Sunday 12 January 2020

Introduction



And what, pray, was Andrew Marr shouting?
Good morning. On the surface, ordinary political life has now resumed. Parliament is back, Prime Minister's Questions are back. The Brexit bill is through by 99 votes. All the boil and froth and bubble of late last year, the battles between Number Ten and the Supreme Court, the endless agonies of indecision in the Commons - that's all now behind us. But to call this business as usual would be wrong. Boris Johnson has a formidable task in drawing up a new trade agreement with the EU ahead of him. There is a real Royal crisis. While the shattered opposition still has to regroup, find a new leader and a new way ahead. Apologies, therefore, if you'd hoped it was all going quiet. On this blowy Sunday morning it is as wild as ever.  [Really?]
Today, we hear at last from one of the other EU countries as the negotiations begin. Fresh from Northern Ireland, where the Stormont Assembly reconvened yesterday, Simon Coveney, Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, joins us live from Cork. ["We hear at last"? Simon Coveney is quite the regular on the AM show. This is his 6th appearance.]
Here in London, the Tory Security Minister Brandon Lewis will be reflecting on what EU negotiations mean for our safety, and we may mention Harry and Meghan as well. ["Tory". Will the angle be that Brexit will harm our safety?]
And fighting for survival in the Labour leadership contest, I'll be talking to the Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry. She has a little over 24 hours to find the MP nominations she needs to progress. 
And the film star James McAvoy has been telling me why he's been wooed away from Hollywood by the ultimate romantic play - a radical reboot of Cyrano do Bergerac. 
On the news front, Alison Phillips, editor of the Daily Mirror and Amanda Platell of the Daily Mail, on a momentous morning. ["A momentous morning". Am I missing something?]
All of that coming up soon. But first, the news with Rachel Burden.

4 comments:

  1. From .parliament.uk, Brandon Lewis:

    'He currently holds the Government post of Minister of State (Home Office)'.

    Why should Marr give Brandon Lewis an incorrect title?

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    Replies
    1. Why should he call him a "Tory" in a formal-ish introduction either, when there is advice on that from the BBC (ie presenters shouldn't got "straight to Tory")?

      Delete
  2. Does Marr write novels or at least some form of fictional drama? He was getting a bit carried away there.

    He's backsliding on the terminology. For a while he did take heed of the need to use 'Conservative' - I noticed it in that awful 'interview' with the PM.

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  3. But first, the news.... VERY many thanks for that.

    ReplyDelete

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