More changes at Downing Street, as afternoon lobby briefings are replaced with televised Q&A sessions. But who will be the experienced broadcaster that leads them? @HMTAllegra is the 5/1 market leader:
Can anyone seriously imagine Andrew Marr becoming a Conservative Government's spokesperson? Don't forget this role is taking questions from the media on behalf of the Government. I think there's a bit of confusion about what the job actually is.
Can anyone seriously imagine Andrew Marr becoming a Conservative Government's spokesperson? Don't forget this role is taking questions from the media on behalf of the Government. I think there's a bit of confusion about what the job actually is.
In that case David Mitchell and Lee Mack must surely be in contention.
I’ve taken a step back from politics recently as it is just an extra unnecessary stress on my life that I don’t need right now.
But surely, oh surely, this won’t be a good idea. I mean, don’t get me wrong, the idea (as a whole) when you first hear it makes you think “wow, more transparency and less ‘a government source has said’” but if you dig deeper into it, will it really work?
A. Having one host being the face of the government on a (daily?) basis will mount a lot of political pressure on them. So much so I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a new one employed every month. Imagine being a singular figure having to deal with the press, for example, during the Cummings argument.
B. Could this result in less “exclusive interview with the prime minister” interviews on programmes? It’s could become an excuse, an excuse used by ministers for avoiding interviews on programmes such as Newsnight, GMB and Today. As I refrain from my own political views as I post this, are the press really going to be able to do “world class” journalism with somebody who previously (probably not this precise job role) was known for presenting a show about why grass is green?
C. Clearly this won’t go out on One or Two, so it’s going to be (dumped) on News Channels of which, hardly represent a variety of the general public. Isn’t it going to be head doing? Hearing the same person every single day be forced to read their pre-prepared answers that they are limited to saying certain things on behalf of the democratically elected individuals of Her Majesty's Loyal Government.
D. Finally, no matter who is in charge, it would be difficult for these conferences to not turn into a hour long party political broadcast. Assuming there isn’t a pandemic on-going, and assuming there isn’t any other sort of crisis going on, what else are they going to say. Will the briefings be suspended during election campaigns to avoid possible interference.
I don’t buy the whole idea. It works in the US, but I don’t think it will here.
Remember this new briefing will be replacing / in addition to (it's a bit unclear at the moment) the two daily briefings that are currently done on-the-record between the press and the government. The new idea here isn't the having a daily briefing, but to allow it to be broadcast in a TV friendly manner.
Personally, I'm expecting it to be an excuse to reduce the other briefings and to reduce the opportunity for follow up questions from the press (sorry, we're running short of time now).
More changes at Downing Street, as afternoon lobby briefings are replaced with televised Q&A sessions. But who will be the experienced broadcaster that leads them? @HMTAllegra is the 5/1 market leader:
