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[url= http://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/diane-abbotts-agonising-interview-over-policy-cost/ ]nick-ferrari-diane-abbotts-agonising-interview-over-policy-cost/[/url]
Another vote winner for the Tories.
I reckon she must be an undercover Tory agent.
How can a Cambridge Graduate come across as so completely stupid?
How can a Cambridge Graduate come across as so completely stupid?
I guess because she's human?
How can a Cambridge Graduate come across as so completely stupid?
They let anyone in. Ahem.
Mind you, you should the divs they let into Oxford! eh noteeth? 😀
What's most frightening about reading the content of this interview is finding out that she's the shadow Home Secretary.
Horrible performance, Ferrari is hardly a heavyweight 😉 questioner yet she managed to screw up on a question it was obvious she was going to be asked.
I guess because she's human?
So a Shadow Labour Minister goes on to a local radio station, which has a history off an aggressive right wing basis and doesn't even bother to a have breakdown of the financials or to have made any preparations and you think that's a "human" mistake? 🙄
and you think that's a "human" mistake?
Well she's human and it was a mistake so......
BTW for the record I'm not overly keen on Diane Abbot (she used to be my MP); I have never warmed to her 'all white people are evil' type rhetoric. But still, you have to respect what she's acheived and give her some credit for clearly being very capable. She has been an elected member of parliament since 1987. Getting elected is not exactly easy.
Can't say I'm a fan of Diane Abbott, but that was very poor by any standard.
Pretty bad. If you don't kniw the answer dont say it. "it'll be in the manifesto" seems to be stock answer.
Also she should have the answer written down.
Well she's human and it was a mistake so......
You can call it that.
I would call it gross political incompetence.
and you think that's a "human" mistake?
Well she's human and it was a mistake so......
That was a classic Lizard mistake
Well. That wasn't strong or stable.
Diane Abbot really has stolen a career.
But still, you have to respect what she's acheived and give her some credit for still be very capable. She has been an elected member of parliament since 1987.
Really?
Stinks of positive discrimination to me.
She was equally dreadful on R4. It wasn't so much presentation, she just couldn't say how the policy would be funded.
She was quite good on "This Week".
It get's worse.
Asked on a campaign visit to Southampton if he was embarrassed by the gaffe, Mr Corbyn said: "Not at all, we've corrected the figure and it'll be absolutely clear now, today and in the manifesto. I'm not embarrassed in the slightest."
Not embarrassed that one of his Shadow Cabinet has failed to do basic preparation before a radio interview.
Labour are completely un-electable so we are left with probably 8 more years of Tory government without a credible opposition.
Is it only me that doesnt give a **** if they dont have every figure in their head?
Credible opposition yawn. You cant do **** all in opposition. At least Corbyn actually opposes rather than coalescing.
Tho police officer policy was poor from the outset imo. All I was hearing was gun and knife crime in London, metropolitan police etc
Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn need to know that they are complicit in the ruin of this country.
By being so utterly inept, useless and unelectable they ensure that Tory rule will continue indefinitely and Brexit will come to pass.
I genuinely believe that the they could do the world a great favour by absenting themselves from it.
"Is it only me that doesnt give a **** if they dont have every figure in their head?"
Just listened and yeah, she just blanked it under pressure, I don't think it's evidence she doesn't know.
The real problem is these numbers almost certainly won't add up not that she completely forgot them momentarily.
Is it only me that doesnt give a **** if they dont have every figure in their head?
Nobody expects them to.
You ever had to present something to a client at work? Or have you had someone present a proposal for a service or equipment?
What would you think of them if they couldn't tell you how much it was going to cost?
That's basically what happened, she was on LBC to talk about that subject of using money from Inheritance Tax to pay for extra Police Officers. She was presenting to the public but didn't do any preparation or show any understanding of the proposal or process.
"Diane Abbott and Jeremy Corbyn need to know that they are complicit in the ruin of this country."
They're looking longer term than June.
If they can get rid of moderate MPs their legacy will be a "proper" Socialist Labour party. They will have achieved something big.
Whether that's good or not is a different question.
Just for Thegeneralist, ill post this again.
And all this, with knives in his back.
