I attended a talk today at the university. It was part of a series in run up to the EU elections on 4 June and hosted by Eddie Izzard. Even though it was arranged by the Labour student group, I thought I would go because, hey, Eddie Izzard is funny, and I'm pretty interested in politics. I was sure it would at least be funny, and it's good to feel involved in the political process.
The talk was well attended, a real standing room only situation, and despite running a little late, everybody wanted to be there and was willing to wait. When the talk did start though, it was obvious from the beginning just what kind of affair it was going to be. The first person to come up on stage looked a bit uncomfortable, understandably when he introduced himself as the PPC for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield. "The Labour student group has asked me to say a few words." Which he did, and really sold himself. I mean, I now know he exists, which is great. His beliefs though? No idea. And why should I? This was meant to be about EU elections, and his presence as compere was not only awkward but damn clumsy.
Moving on, Eddie Izzard eventually appeared after a(n over)long introduction, and did his stuff. Talkig about his own student days at the university, and his political beliefs. And he's funny, real funny, I like him a lot, and I probably agree with most of his views about the EU. This was good, an hour of this would have been great, no doubt, especially had he handled the questions. But it turned out that the format of the talk was actually him handling questions to two guest from the Labour Party. Ack! I never signed up for this! Okay, the guests included Jack Straw (and some random MEP) so I suppose I should be homoured that he bothered to come and answer our questions in person. Who else gets that kind of fabulous treatment?
So, questions start coming, and they seem pretty tame. Considering all the stuff that the Labour government has managed to do in the last 12 years, a bit of sharp questioning would have been welcome. But no, just fairly soft tickling. I suppose people felt a little intimidated it being a Labour do, and there being lots of Labour folks there. That's understandable, I suppose. And there's no surprise that the answers equally tickled the audience without giving us something to grab onto. The guests spoke about their histories in the Labour Party, and how they believed in social justice and doing better for disadvantaged people, and how much they hate Thatcher. Which is nice, but I've heard it so much, so much before. I felt as though this could be anytime between 1997 and 2009, there was nothing new. Nothing they said spoke to me, answered my questions, touched my needs, really made me think, "here's the politics I want to be part of."
I left the talk. It was barely half way through. They can keep my £3 I paid for the ticket, but I'll keep my vote. I wasn't a fan of Labour before going to the talk, but I'm surprised they managed to increase my indifference.
The talk was well attended, a real standing room only situation, and despite running a little late, everybody wanted to be there and was willing to wait. When the talk did start though, it was obvious from the beginning just what kind of affair it was going to be. The first person to come up on stage looked a bit uncomfortable, understandably when he introduced himself as the PPC for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield. "The Labour student group has asked me to say a few words." Which he did, and really sold himself. I mean, I now know he exists, which is great. His beliefs though? No idea. And why should I? This was meant to be about EU elections, and his presence as compere was not only awkward but damn clumsy.
Moving on, Eddie Izzard eventually appeared after a(n over)long introduction, and did his stuff. Talkig about his own student days at the university, and his political beliefs. And he's funny, real funny, I like him a lot, and I probably agree with most of his views about the EU. This was good, an hour of this would have been great, no doubt, especially had he handled the questions. But it turned out that the format of the talk was actually him handling questions to two guest from the Labour Party. Ack! I never signed up for this! Okay, the guests included Jack Straw (and some random MEP) so I suppose I should be homoured that he bothered to come and answer our questions in person. Who else gets that kind of fabulous treatment?
So, questions start coming, and they seem pretty tame. Considering all the stuff that the Labour government has managed to do in the last 12 years, a bit of sharp questioning would have been welcome. But no, just fairly soft tickling. I suppose people felt a little intimidated it being a Labour do, and there being lots of Labour folks there. That's understandable, I suppose. And there's no surprise that the answers equally tickled the audience without giving us something to grab onto. The guests spoke about their histories in the Labour Party, and how they believed in social justice and doing better for disadvantaged people, and how much they hate Thatcher. Which is nice, but I've heard it so much, so much before. I felt as though this could be anytime between 1997 and 2009, there was nothing new. Nothing they said spoke to me, answered my questions, touched my needs, really made me think, "here's the politics I want to be part of."
I left the talk. It was barely half way through. They can keep my £3 I paid for the ticket, but I'll keep my vote. I wasn't a fan of Labour before going to the talk, but I'm surprised they managed to increase my indifference.
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