Will anyone else miss Diane Abbott on This Week?

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I thought she was ideally suited for that show - you wouldn't expect her and Michael Portillo to get on, but they do! I don't think it is possible for them to sit any closer on that sofa without climbing on top of each other! And she was so gloriously dismissive about anything and everything, with those rolling eyes.

Hazel Blears was a terrible replacement, especially after her expenses. Caroline Flint was better but still not nearly good enough as a replacement for Diane!

And that Lib Dem woman Julia Goldsworthy couldn't even hang onto her seat - why is she invited on? If they are going for ex-Lib Dems they could at least go for someone with some personality, and get Lembit in there...

dittany

Here is the original article. She went out of her way to defend her decision to send her son to private school because she was a West Indian mother.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/features/2010/06/21/diane-abbott-i-sent-my-son-to-private-school-so-h e-wouldn-t-end-up-in-a-gang-115875-22347604/

This is the part of the interview which Andrew Neil, quite rightly, picked up on as perhaps being racist:

BR But couldn?t you see why there was anger? People on the left thought ?we?re not surprised that Blair and Harman did it but we don?t understand why Diane Abbott did it because she?s one of us??

DA Yes, but they didn?t understand me. I?m a West Indian mum and West Indian mums will go to the wall for their children.

It?s that kind of atavistic streak that we have. I can see them in the market on a Saturday morning. A kind of ?touch my children and we?ll turn quite difficult?.

Interestingly, until now, it?s the one thing that?s got me the most positive response from black women locally. They would come up to me and shake my hand. Because ultimately in their eyes it?s about doing the right thing for their children. But obviously people from other cultures didn?t see it that way at all.

She dealt with the taxi issue effectively enough.

I disagree on the West Indian mother thing though. And the question wasn't really centred about the private school thing, it was about racism. It was her justifying the private school on the grounds of her race rather than just the fact that she wanted the best for her son, and her saying that other cultures wouldn't understand that decision.

I think every mother understands the decision, but it is still legitimate to point out the hypocrisy. She would do better just to say "yes, I am a hypocrite, but my hypocrisy was for the sake of my son and I don't care" instead of playing a race card.

I thought that line of questioning was perfectly fair. And saying "I have nothing more to say" isn't a good media strategy!

She had adjusted very well to being a candidate rather than being just a thorn in the side of the political class during the hustings etc - and made the mistake of complacency when she went back to the sofa.

I guess she has a case to be miffed - she thought she was going on This Week, but actually she ended up on The Daily Politics or Newsnight.

I guess there is a legitimate expectation that normally This Week is about trends and analysis and examining issues using gentle light rather than searing heat, not interviews.

On the other hand, did you watch the one in the run-up to the election where she was absolutely horrible to Esther Rantzen? I agreed with every word Diane said on that show abour Esther Rantzen's faux piety - but if Diane wants to dish it out, she has to take it too...

dittany

I do think that it is racist to say that West Indian mothers would understand the hypocrisy, but mothers from other cultures wouldn't.

There may be no malice in that racism, but it is still racist.

I'm not hugely fussed about it but it is a perfectly legitimate question to ask - though as I said, maybe not in the spirit of This Week.

With Andrew Neil I think the reason he went so hard for Diane is to be actively seen not to be biased because of their history, certainly not because of sexism. His own political views are perfectly clear but I welcome that transparency. He seems to relish destroying the arguments of Tories just as much as Labour, and male just as much as female.

Sorry I haven't seen the latest one since she has become a candidate, but I did miss her on this week.

Although I have to say, in the run up to and during the election she seemed very stressed, she seemed different and very short tempered during her this week and question time appearances. Obviously she was very stressed, but I actually worried about her wondering if something more stressfull was going on for her. She didn't seem herself at all.

Now that the other leadership contenders know that Andrew Neil is going to be really gunning for them they will be prepared.

It's a shame, unfortunately.

Dammit could I say stressed even more in that last post . I meant that she seemed a bit disengaged on this week, and a bit out of charachter/odd on question time.

dittany What makes you think I am white?

Never fear Andrew Neil is a match for that bunch of liars

I agree dittany