BBC.co.uk

Talk about Newsnight

A blog and forum.

Monday, 25 September, 2006

  • Newsnight
  • 25 Sep 06, 05:50 PM

brown1_203.jpgJeremy Paxman is at the Labour Party conference – he sat through the Chancellor’s speech today, as did Martha Kearney who reports on it for Monday’s programme. Also, Frank Luntz brings us the results of his most recent focus group for Newsnight; and Steve Smith takes a look at some watercolours that have been attributed to Adolf Hitler.

Comment on Monday’s programme here.

Disturbance levels

  • David Grossman
  • 25 Sep 06, 05:34 PM

Students of labour trivia will instantly notice that Cherie’s alleged comment (“that’s a lie”) is exactly the same phrase as that octogenarian peace protester Walter Wolfgang shouted at Jack Straw last year. You’ll remember his fate. The Labour party membership has rather taken him to their hearts and voted him onto the ruling National Executive Committee.

So why wasn’t Cherie slung out by Labour stewards this year? Well apart from being the wife of the PM, this year Labour has a far more nuanced approach to crowd control. We understand there are five levels of disturbance, each of which will elicit a different grade of response. I don’t know what they are, but here’s a guess:

Level 1 – looking bored
Level 2 – eating crisps or other noisy food
Level 3 – booing
Level 4 – swearing
Level 5 – suggesting Gordon Brown may not have the electoral appeal to win Labour a fourth term.

Whatever happens I can't see Cherie being the membership's choice for the NEC next year.

How now Brown crowd?

  • David Grossman
  • 25 Sep 06, 03:30 PM

cherie1_203.jpgHas Cherie stolen the show? – I can report the press here in a bit of a frenzy looking for Cherie Blair – it appears she has taken Gordon’s speech a bit badly. Especially the bit where he described how well TB and GB worked together.

“That’s a lie!” said Cherie as she headed for the exit of the hall.

There is an alternative version from Downing Street that Cherie really said “can I get by?”

Take your pick. Or are both versions wrong? What else might everyone’s favourite human rights QC have said as she left the hall?

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites