Diane Abbott

www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/labours-diane-abbott-stumped-on-police-officer-policy-in-car-crash-live-interview-a3528136.html

In case you missed it.
Jeremy Corbyn was probably hoping most people had.

Some posters on here probably were, too!

I can't stand the woman and shudder every time she puts in an appearance on Question Time, Andrew Marr or any other political programme.

Her patronising voice gets on my nerves.

Yesterday's performance was unbelievable.

Could her selection and persistence as shadow home sec have anything to do with the fact that she was previously Corbyn's lover - or is it un-PC to mention this?

She is clearly incompetent and irritating, and even Corbyn must be able to see this - so why not ditch her? There must be some reason.

For a professional politician to do an interview so unprepared smacks of incompetence. Did she really think she wasn't going to be asked these sort of questions? All politicians have staff to help them, did they not brief her or did she just decide to ignore them.

I listened to that cringe worthy interview yesterday and felt even more sure that I could not vote for this band of amateurs at the forthcoming election. Promising wage rises, more of this, that and the other without the foggiest clue where the money will come from. That interview promising 30,000 or was it 10,000 or even 300,0000 more police officers costing £30,000 or was it £30,000,000 or even £80,000,000 just made me shudder with the fear that this band of idiots could potentially run the country.

.....and to make it worse JC even defended her.

Luckygirl - perhaps, as my dad used to say, she knows where the bodies are buried! (knows some secret he wouldn't want revealed).

In one word "no" she should have been on top of her brief and anticipated that the costings of such a proposal would be raised, particularly as she was being interviewed by Nick Ferrari. Her voice does my head in, she seems to appear on QT more than anyone else when we get the full gamut of her mannerisms, eye rolling, (which always puts me in mind of the young girl in "The Exorcist") slow deliberate speech as if she were addressing an inattentive truculant reception class of 4/5 year olds. She is without doubt one of the most sanctimonious, self serving, hypocritical MPs of her generation.

When did "misspoke" become a word?

Oh come on it was one mistake. OK she shouldn't have made it, but she should have (as all MPs do) an assistant who keeps her briefed. I do wonder who should have briefed her? Why was the interview filmed? And why is one mistake about a party that isn't in power being given so much press when the mistakes a government makes in its budget and other matters is swiftly glossed over. Political bias or what?

When did "misspoke" become a word?

It will when Ian Hislop and Paul Merton get hold of it, TerriBull

And why is one mistake about a party that isn't in power being given so much press

Could it be to make sure they stay where they are?

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

You might think so merlotgran I couldn't possibly comment

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 )

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.)

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

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.

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.