Left-leaning watchers of the BBC’s Question Time programme are well aware of the procession of Tories that are mysteriously called upon to speak, usually early in the programme, to defend government policy or attack Labour – and are later revealed to be Tory councillors or activists, but not identified as such by the programme.
It’s so common that spotting the BBCQT ‘plant’, as they’re commonly referred to, is a regular Thursday night/Friday morning pastime for left-wingers as they try to identify the person given apparently preferential treatment by the show’s producers.
Last night, the first audience member called on by host David Dimbleby happened to speak passionately – as a Brexiteer who said she didn’t expect to like it – in defence of Theresa May’s disastrous Chequers ‘deal’ that resulted in the resignation of what seemed like half the Tory Cabinet and has seen May derided by observers and dismissed even by her hand-holder Donald Trump:
The audience member was not just a Conservative councillor but former Conservative parliamentary candidate Anna Firth, who has written for Conservative Home.
Cllr Firth told the programme that she had initially expected to disagree with the ‘accord’ until she read it, but last Saturday, when details of the Chequers ‘deal’ began to circulate, she congratulated ironically-named Tory MP James Cleverly in what seemed a very positive tone on his explanation of why he had accepted the deal and thought it was a good thing:
The SKWAWKBOX spoke to Cllr Firth and asked for clarification of what appears to be a mismatch. She insisted that she had initially been sceptical of the agreement and agreed that she had told Question Time that she read it not expecting to like it, but also said,
James [Cleverly] did a very good explanation of it and once I’d heard his explanation I then went and got the actual thing to see if I thought that his explanation was correct. And now I’ve read the whole…three pages it does look to me like a very very good starting point – well actually I think it should be our end point.
Comment:
Tories still don’t seem to ‘get’ social media or the internet.
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If you want to appear on BBCQT be ‘economical with the truth’. Tell them what U think they would like to hear. My wife & I both applied recently, her application rejected. UR not a Corbyn supporter or an activist in the Labour Party etc. UR everything the BBC would want U 2B.