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  • Newsnight
  • 6 Nov 07, 05:42 PM

Queen's Speech

queen3_203.jpgGordon Brown is hailing his first Queen's Speech as "the next step forward for a stronger, fairer Britain". There'll be bills to raise the school leaving age to 18 - build three million more homes - and allow more flexible working for parents with older children.
The most contentious proposal will involve terrorism, with ministers considering doubling the limit when suspects can be held without charge from 28 days to 56. The Conservative leader, David Cameron, has said the government's new legislative programme - outlined by the Queen during the State Opening of Parliament - shows that Gordon Brown has "nothing new to offer".

Michael Crick and David Grossman will be examining if this adds up to a new vision for Britain. And we'll be discussing the key policies with senior politicians from all three parties.

Spin

Michael will also have some intriguing new developments in a spinning row involving Downing Street and schools that thought they'd feature in a speech by the Prime Minister.

Credit Crunch

The Governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has warned of further shocks in the banking sector following the run on savings at Northern Rock. He also said it will be months before the full extent of the financial losses resulting from the downturn in the American mortgage market will be known. Following Northern Rock the Queen's speech addresses the issue of deposit guarantees but can Gordon Brown do anything to reduce our exposure to the credit crunch? Paul Mason is on the case.

US elections

The 2008 American Presidential election is considered one of the most wide open races in nearly a century. With 17 candidates, no obvious frontrunners, and the country at war, voters there have a great deal to consider. Residents of a small town in Virginia are already grappling with the issues that will drive them to the polls one year from today. Washington correspondent, Matt Frei takes us there, with the first in a series of reports.

Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 06:13 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • Mike - Northumberland wrote:

Queens Speech - when do we get the detail, the home of the socialist devil, and how much is it going to cost us this time?

  • 2.
  • At 07:01 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • hillsideboy wrote:

I would challenge your statement that the most controversial item in the forthcoming Queen's speech is the proposed increased in detaining terror suspects - this should only affect potential troublemakers. Conversely, we shall all suffer from the building of over 3 million more houses, and the other effects on our public services and English way of life due to overcrowding and environmental damage.
In the debate on 'jobs for British workers' has it not been shown that work expands to fit the population available? During my period of peacetime National Service, we were all fully employed making work for each other; now we are making work for an influx of millions.

  • 3.
  • At 07:50 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • Timothy Mullen wrote:

Moving away from the Queen's Speech, most of which we knew about earlier this year, and welcoming the fact that you are actuall aware of the existence of American politics, I would dispute the assertion that there is "no obvious front runner" in the Presidential race. It is clear that Senator Hillary Clinton is the overwhelming favourite to gain the Democratic Party nomination, and Mayor Rudy Giuliani likely to edge Governor Mitt Romney for the Republican nomination.

Polls show Senator Clinton narrowly beating Mayor Giuliani, and comfortably beating Governor Romney, therefore she is a clear front runner.

I hope Matt Frei makes clear which Virginia county he is in, and whether it is one of those Northern counties that have been trended Democratic in recent years, making the State "in play" in 2008.

  • 4.
  • At 10:46 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • Benedict Davey wrote:

THE NEW VISION FOR BRITAIN..POSTCODE SHARES? AND ADVANTAGES TAXES?

Imagine a world with no economic influence only progressive investment ..with no MPs only brokers supporting your post code area ....

A world where all government buildings have been repossessed ...because accountants knew what were owed

A world where you have a share the future ..without hostilities or loss...without misrepresentation or enforcement...

A world where you can explore every opportunity and potential...

A world where you always have your own point of view ...your own investment thinking and representation without the need to think of others except those you wish to support...

Post code Shares and Advantage Taxes...many are calling brokers and bankers to discuss the future where all council taxes income taxes and inheritance taxes are discounted for progressive advantage and increasing representation in your home area ...

The vision of the future is not inward in fear ..it is forward to the future...

It is not a life of socialist risk... but of progressive plans and opportunities...

It is not a prejudice movement..but a customer opportunities movement...

Not history ..but workability...Not feelings ...but investments...... Not New prejudice but new possibilities ...not new fears ..but new Britain!!

The vision of the future is yours ...not theirs...a world where MPs are arrested and Britain is ours again...

BCD TLC...


  • 5.
  • At 11:33 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • Moral Hazard wrote:

Culpepper: Most Americans are weird as tonight's survey amply demonstrated. Why is that, when most of them are descended from Europeans? The conclusion is it must be something in the environment rather than the genes.

Credit Crunch: We are told that interest rates will go down but no-one else will be able to borrow any money? I suppose that's good for those who have already borrowed at variable rates.

Chris Hune: Looked and sounded quite sensible tonight in comparison with the other two guests.


  • 6.
  • At 11:46 PM on 06 Nov 2007,
  • Philip Maycock wrote:

Your item on the Opposition parties' reaction to the Queen's Speech bore some similarities to an earlier, controversial, feature involving Her Majesty. The extracts showing David Cameron's comments in the House were from an earlier Prime Minister's Question Time (following the cancellation of the non-existant Election), not showing his reaction to the Queen's Speech today. Is this another case of dishonesty in the interest of a better story? "Don't let the truth get in the way etc....."

