Diane Abbott

With talent such as Yvette Cooper, Chuka Umunna, Michael Dughan and others (even Ed Balls!) to call on why does the Labour campaign wheel on choose someone like Diane Abbott to score an own goal?
I understand that many of these Labour politicians have refused to serve in the Shadow Cabinet under Corbyn. I wonder if their decision would have been the same had they predicted this premature General Election.

Nothing to do with 'advisors' Annie the word I used is 'aide' you should know with your wide association with politicians that they all have these. Usually young people who are just starting a career. Often they field phone calls, gather information and step in if an MP is unable to make a meeting because they are held up in the House. You must have encountered some. They also keep the info politicians need for interviews and brief beforehand.
So what everyone wants is a slick presentation and not good policies. Well I hate to mention it again but there was one person in history who did this very well!

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/05/02/diane-abbott-forced-watch-excruciating-interview-live-tv/

I don't know if this link does it, but DO look at last night's Daily Politics show, if not here, then on BBC iPlayer.
She not only got it all wrong, but her claims that she "got the figures right" in her other interviews were clearly false.
Perhaps her "advisers" did not brief her properly, but the proverbial buck stops with the Shadow Home Secretary. That is her job.
And what other Labour MPs or supporters must be thinking when JC blithely gives her his 100% support , well you just wonder.

I'm glad this happened actually. It might bring a bit of humanity into her soul. She is so scathing about others, and so self-righteous and smug, that hopefully this might bring her down a peg or two. We all make mistakes,but this was inexcusable in someone who is meant to be in charge of such important things if Labour should somehow happen to get elected .. pigs might fly!

trisher whether the aides failed to brief her or not - she knew what she was going to say, she should have had the foresight to know she would be asked the cost and then ensure the aides had given her the information she needed. We heard papers rustling so obviously the information was in there, perhaps she hadn't read the briefing notes properly. It seems when politicians get things wrong the automatic response is to blame someone further down the pecking order. If you want power and authority then you must accept that the buck stops with you.

I felt quite sorry for her,but there is no denying that this was more than a slip of the tongue, which lets face it we all do from time to time! I think it might have been better had she admitted her error instead of trying to cover it up with, mispeeking(?!!) too many interviews, which as a senior member of the shadow cabinet is surely her job, and perhaps being a tad less defensive, almost blaming someone else.

"More or Less" is on quite regularly and repeated at various times. You can find previous editions on i-player via search. There are 170 editions available.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qshd/broadcasts/upcoming

This recent one tests some of Boris Johnson's utterances.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p050nqjq

Surely as such a close friend and supporter of Corbyn and shadow Home Secretary she was involved in the discussions or do advisors make all the desicions and then advise Corbyn what he will be announcing the next day?

Advisors advise, leaders lead

Oh come on does anyone seriously believe that politicians are absolutely informed about every aspect of costs and policy? They have aides who brief them and provide them with the information they need and pass it to them at appropriate times. The question is who should have been giving this to Abbott and why didn't they? Someone is obviously for the high jump, I just wonder if another little job in another party will be waiting for them.
And yes MawBroon it was filmed- a radio interview perhaps but footage there for all the news programmes.

PS. When's "More or Less" on? It sounds interesting. It should be mainstream!

Phoenix puts me in mind of my 3 year old grandson when I asked him how old he was he said "half past 3"

I agree with you, varian. My DS is studing a degree in politics at Leeds Uni and has opted to do a course in statistics for humanities students, although his maths is better then most.

My big bugbear is that people don't understand the word "average" and its potential for manipulation. Even Michael Gove didn't when he told a select committee that he wantedall 11 year olds to achieve above average standards.

There was some rustling of papers to be heard, but she obviously couldn't find the relevant bit.

Is she had replied to a question with "a pound of haddock, a small loaf and a pint of semi skimmed" I would not have been surprised.

I don't think Diane Abbott is the only politician who is functionally innumerate. The English education system often lets those aiming for arts/humanities/law degrees to abandon maths at an early age. Diane Abbott studied history.

I am often appalled at the innumeracy demonstrated by commentators and journalists as well. Often they do not seem to have a basic grasp of fundamental concepts like percentages. They will accept and quote ridiculous figures without asking "does that seem reasonable? Is that figure even in the right ball-park?" Unfortunately this also applies to quite a lot of voters. Hence the unquestioning acceptance of nonsense like the £350m on the bus.

"More or Less" is a brilliant programme on Radio 4, which a lot of people might learn from, but I suspect it is probably mainly maths nerds like me who bother to tune in and think about how we should always question statistics.

Yes I look forward to that Merlotgran.

Is Natalie Bennett still around? She did an interview in the same vein in the run up to the last election in which she stated, if I remember rightly, that it was the Greens intention to pay everyone something in the region of £71 whether they needed it or not, but seemed a triffle flumoxed when questioned how such a grandiose scheme could be financed. I felt all warm and fuzzy at the thought of her magnanamity ( is that a word or have I misspoke However, regretfully I must descend from Planet La La Land now back to earth and get myself to Sainsburys. Sadly not passing and Go and picking up £71

PS was it filmed?
My understanding was that it was a live radio interview (for which she could have had her notes, facts and figure in front of her.)

If Labour wins this election, I'll go and live in a cave and eat worms for the rest of my life.

The best Labour can hope for is to hang on to as many seats as possible and hope the LDs pick up a few (and not from Labour), although the predictions are that it will be no more than 20.

It's up to the Labour Party to decide what to do. There are some very good MPs sitting on Labour back benches.

With a small overall majority and Conservatives, who don't like her, May is constrained in what she can do. My only hope is that she doesn't get the blank cheque she wants.

That is where the Labour Party seems to be shooting itself in the foot. Both are highly able people, yet instead of keeping talent "on side" both seem to have have been sacrificed on the altar of far Left-wing ideology.

Michael Dugher and Ed Balls aren't standing in the election.

Oh dear! Is this the standard of our MPs? Their lack of knowledge and belief they can talk their way out of a problem rather than be straightforward and honest seems to all too common

They may not be in power but they may be come June. She is shadow Home Secretary hoping to be Home Secretary,

You ask why was it filmed? You think it was known in advanced she didn't know the answers to those questions ?

Not political bias , it was a shadow Home Secretary who made an almighty cock up, she didn't know the answers, how many police, costs for these extra police, why would she need briefing on these questions? Were they not discussed before being announced ?

Are they trying so desperately to bring out a new proposal every morning they are not thnking further than next day headlines i

She is so patronising I cant bear to listen to the self important woman.
I think she has the negatives on Corbyn.

trisher it wasn't just "one" mistake!!
She compounded it by getting deeper and deeper into some parallel universe of her own invention
When in a hole, it is best........ etc etc
(If it hadn't been a morning interview one might have wondered if she had been tired and emotional )

You might think so merlotgran I couldn't possibly comment

trisher It wasn't just the mistake it was because she obviously had no idea how much the policy she was talking about would cost. If she had said the wrong figure and then corrected herself and said the right figure that would have been OK, instead she stumbled gave various figures and even then didn't give the correct one, that was left to JC in a later interview