Not what you think! Of course the opposition is now primarily Labour. Anyway, there seems to be a "Row over Alastair Campbell on BBC Question Time panel". The BBC are bigging-up the refusal of the government: they says "No 10 refused to put a minister on Question Time unless Tony Blair's former adviser was removed" (Page last updated at 09:16 GMT, Friday, 28 May 2010 10:16 UK...just in case they change it). Is that right? No, I suspect it's a lie.
The Beeb's Gavin Allen on his blog says "According to No 10, a senior member of the cabinet was available to do Question Time but only if Alastair Campbell was replaced by a member of the shadow cabinet." and is quoted saying "It is for Question Time, not political parties, to make judgements about impartiality and to determine who is invited to appear in the interests of the audience"; clearly that is fair and the comments on that blogpost are half and half for and against the decision; HOWEVER the government didn't pull out because it was Campbell, they, quite reasonably, wanted a representative of Labour, a shadow minister or at the very least an MP, but Al Campbell?...and bear in mind Piers Morgan was on the panel too! I think the real question should be why couldn't Labour forward an official representative, this is the point the BBC are trying to cover up in their labour-luvvie way. Paul Waugh on his London Evening Standard blog seems to have an inside track on more detail:
Funny thing about Question Time, no matter where they are, no matter which city or town or constiuency, no matter which party runs the council or has the local MP, the Labour speakers always get more time, less interruptions (both points proven) and more applause. Wierd. However the BBC spin and lies has had its effect and all the media are seeing it as the government trying to control who appears. HOWEVER, the BBC sow the seeds of its own defeat in all this mischief: they keep referring to this editon of the programme as an important one because of the Queen's Speech yet the ONLY elected MP (and Ex minister) on the panel came from the Conservatives and they have two self-promoting, discredited, arch-Labour spinning liars Campbell and Morgan. Jeez.
"In the week of the Queen's Speech the BBC booked Alastair Campbell in the place of an Opposition frontbencher to appear on Question Time - which we questioned. Before a final decision was made on who might appear on behalf of the Government, the BBC directly booked John Redwood MP to appear."
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