  • 7.
  • At 12:04 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • Liam Frost wrote:

Did Matt Frei really expect viewers to believe that his 'small-town America' interviews were representative of Americans as a whole. When Paxman asked why he chose the town he replied that Virginia was a swing state. Yes, Virginia did indeed vote for a Democratic Senator in 2006, but that was only after the Republican front-runner was caught making a racist remark. The Democratic Senator, Jim Webb is a right of the centre war veteran illustrating Virginia's right wing tendencies. I think Matt Frei didn't fancy travelling too far from his Washington home.

Mr Frei also expects us to believe that Hillary Clinton is inevitable as the Democratic candidate yet he failed to mention her disastrous performance in the debate last week and that Obama is only four points behind in Iowa(where it matters).

This was journalism at its poorest.

Thoroughly brilliant Jeremy (35/10) tonight, particularly with the threesome of James Purnell, Francis Maude & Chris Huhne with the corkers " the speaker fell asleep during Gordon Brown's speech" and "it was a pudding" :-). Michael C and Jeremy are always great to watch!

Moral Hazard (5),

"Culpepper: Most Americans are weird as tonight's survey amply demonstrated. Why is that, when most of them are descended from Europeans?"

From the profile of those featured, it would seem so, but I wonder if any of the folk from 'across the tracks' will end up 'in shot'?

I actually know Culpeper, and neighbouring Orange even better, and you can find different folk working in the kitchens and doing 'yardwork'.

Races in Culpeper:

* White Non-Hispanic (68.5%)
* Black (23.7%)
* Hispanic (4.6%)
* Other race (2.0%)
* Two or more races (1.9%)
* American Indian (0.8%)
* Asian Indian (0.7%)

A bit like the British form of electoral 'democracy', where something like a truly representative sample is taken as such.....

Salaam/Shalom/Shanthi/Dorood/Peace
Namaste -ed

The Angels want to wear my red shoes.
-- E. Costello

  • 10.
  • At 01:15 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • wrote:

UNlike, I should've typed, but yo'all knew that didn't you?
xx
#ed

  • 11.
  • At 02:30 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • Mark wrote:

"Most Americans are weird." Of course who is weird depends on which side of the looking glass the world you inhabit is on. To the creatures on the other side, Alice was the weird one. All this goes to say that American civilization and mentality is very different from Europe's including Britain's. Americans do not generally think along the same lines as Europeans. It's not the water, it's the perspective...and the culture...and the history. First generation Americans no matter where they come from, what their attitudes, or how long they live in the US are rarely fully assimilated. Their children born in the US don't have to be, they are assimilated from birth. Except for their names, their physical appearance, and their preferences for food, they are indistinguishable in questons of nationality in every regard even to each other. This may be hard for Europeans to believe but take my word for it as a third generation American.

America's national elections are a year away. In US politics, that's a lifetime. Almost anything can happen between now and then. Think of where the process stood exactly four years ago a year prior to the last election and what happened between that time and the election itself and you will see what I mean. I laughed when 主播大秀 gave extensive coverage to the first debate among candidates in the Democratic party. Can anyone still remember anything any of them said? American politics is also very different from Europe's but that is hardly surprising, everything about American government is different. Someone will always come up with a small town somewhere which voted with a winner 101 times out of the last 100 elections. This of course has no bearing on whether it will vote with the majority next time. (This is an old con game that can be used to fool people into believing you are a stock picking genius. Write to 16 people telling 8 a particular stock will go up, 8 it will go down. Then write to the 8 who got the correct prediction telling 4 it will go up, 4 it will go down. By the time you get to the one which got a correct guess every time, they just might pay big for your next bit of advice.) I think one of the reasons 主播大秀 is so obsessed with America in general and its politics in particular other than its obvious intense jealousy is that Britian is boring. Whenever I watch British politicians talk or give interviews, or debate two thoughts come to my mind; who cares and will I be able to stay awake to the end of it. Even Prime Minsister's question time is starting to wear thin. I do miss "booming" Betty Boothroyd though. AWDA! AWDA! We'd all like to hear what the Prime Minister has to say????

  • 12.
  • At 04:46 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • the cookie ducker wrote:

Was James Purnell actually in the studio?
Having to work late means i have to watch newsnight on my laptop, its not the best way to view it but its better than nothing.. yes, i really do need to get a life. I was just wondering, did Purnell have himself 'cut and pasted' video fashion in tonights discussion on the Queens speech?..if so, that must have been a technical nightmare for the editor, with Paxman and the other two guest talking with an empty chair in the studio and cracking on purnell was there whilst Newsnight was aired live; although it must have been a tad strange for the viewers watching at the original aired time; well done that man in the editing suite; seamless.

