Question Time tonight discussion thread and reactions to Robert Kenyon

[Brainstorm23]

Starting a thread to discuss Question Time tonight. I've seen some clips already and Robert Kenyon comes across as well as you'd expect.

I can understand that people in the area would vote for AB if they see him as a better leader than Starmer, if they want to prevent Reform getting elected in the constituency, or if they just happen to think he is the best of the candidates on offer.

Its a particularly odd stance to take in this context. Sarah Wakefield stated Coral Voderman had asked her to ask Kenyon to apologise to her on air. Sarah Wakefield criticised Rob Kenyon's vile comments and pointed out that online harassment of women has serious impacts on women. I'm not quite sure what about that there is to disbelieve.
Irony is, if Kenyon wasn't so stupid, he should have seen this an opportunity. An earnest apology to CV, an acknowledgement that this sort of behaviour was appalling, he deeply regretted it, had matured and learned and was now committed to calling it out himself could have gone a long way. But no, he wriggled and weasled and emerged as not just a one time misogynist, but an unrepentant and particularly unintelligent one.

Very true @5128gap

I completely agree with you. A sexed based definition of woman and single sex spaces are crucial to women's rights and safety, and I completely disagree with the Greens stance on this.
I also strongly disagree with Sarah Wakefield's own stated stance on this.
However i dont think this disqualifies her from speaking about the sexual harassment and misogyny shown by Kenyon.
Trans ally women are still women. All women are entitled to a voice in a discussion about misogyny. Sarah Wakefield said nothing untrue or controversial about the Kenyon matter.

She wasn't calling out mysogyny, she was trying to appeal to voters who haven't researched what the parties actually stand for.

I couldn’t disagree more. She was absolutely calling out Kenyon’s misogyny and that perception was shared by virtually every woman in the audience and Kenyon himself judging by the squirming. There was little point in any of the panelists apart from Kenyon and Burnham trying to appeal to voters, it’s a two horse race.

I agree, my point wasn't that she shouldn't have said anything or that she said something controversial, it was that I found it hypercritical given the stance of the party that she represents.

I agree that it probably will be one of those who gets the seat, I hope it isn't. The other parties have fielded candidates and turned up to question time. If it isn't to win votes/ appeal to viewers at home then why bother? Is it to disuade voters from voting one way or another? She wasn't there because she fancied a jolly and I can't think of any other likely reasons to waste the time, money and energy other than those I've mentioned.

So what would you rather she had done? Told Carol V nah, sorry someone might think I'm being off, even though I agree with you?

Labour or Reform will certainly win the seat. The other parties know this.
They turned up to stay relevent, for the opportunity to platform their party nationally, because there are other seats they may win in other elections and campaigning is a full time job.
And certainly in the case of the Greens, and possibly the others, to highlight the issues with Kenyon. Because the one thing that unites all other parties is the belief Reform would be a disaster.
Greens and Lib Dem will be hoping for a Labour win because they see Labour as a party where they could potentially ally as their positions more closely align.
So, you're correct that Sarah Wakefield will indeed have political reasons for highlighting Kenyon's misogyny. However that doesn't mean that like most women she wasn't also genuine in her disgust.

Great username. Great post.

The latest poll puts Burnham way ahead of Reform. Let’s hope it stays that way. 🤞
www.survation.com/makerfield-by-election-update-left-consolidates-right-splits-burnham-ahead/

I thought Sarah Wakefield was apalling tbh. One of the questions was “ do we have 2 tier justice” and she just wanged on about diversity and didnt answer the question. On immigration she just gurned and spluttered and had nothing constructive to say. She sounded straight out of the student union.
Kenyon was obviously a moron and Burnham was just there doing his “make me PM” spiel.
The Tory and Lib Dem candidates were ok, but won’t have a chance.

From the clips I’ve seen yep.

The Tory was good, he knew he had nothing to lose and answered the questions. He was especially good on the Nowak question and being first left the rest of them with nowhere to go. There might as well have been an empty chair for all the use the LibDem was.

Wakefield served a very useful purpose, given that she’s got no chance of being elected and that was giving it to Kenyon with both barrels about his misogyny. I’ll forgive her a lot for that.

I'd have been very annoyed with her if she'd been so brilliant she took some of the Burnham vote. So all round good outcome.

Maybe align with a party that supports womrns rights?

She made a case for condemning misogyny. That’s supporting women’s rights.

Exactly.

It seems some would say it's not the right kind of women's rights.

I’ve been told before now that I don’t do feminism properly. By someone who probably wasn’t even born when I bought the first ever copy of Spare Rib.

As pp said, Kenyon showed how dumb he is
Apologising to CV would have been to his advantage.

He cant be sexist thought because he has a mother 🙄.