[img] 
:large[/img]
Without looking further down that list, it was that well known Corbynite, Michael Gove, who made the Government cancel the Saudi Contract.
If they can get rid of moderate MPs their legacy will be a "proper" Socialist Labour party. They will have achieved something big.
I don't want a Proper Socialist Labour Party that has zero chance of getting into power or making a difference to the government of the country.
I want a party that will beat the Tories, end of.
This is all part of Labour's cunnung plan. 😀 Lull the tories into a false sense of security, then WHAM Jeremy Corbyn stands down due to ill-health, WHAM David Millibrand is voted the new Labour leader Labour takes the country by storm 
I want a party that will beat the Tories, end of.
even if that is just another tory like party under a different name?
[b][i]RACIST![/i][/b]
I can't stand Abbott and I'm a Labour voter. She should be in middle-management, not politics (although there doesn't seem to be any difference between these two roles nowadays).
She should have done a proper interview, answering every question with "strong and stable". If in doubt, say there's "many complex reasons". That's what a proper politician would have done.
Corbyn brought the subject up (Saudi) in his acceptance speech as leader.
Corbyn brought the subject up (Saudi) in his acceptance speech as leader.
So what?
Trump spoke about a wall in his.....
Northwind, it would be better than 'if in doubt, make up some numbers. Then keep digging.'
Any basic media training would have made sure she knew that.
You have to question Labours abilities for even putting her forward as a spokesperson
FFS - Donald Trump is better at interviews than Diane 😀
Northwind, it would be better than 'if in doubt, make up some numbers
the borris johnson method!
the real tragedy is that policing in some communities is non-existent, police morale is at an all time low and many many victims of crime are being let down
ask any copper if they will be voting for theresa may
Abbots cock up is the story now, rather than the damage being done in the name of 'austerity'
Is it only me that doesnt give a **** if they dont have every figure in their head?
No, its not. But I do expect the shadow home secretary to have just a basic understanding of such a key policy. She was wildly out over and over again.
Paxman would have literally eaten her.
+1 Ninfan. Do they really have no-one better?
Leave the poor woman alone 🙂
😆franksinatra - Member
Paxman would have literally eaten her.
She shouldn't be allowed in front of a mic imo.
Her writing is quite good though.
The most worrying thing was [u]how[/u] wrong the figures she quoted were. Some were orders of magnitude out from figures that would make sense, but she still said it. It's all very well not knowing every single figure you might be asked about, but you need some common sense. There has to be a part of your mind that says "the figures you are about to quote can't possibly stack up".
£300,000 cost of 10,000 new police? Then £80,000,000 cost of 10,000 police? Neither figure is anywhere near plausible and someone at that level should realise that long before they engage their mouths.
the final figures she read out make more sense
“In year one we are getting ready to recruit, but in year two the cost will be £64.3m. In year three the cost will be a £139.1m. Year four the cost will be £217m and year five the cost will be £298m and that can be amply covered by reversing the cuts in capital gains tax.”
sadly her floundering makes it even easier for the tories to cut policing even further
Sad thing is LBC was her second attempt of the day.
SJM had already made her look quite silly earlier on Sky News.....
£300,000 cost of 10,000 new police? Then £80,000,000 cost of 10,000 police? Neither figure is anywhere near plausible and someone at that level should realise that long before they engage their mouths.
Completely agree.
The other thing is, she was only talking about wages, as I understand it this is typically about 50% of a true capitation cost for personnel. I guess with the Police, the percentage is much lower due to the training, pension, specialist equipment etc.
I can't stand Abbott and I'm a Labour voter. She should be in middle-management, not politics
A middle manager is the most accurate description of DA I've heard.
Making a mistake every now and gain is human, but this just adds to the reasons why I think she is useless.
She set herself up for this by being deliberately vague and obtuse on her Sky interview: [url= http://news.sky.com/video/can-diane-abbott-make-labour-spending-pledges-add-up-10860195 ]Sky interview[/url]
Any decent journalist would have noticed this and gone in for the kill. The guy on LBC certainly noticed and was ready. She should have been prepared. I'm not talking about having it in her head - she just needed a copy of the draft manifesto she kept referring to in her Sky interview.
