Didn't see the caption

A five and a half minute section of (17:21 - 22: 53) yesterday’s Politics Live covered Lisa Forbes’s election. Initially, Faiza Shaheen defended Forbes’s Tweet, using the “She didn’t notice the caption” defence. When that wouldn’t wash she tried a bit of whataboutery. What about Islamophobia? she said. Then, what about Ann Widdecombe? 

Just a minute, who IS Faiza Shaheen and why is she always on the Beeb? Okay, she’s a Labour Party candidate who only joined the party after JC was elected; she’s after Ian Duncan Smith’s seat and the Guardian newspaper calls her a "rising star" campaigner.

You know when your kids do that thing when they think you’re being annoying and stupid? Mine used to, and I know all their mates did it a lot. They’d push their tongue in front of their bottom teeth to make their lower lip look ‘monkey’ and go ‘ugh’?  

Shaheen is grown up, but she reminded me of Kevin the Teenager, gurning like billy-oh, especially when it came to the bit about Ann Widdecombe.

Disgusting reaction by the Brexit Party to blatant homophobia within their party.
Props to @faizashaheen for being so patient throughout it all pic.twitter.com/1mgwUYZceC

— Ben McGowan (@BenMcGowan_) June 7, 2019

 This lady is said to have studied at Oxford so you’d think she might have at least learned to speak proper. What grievance has the Labour Party got against the le’er T?

Incidentally, this caught my eye, because it happened in my neck of the woods. The good people of the far south-west have no-platformed Widdy. The most exasperating thing about all this OTT hooha is that she wasn’t advocating ’cures’ for homosexuality in the first place.

These days reporting often ignores inconvenient facts and verges on ‘reductio ad absurdum’.  It seems to be par for the course.  Someone says something, (it could be anything at all) about a controversial subject, and some god-forsaken reporter will reinterpret it to slot into their own prejudice. 

One day, science could invent a cure for this.

Back Through the Looking Glass

One of the founders of Scientists for (the) EU, Dr. Mike Galsworthy, certainly galled the BBC's Chris Mason this morning.

The Labour-supporting academic had tweeted, "Labour win in Peterborough! Who is BBC Radio 4' s Today interviewing right now? The winner? No... they have Nigel Farage on. This is *the* top radio spot. I’ve had enough of the BBC. They promote him when he wins. They promote him when he loses."

Chris Mason replied, "This is Twitter at its pathetic worst , Mike Galsworthy. Craving retweets in an echo chamber. Here are the facts: narrowly defeated party leader on BBC Radio 4' s Today at 07:10. Shadow cabinet minister from winning party on at 08:10."

And the 08:10 spot is actually *the* top radio spot - and has been for decades - not 07:10. 

Maybe Dr. Mike should get his tweets peer-reviewed before sending them out?

Actually, Nigel Farage was in third place in the traditional Today pecking order. The third-placed party in Peterborough, the Conservatives, did better and got second place on Today with the 07:30 spot. (Are you still following me?)

Meanwhile Labour peer Baroness (Joan) Bakewell also had a beef with the BBC. She chipped in on the same thread alleging sexism on the Corporation's part for not having Lisa Forbes on Today: "But where’s the winner?  Oh, she’s a woman!".

As someone swiftly replied though, "I would imagine she was probably in bed, having been up most of the night."

Indeed. And as we know from Sue, she was soon up and back on the BBC facing Andrew Neil. 

Ah, Dr. Mike and Dame Joan! Seriously, maybe it's time for the BBC to revive The Brains Trust yet again. As when it was last revived, Dame Joan could be its presenter, and its panellists should be Dr. Mike Galsworthy, Professor A.C. Grayling, Paul Mason, Dr Heinz Kiosk and Ash Sarkar. How about it BBC?

Nice try

Peterborough's new MP trys (sic) to convince herself that she hasn't got an antisemitic bone in her body.