Browns body language was almost desperately sad and i am not talking about his shaking hand, it was his leaning forward whilst sitting down on the bench after his mauling by camaron. A classic sign of a beaten man surrounded by his tribe, whom if you noticed, they were all are sitting back on the benches. Brown might be an intellectual heavy weight (debatable) but he's no alpha male( bully? yes) and not knowing how to disguise fear or protecting himself with known posture to maintain his position as leader, shows that he has allowed himself to be insulated for way to long, his long term lurking in the shadows and relying on his pedestal intellect has exposed him as wanting, not what you want from a Prime Minister. This performance has only confirmed to me and others in the know, he ain't up to the job; I always new that.. DID YOU?

  • 13.
  • At 04:46 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • Adekunle Daoud Balogun wrote:

MY CONTRIBUTION
What makes the Britain maintains the name---"Great Britain" despite the emergence of various nations that have become economically giant today, the word 'great' is never attached to thier names because they do not possess that criteria that make a nation becomes Great. The influx of both legitimate and illegitimate immigrants have become people of integrity through the freedom, rights,social security, hospitalities and acquired knowledge obtained in Great Britain that are not easily completely obtainable in most of the developed nations today.In addition they all willingly or unwillingly contributing physically,mentally and kindly to the sustainability of the Great Britain to remain truly 'The Great'. It is a spiritual advice that "As long as you want for your neighbour what you want for yourselves,that is when you will be regarded as a true believer" and God promises such a people His blessings.Similarly,any day you think that those foreigners
are no more relevant in your state of status today,decline is knocking at your door because all of them have a breath of relief when they secure entry and were able to find ways to survive and even inclined in knowlwdge, they become part of you and even contribute the most able potentialities of their lives to the development of your nation with the belief that they are in a country where they enjoy all kinds of freedom that could not be slightly enjoyed in their own fatherlands. Most of them leave Britain at old age only to spend the remaining part of their lives in their countries when they can not contribute anything to help the development of their own nation.
Whichever your major political parties' representatives look at it, Britain remains the beneficiary of the physically-fit-fragment of the immirants' life span. Heaven will not judge you right if you are not fair in your evaluation of their relevance in Great Britain. Remember that their contributions to their nations' building were they stayed back in their countries when they have the abilities as potentially educated and knowledgeable individuals under visionary leadership of positive intentions could equally make their own different nations be great by now?. If yes, then, that could have inversely affected what you call GREAT BRITAIN today. Please, be objective in your deliberations decisions on the Immigration Policy of your nation in relation to other nationals because you should remember what you, as one of the powerful nation had benefitted from the partitions, slavery and colonisation of most countries of the world in the history .

  • 14.
  • At 06:33 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • wappaho wrote:

I agree with Mark about the boredom levels.

Did Michael manage to solve the conundrum of the missing paragraph? I switched over and found a marginally more interesting analysis of letters on 主播大秀1, Imagine... Helvetica.

I also agree with Mark about US culture - I expect our intelligentsia thought it would be more sophisticated to use the buzz word 'multiculturalism' (everybody likes ethnic accoutrements, ya?) rather than the brasher concept of multiracialism (too corporeal for comfort).

Unfortunately the subtlety of this cerebral approach to integration was undermined by a literalist interpretation so that we now have non-western culture embedded in the population and about to embark upon using the political process to further their sectarian aims.

On a more positive note - thanks for the film of st pancras, i thought that was wonderful - and i wouldn't have minded if you'd told the story about the architect again, you know, the one about the competition, it's a great story.

  • 15.
  • At 07:59 AM on 07 Nov 2007,
  • Harriet Hamster Hampstead wrote:

Well done -James Purnell I gather rarely replies to e mail or telephone so well done delivering him into the studio.

@ Hercule Crick
Missed the point about Gordon Brown and the "Missing schools speech" how many times in TV mostly 主播大秀 News do made films and contributors get cut at the last minute when a running order has to change ?
Guests arrive in TVC to be told they are not going to be used that night.
Thats the Media for you,thought you'd have grasped that nettle by now.

  • 16.
  • At 04:56 PM on 08 Nov 2007,
  • Andrea Encinas wrote:

Dear Newsnight

I was very concerned tonight about your report on the lead up to the US elections focusing on Culpeper Virginia. Considering that this is the bicentenary of the parliamentary abolition of the slave trade and it is a well known fact that Virginia was a slave holding state since the 17th century, in the brief intro into the town there was not even a mere mention of that history.

In the choice of people to interview about the elections, there was not even the voice of an African American.

I enclose a link to a Washington Post article written in Jan 2007 by Colbert I King about the tensions that continue to exist in Virginia:

I am very very disappointed that the 主播大秀 presents a very white history of Virginia and persists in the conspiracy to ignore the British history of slavery throughout 'normal' programming. We should not have to only view that history in special programming.

It is important that European- Americans and those reporting on behalf of the 主播大秀 in those areas represent a balanced view which includes voices of ALL its citizens.

I would like a response from the 主播大秀 concerning what it will do to correct that report and to ensure that African-American's history is not written out of reports especially as coverage for the US elections increases.

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