Is it me, or does it seem like her mind has slowed down over the years? Her voice seems to have become more faltering.
she just needed a copy of the draft manifesto she kept referring to in her Sky interview.
she did read out the figures at the end of the lbc interview
She didn't sound herself. She can usually not answer a question with the best of them.
Cant gt my head around why she wouldn't say "I have the figures in the manifesto let me get them"
Amber Rudd was on R4 this morn. Nick Robinson was SO chummy with her it was ridiculous.
It was the 5 minutes of making it up on the spot and then digging the manifesto out of her bag and flick to the relevant pages that made it excruciating. She would have done herself a favour by having it in front of her before she started.
She shouldn't be allowed in front of a mic imo.
[b][i][u]Her[/b][/i][/u] writing is quite good though.
and there I think we have the answer.
I doubt very much of her "quality" output has ever been written or even conceived of by her. She is a handy totem for the likes of Seamus Milne and McDonnell. When she's left to her own devices to run her own mouth the wheels inevitably fall off.
Get Milne and McDonell to publish their manifesto and be done with it.
It's been reported elsewhere that the average cost per police FTE is £94K - including on costs such as pensions, NI, injury payments and extra back office resources to support this.
So for 10K additional police we're looking at around £940m a year or close to £5B of extra spending under the next parliamentary term. So she was way off the true cost even using the "corrected" £300m figure by more than £1/2B a year.
Damn media bias asking trick questions such as "how would you pay for your latest proposal" ?
Today juay shiwed again how unprepared Labour are, Abbit is a major face if the party now and she didn't have the faintest idea how much 10,000 police cost.
Is Abbott the Labour answer to Boris but without the comedy?
Did she say she wasn't going to call an election and then forgot?
The most worrying thing was how wrong the figures she quoted were.
£300,000 cost of 10,000 new police? Then £80,000,000 cost of 10,000 police?Neither figure is anywhere near plausible and someone at that level should realise that long before they engage their mouths.
10,000 police? Don't you mean 250,000 police(men)?
Every time there's a Labour spending pledge, it makes me think of the Simpsons episode where Homer becomes Springfield Sanitation Commissioner on the back of wildly extravagant promises, and blows the entire annual budget in the first month.
From the Beeb.
Ms Abbott claimed she had got her facts right in other interviews and her credibility had not been damaged.
That's not really your assertion to make, love.
It has been damaged.
You'd be best to keep your trap shut for a bit and let someone else make a tit of themselves to distract the attention from you. You can rely on Boris.
police(men)?
[b][i]SEXIST! [/i][/b]
Natalie Bennett, of Green persuasion, had a similar car crash interview a couple of years ago. Pretty sure she simply held her hands up and said something like, "Crikey, that was dreadful. Sorry. "
Abbott should have done the same. Tired, lots of interviews, lost my train of thought, etc. But no....she "misspoke".
And yes, now she's the story. If only there had been some way to avoid that....
If I was a bit of a racist, I'd love a labour politician like Abbott to be on the radio every day.
I don't think this changes much.
Those that hate will continue to do so, those that like her will forgive (see above).
It's not like there's a shortage of embarrassment on the blue side...
Edit in fact how has the nurse/food bank thing gone quiet?
Not embarrassed that one of his Shadow Cabinet has failed to do basic preparation before a radio interview.
One of his shadow cabinet??!!?
When you recall that this is the woman he was (and maybe still is) nobbing, then his blind acceptance of anything she does seems less surprising.
As does her slavish support of a lame duck leader.
Pillow politics?
In defend of Diane Abbot I think people are expecting too much by asking her to do the calculation out of the blue.
If she has not prepared for that line of "interrogation" of course she would make the mistake.
I bet all politicians will now have all their numbers sorted ...
That line of question should be presented to Sturgeon and Timmy (Farron) for fun to see how they react ...
She wants to be in charge of the security and safety of everyone in the UK.
She shouldn't be in charge of anything more than a pair of clown shoes.
