Tonight's episode of Question Time came from Glasgow and the guests were Liam Byrne (Labour), Baroness Warsi (Conservative), Julia Goldsworthy (LibDem), Alex Salmond (SNP) and Sir Martin Sorrell (a top businessman, apparently).
Darling: Labour cuts will be deeper than cuts under Thatcher
When pushed by David Dimbleby, Liam Byrne admitted that - yes - Labour cuts are going to have to be deeper than any cuts imposed by Thatcher. Sorrell said that the detail on where cuts will fall should have been in the Budget statement. He got a huge round of applause when he accused all of the political parties of treating the public as if we were imbeciles and idiotic through holding back detail of where cuts might fall. Baroness Warsi noted that the amount we're paying on debt interest alone is more than the entire defence budget. Alex Salmond says Darling has shot Labour "in the foot, head, and every appendage of the body." Julia Goldsworthy tried to project an image of the Libdems being different, trying to assert that they were setting out details of where cuts would fall... then rapidly proceeded to not actually give us any of that detail, bar mentioning Trident.
Strikes
The question here was whether the Government would survive the waves of strikes that are washing over the country. Liam Byrne - intentionally or unintentionally - made the quote of the day here. He said: "I think the Government will survive until an election is called." - this left Dimbleby with the easy tap-in goal of "...and not after."
On a more serious level, Alex Salmond warned of the massive economic damage to Britain of the imminent rail strikes.
A member of the studio audience called Liam Byrne to order for making comparisons with industrial relations under Thatcher when, actually, the masses of strikes under the end of the last Labour Government are perhaps more relevant to reflect upon.
Lobbygate
Liam Byrne kept talking about the 'people' and 'politicians' caught out in the Channel Four Dispatches programme, failing to mention that it was LABOUR politicians who had been mired in sleaze in the centre of the scandal.
Sorrell expressed the view that power, over long periods of time, does corrupt.
Salmond pointed out that non-disclosure of interests in the Scottish Parliament is a criminal act. He also said that if the claims made to the Dispatches programme by Stephen Byers were not true, then he had been trying to claim money under false pretences and - either way - he was sunk. He added that the fact politicians had been caught out so easily in an obvious sting demonstrated that they were too stupid to be hired by anybody.
Warsi received a big round of applause from the studio audience when she demanded, via Liam Byrne, an inquiry into the affair. She repeatedly asked how long the Cabinet Secretary's inquiry had taken, asking whether it was "twenty minutes". To derision, Byrne replied saying it was "very quick".
For her part, Julia Goldsworthy kept trying to finger the Conservatives constantly. She denied trying to take the high moral ground on the issue... moments after David Dimbleby gave examples of where the LibDems possibly had no moral high ground to stand on.
Leader debates - an affront to democracy?
Alex Salmond pointed out that the change in name from 'Leader Debates' to 'Prime Ministerial Debates' was a late change and it was, he said, made to justify excluding smaller parties such as the SNP and Plaid Cymru.
Much merriment here in the Clock Tower when everyone started questioning whether Nick Clegg was a legitimate participant in 'Prime Ministerial Debates' if their purpose was to gauge genuine candidates to be next Prime Minister.
Israeli Diplomat Expulsion
Before we write up this bit, can we carefully say that this is not the opinion of this blogger. Please watch the BBC programme and see we're only repeating what was said...
There was large applause for a member of the studio audience who said that Israel was a 'terrorist state going round killing people'.
Alex Salmond said that any action against Israel must amount to more than just a 'diplomatic dance'.
The panel - our ratings
Liam Byrne (Labour): Was he even trying to defend the indefensible party that he represents? We think not. 1/12
Baroness Warsi (Conservative): How many times has she been on this show as the Conservative representative recently? Is she the only Conservative politician left in the country? Perhaps someone in the BBC or the Conservative party could explain that one to us? Anyway, despite that, she made some very good contributions. Forceful at times without being too over the top. 7/12
Julia Goldsworthy (LibDem): There has been talk of a Lib-Con pact in the event of a hung parliament. Based on Goldsworthy's contributions, one would be forgiven for thinking there is a left wing conspiracy - a pact between Labour and the LibDems - to slag the Conservatives off at every opportunity. What Goldsworthy needs to realise is that the Conservatives have not been in power since 1997. It's Labour who are in Government. And if she doesn't know that... 4/12
Alex Salmond (SNP): A strong solid performance. Liked what he had to say and the way he said it. Insightful with just about the right blend and mix of political quips and digs. A job well done. 9/12
Sir Martin Sorrell: Had been doing okay, right up until the time that David Dimbleby started asking about LobbyGate, at which point, this blogger lowered our rating for him. 5/12
Viewers in the UK can watch this edition of Question Time on BBC i-Player by clicking HERE.
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