolls]

Andy Zarse said:

It’s fair enough for her to have a pop at Bozza. It’s her job after all.

I find her exactly what I want from a reasonable Labour MP. She is quite unlike the usual grizzly commies and shrill sharp-tongued termagants who normally represent Labour on QT.

So, you want a less shrill but still without anything positive or constructive to put forward.....bless her little bed socks.

[markyb_lcy]

I thought McGovern did ok. She's more natural than most politicians. New environment secretary was about as robotic as they come. Typical pathetic govt response on that floods question summed up by ... "we've been doing some work, and we'll do some more". A decent minister would have stepped up to the plate there and delivered something worthy of a clap. That minister was part of the furniture.

[Dont like rolls]

markyb_lcy said:

I thought McGovern did ok. She's more natural than most politicians. New environment secretary was about as robotic as they come. Typical pathetic govt response on that floods question summed up by ... "we've been doing some work, and we'll do some more". A decent minister would have stepped up to the plate there and delivered something worthy of a clap. That minister was part of the furniture.

What ?...go on................

[hidetheelephants]

Ridgemont said:

Total common sense from portillo on license fee.

Quite. Portillo for DG!

[markyb_lcy]

Dont like rolls said:

What ?...go on................

Well, Portillo stole the show on that one too, I'll let his words speak for themselves but point being that there is no plan or innovation from this government or previous ones on how infrastructure can be improved in future to mitigate this stuff for the people who suffer of it.

[Ridgemont]

markyb_lcy said:

Dont like rolls said:

What ?...go on................

Well, Portillo stole the show on that one too, I'll let his words speak for themselves but point being that there is no plan or innovation from this government or previous ones on how infrastructure can be improved in future to mitigate this stuff for the people who suffer of it.

IANAEngineer however I thought that was his weakest segment. The Dutch situation was a response to low lying ground being under threat from unusual tidal events.
The U.K. is seeing a somewhat more complex situation: the rainfalls are not significantly shifting; the environment has changed: more housing, less flood plain, flooding prevention in one place causing an issue elsewhere. Eustaces’s point was that when he became a shadow minister in 2008 a similar event ended up with 25000 flooded homes. Last week for all the media reaction and misery for those on the ground 400 odd homes were flooded and there were many thousands more which would have been impacted if the government hadn’t done the stuff it had.
What grand amazing project does Portillo (who I really like) want? A plan to raise the U.K. onto stilts with enormous drain offs?

[hidetheelephants]

Understandably the Dutch do treat flooding as a more existential threat than we do, but the methods they use are as applicable here as they are there.

[Ridgemont]

hidetheelephants said:

Understandably the Dutch do treat flooding as a more existential threat than we do, but the methods they use are as applicable here as they are there.

Why? Genuinely interested as to insight: they seem quite different. The Dutch policy was implemented after a tidal surge event that devastated vast area and led to many deaths. 1953 if I recall (via google).

What we are looking at is very different. But happy to be schooled.

[Ridgemont]

Wiki on it for those interested:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of...

And to be clear the recommendations are the exact opposite of current policy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works

Edited by Ridgemont on Friday 21st February 01:49

[hidetheelephants]

Ridgemont said:

Wiki on it for those interested:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of...

And to be clear the recommendations are the exact opposite of current policy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works

Edited by Ridgemont on Friday 21st February 01:49

The work they do is as much about dealing with rainfall as it is fending off the sea.

[Garvin]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

She doesn't need to - every bit of st comes out of her mouth!

[Halb]

markyb_lcy said:

Well, Portillo stole the show on that one too, I'll let his words speak for themselves but point being that there is no plan or innovation from this government or previous ones on how infrastructure can be improved in future to mitigate this stuff for the people who suffer of it.

I think I was saying the same in a chat I had this week with people.

[Ridgemont]

hidetheelephants said:

Ridgemont said:

Wiki on it for those interested:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Sea_flood_of...

And to be clear the recommendations are the exact opposite of current policy.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works

Edited by Ridgemont on Friday 21st February 01:49

The work they do is as much about dealing with rainfall as it is fending off the sea.

I don’t disagree but that’s not what the Delta Works programme in the 50s (and what Portillo was alluding to in his grandes projet comment) was.

[Andy Zarse]

Dont like rolls said:

Andy Zarse said:

It’s fair enough for her to have a pop at Bozza. It’s her job after all.

I find her exactly what I want from a reasonable Labour MP. She is quite unlike the usual grizzly commies and shrill sharp-tongued termagants who normally represent Labour on QT.

So, you want a less shrill but still without anything positive or constructive to put forward.....bless her little bed socks.

Exactly. If we had Labour people putting forward positive ideas then they’d stand a chance of being elected. And then where would we be?

[Bonefish Blues]

hidetheelephants said:

Ridgemont said:

Total common sense from portillo on license fee.

Quite. Portillo for DG!

I can't help but feel that he is wasted if he doesn't take at least some form of office. The irony is that he's exactly what the BBC might need to survive and prosper.

[markyb_lcy]

Andy Zarse said:

Exactly. If we had Labour people putting forward positive ideas then they’d stand a chance of being elected. And then where would we be?

I think we'd be in a better place if ALL sides were to put together more positive ideas in lieu of elections.

Too much of electioneering seems to be based on "pick us because the other side are bad".

[Andy Zarse]

markyb_lcy said:

Andy Zarse said:

Exactly. If we had Labour people putting forward positive ideas then they’d stand a chance of being elected. And then where would we be?

I think we'd be in a better place if ALL sides were to put together more positive ideas in lieu of elections.

Too much of electioneering seems to be based on "pick us because the other side are bad".

My tongue was firmly in my cheek with that comment. Agree completely we need credible opposition to make our democracy function properly. Neither Lab nor Lib are providing it.

[Murph7355]

Bonefish Blues said:

hidetheelephants said:

Ridgemont said:

Total common sense from portillo on license fee.

Quite. Portillo for DG!

I can't help but feel that he is wasted if he doesn't take at least some form of office. The irony is that he's exactly what the BBC might need to survive and prosper.

Totally agree.

His comment last night was something I hadn't considered but that was absolutely on the money. I was of the view that this might be the last BBC charter and that things would change radically in 2027. But he may well be right that it will change out of their control well before then.

Streaming services 7yrs ago were nothing really. Now look.

Always had a lot of time for Portillo on TW. BBCs biggest cockup was letting that show go. They'd have been better off giving it QTs slot and binning off QT...or having AN run QT with Portillo as a perma-guest

[markyb_lcy]

Murph7355 said:

Always had a lot of time for Portillo on TW. BBCs biggest cockup was letting that show go. They'd have been better off giving it QTs slot and binning off QT...or having AN run QT with Portillo as a perma-guest

This Week was terrible, but in a really great way that it knew is was terrible and was therefore a format for a half decent debate. I also miss it immensely.