Luckily for them, the STW lodge of the Right Wing Nutjob brigade have May's excellent record as Home Secretary at which to point.
deadlydarcy - Member
Luckily for them, the STW lodge of the Right Wing Nutjob brigade have May's excellent record as Home Secretary at which to point.
You seek perfection and sainthood in politicians? 😆
Also, when hammering easy targets, if I were a bit of right wing nutjob with a bitty complex, I'd post some of Mummy's decisive and fact-filled answers to recent questions:
[img] 
[/img]
deadlydarcy - Member
Also, when hammering easy targets, if I were a bit of right wing nutjob with a bitty complex, I'd post some of Mummy's decisive and fact-filled answers to recent questions:
That's an interview question? 😆
I think theres a question about the standard of person running a country attracts.
JC must still be banging her, the jammy git.
Labour are completely un-electable so we are left with probably 8 more years of Tory government without a credible opposition.
Don't be daft I read somewhere Tony Blair is starting a centre ground party
Misspoke! The lying idiot! Just put your hands up and admit you cocked it right up.
Stealing a living from the taxpayer that's all Abbott does.
The Tories must be pissing themselves laughing at this lot of bloody clowns.
I don't know about the accusations of racism or 'right wing nut job' that are being slung around, but Diane Abbott is in a high position in shadow government with aspirations to do it for real.
Of course she cannot be expected to have every exact and perfect figure in her head, that is not fair, nor realistic. However, there are two things that expose her as being a liability in this.
Firstly, the sheer wrongness of the figures she was spouting should have set some internal alarm bells ringing in her head. The figures were so stupidly and obviously wrong that a bit of sense should have stopped her making such a bollocks of the whole thing.
Secondly, a politician of her experience and standing should be cleverer than to pretend to know a load of figures when any reasonable person wouldn't expect her to know them by heart. Either she should have got her ducks in a row first figures-wise or she should be skilled enough by now to bluff her way out with some nice-sounding waffle. Either would have done in this case.
That she neither 'knew her shit' or was skillful enough to walk around the question makes her look incompetent.
To then assert that her own credibility has not been damaged is just laughable. I'll be the ****ing judge of whether I find her credible or not, thanks very much.
This always asking Labour politicians in interviews about how much their policies are going to cost...well, it's starting to grate with me a bit. It is the standing government who is taking a colossal gamble with our economy by leaving the EU (even if you believe we would ultimately be better off, it's still a huge risk). The fact that May has no clue about what lies ahead doesn't mean she should not be held to account and really give some proper answers.
The fact that May has no clue about what lies ahead doesn't mean she should not be held to account and really give some proper answers.
She doesn't have any answers (unless you count looking at Mummy's mouth moving, saying "strong and stable" a lot but saying little else as answering). She gave a pretty poor interview on Sunday morning. And then the FAZ leaks show her and Davies to be unprepared and amateurish. That is why Tories have spent the day talking about Diane Abbott.
chickenman - Member
The fact that May has no clue about [b]what lies ahead[/b] doesn't mean she should not be held to account and really give some proper answers.
Let me see into my crystal ball ... the EU bureaucrats and their system will collapse in this generation.
Therefore, PM May has all my support to leave EU.
So, no risk at all then Chewy?? I've always wondered how religion ever took off.....
That she neither 'knew her shit' or was skillful enough to walk around the question makes her look incompetent.
Odd isn't it, we want our politicians to be Humans like us, but skewer them when they have a brain fade (like y'know, humans)
That is why Tories have spent the day talking about Diane Abbott.
Yes, but they wouldn't have had the opportunity had she not been such a nitwit.
May gives a 'pretty poor' interview, but Abbott has a total mare and lets May off the hook. That's not too far from a textbook definition of a political liability.
It's not restricted to Labour, though, Amber Rudd is also a laughing stock and way out of her depth as well.
+1 dannyh.
I suspect everyone in the country who can roughly divide 300,000 by 10,000 in their head is thinking something similar.
chickenman - Member
So, no risk at all then Chewy?? I've always wondered how religion ever took off.....
There is no such thing as no risk in life.
I bet the police are pretty cheesed off with their options right now, the Tories or Diane Abbott!
Joking apart dannyh hit the nail on the head perfectly up there, she's incompetent.