I was only half listening to David Davis talking to John Humphrys this morning because I was reading an absorbing piece on the iPad at the same time (more of which later.)
I don’t have time to listen again, so I hope I’m not being too presumptuous in making a wild guess, which is that they mentioned Theresa May’s “blackmail”.
I’m no businessman, but I understood that negotiations generally consist of bartering, i.e., pitting “things you’ve got” against “things they want,” and vice versa. This also includes withholding ‘things you’ve got” unless or until your bargaining partner reciprocates, so to christen this ‘blackmail’ seems gratuitously hostile.
However, that’s by-the-by. (I love old-fashioned phrases that no-one uses in conversation) I did wonder, though, why the BBC thought it necessary to bring on Laura Kuenssberg after the interview to reinterpret it for us.
I think Laura Kuenssberg is a smart cookie. I saw her on the Daily Politics yesterday giving a summary of what the EU is up against in global terms, which indicates that she’s got her head screwed on ok. But the fact that every political utterance ever made on the BBC has to be filtered through the prism of Ms. K. seems wrong. In other words, she’s… I don’t know….. unelected.
I suppose this observation applies also to Faisal Islam on Sky too.
What are we, Dumb?
Yes, it's like having a theatre critic come on at the end of Macbeth and tell you what you've just seen.
ReplyDeleteOne point to note: earlier this week the BBC were telling us in no uncertain terms that there was no way a trade deal could be concluded within 2 years. We hear the usual guff about 5-7 years...
However, May's government has made fully clear they intend to conclude the deal within 2 years (and why on earth would they make concessions on payments, EU migrant status etc without such a deal being in place). Yes, there may be an implementation phase, but that will be to our advantage in my view.
If the political will is there, all they have to do is cut and paste the existing free trade agreements with S Korea, Canada, EFTA and Switzerland. Not so difficult really. Clearly the political will is there on the UK's side, it's simply a question of whether the EU also wishes to reach an amicable agreement.
She's so smart that she knew she could get away with wearing black nail polish in solidarity with the anti-Article 50 campaign yesterday. I have a screenshot.
ReplyDeleteLaura Kuenssberg serves a useful function. She is undoubtedly a very bright woman, but she is also the personification of everything that is wrong with the BBC’s coverage of news and current affairs - a living example of the contempt the corporation has for the intelligence of their “loyal audience”.
ReplyDelete