On Sunday I was fortunate enough to be in the live audience for the Politics Show debate at the Labour Party Conference. John Prescott and Charles Clarke were the heavyweight (no pun intended) politicians on the panel, accompanied by Polly Toynbee from the Guardian, who - being a liberal - sat well and truly on the fence throughout the debate and did a good job of plugging her new book. Having spoken at length with the shows producer earlier in the week, he obviously saw fit to plonk this born and bred labourite in the back row in case I was in any danger of spouting left wing propoganda from the front row. I didn't get to heckle Charles Clarke for sounding like a Tory, but I was fortunate to be sat next to a proud dad who had driven his 16 year old daughter to Manchester from Northampton that morning to support her in her love of politics. After spending the last 3 years working with a mixture of dissassociated youths and angry-at-the-system prisoners it was hugely refreshing to speak to this passionate young woman who undoubtedly has a bright future ahead of her. It was also refreshing to watch John Prescott bare down on a Daily Mail journo in the front row (complete with flimsy flop haircut and rah rah rah accent) for mentioning the current employment situation. A quick rebuttal from good old John on 3 million unemployed under the tories seemed to do the trick. It's good to see a politician with some gruff passion, others might call it aggressive and uncouth, I call it ballsy and true. Maybe its just the way we do things in the North.
In other news, I must congratulate my friend Greg Holt. After three years of hard slog he has at last signed the lease on his first office/studio and will be tackling the TV industry head on as a camera operator/editor in the months and years to come under the banner of Bridgewater Media (if he hasnt changed his mind on the name yet). On a similar vane, I am hereby appealing for a new drinking buddy, applications on a postcard please.
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