has anyone else seen the car crash of an interview with Sarah Olney?

[Lucydogz]

here
I must admit I enjoyed this - a clueless interviewee with an aggressive interviewer. But, reflecting on it afterwards, felt rather ashamed of myself and worried for the future of politics.
This clip will be on the internet forever. Even when Ms Olney matures as an MP, whenever someone googles her, this will pop up. 10 years ago, very few people would have heard it, and there wasn't the possibility of tweeting or FBing it.
Regardless of the issues in this particular interview, I feel pessimistic about the future of responsible democracy in the West. The Internet (including me) has created an echo chamber for any view that someone might wish to follow, and these echo chambers aren't necessarily well informed or responsible.
Sorry, this is a bit rambling, but I'd be interested to hear what others thought.

[poochiepants]

JHB?

[TheBathroomSink]

JHB = Julia Hartley-Brewer, the interviewer.

What she seems to have forgotten (and the answer SO should have given) is that indeed Richmond Park will be running the election again in 2020.

[WhisperingLoudly]

It doesn't matter what SOs position is on the referendum she should have been able to articulate it.

[Lucydogz]

For me the problem is that politicians will be more and more cautious about engaging with journalists in future, leaving us with interviews like

this

with Dianne Abbott, who is absolutly determined not to answer questions.

[Suppermummy02]

The people weren't told what the consequences of having a Ms Olney as an MP were, she didn't tell us she would be ignoring the Lib Dem party position. I think they need another By-election because the majority was so narrow. This time there should be requirement of a 60% majority before Ms Olney is allowed to win.

[alienoverlord]

Sarah Olney is new to politics - only joined the party after the last General Election, and only a few days into the job of being an MP she was probably expecting a "congratulations" type interview rather than a grilling. She did ok in the circumstances, but if I was her I'd be pretty cross that whoever in the Lib Dems set up the interview didn't brief me beforehand on what to expect. Maybe that's why she walked away -in the spirit of "you arranged the interview, you can take the consequences Mr Publicist".

To the OP of this thread - I would never have listened to that interview if you hadn't posted it here, and really wouldn't be surprised if you turned out to be a Conservative publicist trying out new tactics tbh.

Frankly, if I lived in Sarah Olney's constituency listening to the interview would make me more likely to vote for her not less - we need more real humans in politics.

[alienoverlord]

Because how do we know that the people of Richmond actually knew what they were voting for?

Because a very high proportion of them are from other parts of the EU.

There are parts of Richmond where only someone on an extremely good all-expenses-paid relocation package from abroad can afford to live.

[Lucydogz]

Alienoverlord I'm not sure to be flattered or not! I'm definitely not a Tory, and absolutely not a publicist. I said in my first post that I was aware in the contradiction of simultaneously linking to it and having concerns about, but I find it an interesting issue.

[RortyCrankle]

I'm not sure how you can describe her disappearing in the middle of the interview and having to be rescued by a PR person as 'her doing ok in the circumstances'. She should have been fully briefed beforehand and it wasn't difficult to guess that question might be asked.

[Tropezienne]

I agree Rorty and I also agree that we need more humans in politics. But not humans that literally run away from an interviewer when asked a couple of tough questions..

[Twogoats]

If JCB was a bloke, she wouldn't be called aggressive I bet...

[Tropezienne]

If JCB was a bloke, she wouldn't be called aggressive I bet...

yaaaaaawn

[WouldHave]

I don't think JHB is aggressive, I think she is (a) biased, (b) determined to follow her own agenda, and (c) dim.

[WhisperingLoudly]

If JCB was a bloke, she wouldn't be called aggressive I bet

Nor "bitchy"

Not sure why you find twogoats comment tiresome tropez ? It's a fair point.

[iremembericod]

JCB asked the same ludicrous question over and over and expected a new answer every time she asked it. SO answered the question the first time by saying that there was not a mandate as to what an exit from Europe involved exactly. And no-one can not say that is not true. Noone knows exactly what it looks like because noone knows, which is part of the problem. JCB saying it is clear what people voted for is simply not true - Theresa May certainly doesn't know and I'd have thought she would.

So JCB continually asking her the same question was just pathetic. SO just didn't sound politically hardened yet, but seeing as politicians are the least trusted professionals in the UK, I wouldn't even say that is a bad thing.

[Tropezienne]

Its JHB and you really don't hold elected representatives to a very high standard it seems to me iremembericod.

As for the "if she wasn't a woman moan moan moan". Yaaaawn again

[iremembericod]

Its JHB and you really don't hold elected representatives to a very high standard it seems to me.

I'm just pretty bored of this sensationalist journalism. It's boring, aggressive and doesn't do anything other than generate income for the Daily Mail.

I'm pretty sure most of the public would like to have an actual reasonable debate, rather than journalists asking ludicrous questions that don't even have an answer that is relevant, possible or interesting and are simply designed to flatter their ego with a provocative headline in the Mail. Or in Katie Hopkins case, her whole entire column.

[Tropezienne]

I disagree it was a ludicrous question. It was a question directly connected to her entire campaign. I think it was meant as a test of her confidence, surefootedness and whether she was going to answer truthfully or in the usual guarded, political double-speak of her party.

[Tropezienne]

Posted too early - and she managed neither. She was asked a question re Brexit and couldn't answer. She did not even have the nous to parry the question. Just silence. Her PR person pulled her out of the programme. Just embarrassing. I can't really understand how anyone could take that as a virtie she will not be able to cope with tough opposition IMO.

[Suppermummy02]

I'm just pretty bored of this sensationalist journalism.

Yea, asking people about the one issue they campaigned on is so boring. Journalism is so boringgggggggggggggg

[herethereandeverywhere]

It came across at the journalist trying to be clever and point-score.

There would only ever have been a parallel between the remain/second referendum campaign and SO's election campaign had any promises made by SO been already proven to be lies/deceptions/explained away as 'just ideas' at the time of the interview.

The average listener got nothing from the interview because JHB wouldn't move on.

[Tropezienne]

It came across at the journalist trying to be clever and point-score

Again I disagree. I dont think there's anything wrong with a journalist demanding an answer. If anything they should do this more. Google "most aggressive political interviewer ever" and you'll get Paxman's Michael Howard interview. An interview many say, Howard never really shook off?? I dont know about that, but it certainly showed him up for being slippery and evasive and it did put many people, including potential conservative voters off .

[RortyCrankle]

I wonder who would say JHB was 'trying to be clever and point score' or call it 'sensational journalism' etc had Olney been a Tory instead of a Limp Dem?

[herethereandeverywhere]

I think journalists demanding an answer is fair. But not to a rhetorical question. The question was poised to make a point in and of itself - it was not designed to elicit a useful answer (unlike the Paxman questions of Howard).

I'd have described the situation as the journalist being clever/trying to point score regardless of the political persuasion of the interviewee.

I thought SO handled it really badly and she's going to have to learn some stock phrases to bat off that kind of question but I thought the interview was a waste of everyone's time TBH.

[TheBathroomSink]

I wonder who would say JHB was 'trying to be clever and point score' or call it 'sensational journalism' etc had Olney been a Tory instead of a Limp Dem?

I would, because that's what JHB does.