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It is really sad to see comment threads like this that devolve into shallow and petty dismissals devoid of any actual content or substance!

by distcs 4y ago

joe__f 4y ago
I've seen him a few times on PMQs and I thought this comment was a reasonable description
substation13 4y ago
Fair point, so I will flesh this out a bit. The typical pattern we see in PMQs every week is this: 1. Valid concern from the opposition 2. Rishi ignores the concern 3. Rishi says something about "the member from Islington North" 4. Jeering from the back benches (both sides) 5. Opposition moves on to another topic Or perhaps this: 1. Government back-bencher asks "Does the PM agree that we are doing a fantastic job on X?" 2. Rishi agrees 3. Rishi uses the time to grandstand about some other unrelated accomplishment Perhaps this is more a criticism of the system than Rishi? Still, I see no evidence that he is using his position of power to improve on this.
- jeromegv 4y ago
  I don't know about the UK parliament, but the Canadian parliament is quite similar in political structure and the "debates" at the chamber are a bit of a clown show as well. Just someone doing a speech and zingers, the same side applaud, the other side boos, and it goes on and on for a few hours. If the population actually saw what was happening over there, they wouldn't be too impressed. The medias tend to only feature a couple questions and a couple (empty) answers, but they typically avoid showing us the circus. But this has been like that forever, not very specific to any party or any PM.
  - xen2xen1 4y ago
    So the Canadian parliament isn't directly elected by the people, like the British one? That's what everyone says is the difference. Seems to make the parliament members more "hype men" than lawmakers.
  - mnw21cam 4y ago
    People who love sausages, respect the law, and work with IT standards shouldn't watch any of them being made. -- Peter Gutmann
- dan-robertson 4y ago
  I kinda hate PMQs but I also don’t think it’s very relevant. In particular, the style doesn’t depend much on who is prime minister. If the jeering and cheering can be kept to an hour a week and most everything else is terribly dry, that feels ok to me. I think it’s important to judge people based on what they do that matters and not the things they do that don’t matter but are easy to point out and deride.
- blibble 4y ago
  PMQs is supposed to be theatre the real work happens in the boring debates and committees which aren't all over the press
- mrguyorama 4y ago
  This is just what PMQs are. It's part of the system and not any parliament member specifically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLSq1h7AvkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLSq1h7AvkE

It is really sad to see comment threads like this that devolve into shallow and petty dismissals devoid of any actual content or substance!

by distcs 4y ago

It is really sad to see comment threads like this that devolve into shallow and petty dismissals devoid of any actual content or substance!

joe__f 4y ago

I've seen him a few times on PMQs and I thought this comment was a reasonable description

substation13 4y ago

Fair point, so I will flesh this out a bit. The typical pattern we see in PMQs every week is this: 1. Valid concern from the opposition 2. Rishi ignores the concern 3. Rishi says something about "the member from Islington North" 4. Jeering from the back benches (both sides) 5. Opposition moves on to another topic Or perhaps this: 1. Government back-bencher asks "Does the PM agree that we are doing a fantastic job on X?" 2. Rishi agrees 3. Rishi uses the time to grandstand about some other unrelated accomplishment Perhaps this is more a criticism of the system than Rishi? Still, I see no evidence that he is using his position of power to improve on this.

jeromegv 4y ago
I don't know about the UK parliament, but the Canadian parliament is quite similar in political structure and the "debates" at the chamber are a bit of a clown show as well. Just someone doing a speech and zingers, the same side applaud, the other side boos, and it goes on and on for a few hours. If the population actually saw what was happening over there, they wouldn't be too impressed. The medias tend to only feature a couple questions and a couple (empty) answers, but they typically avoid showing us the circus. But this has been like that forever, not very specific to any party or any PM.
- xen2xen1 4y ago
  So the Canadian parliament isn't directly elected by the people, like the British one? That's what everyone says is the difference. Seems to make the parliament members more "hype men" than lawmakers.
- mnw21cam 4y ago
  People who love sausages, respect the law, and work with IT standards shouldn't watch any of them being made. -- Peter Gutmann
dan-robertson 4y ago
I kinda hate PMQs but I also don’t think it’s very relevant. In particular, the style doesn’t depend much on who is prime minister. If the jeering and cheering can be kept to an hour a week and most everything else is terribly dry, that feels ok to me. I think it’s important to judge people based on what they do that matters and not the things they do that don’t matter but are easy to point out and deride.
blibble 4y ago
PMQs is supposed to be theatre the real work happens in the boring debates and committees which aren't all over the press
mrguyorama 4y ago
This is just what PMQs are. It's part of the system and not any parliament member specifically. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLSq1h7AvkE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLSq1h7AvkE