Browse content similar to 17/12/2015. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Tonight on This Week, hankies at the ready | :00:10. | :00:13. | |
as inspiration fails us and we return to Downturn Abbey | :00:14. | :00:16. | |
We'll review a dramatic political year and look ahead to what could be | :00:17. | :00:22. | |
I've just been to see Her Majesty the Queen and I will now form a | :00:23. | :00:35. | |
majority Conservative Government. Our party has changed. We've grown | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
enormously, because of the hopes of so many ordinary people. | :00:41. | :00:43. | |
Lord of the Manor Quentin Letts and head butler Kevin Maguire | :00:44. | :00:45. | |
have downsized, but they still can't act. | :00:46. | :00:50. | |
I finally got to run the estate on my own and now my heir, George, he | :00:51. | :00:59. | |
thinks he's running the place. You think you've got it bad. I've been | :01:00. | :01:03. | |
purged by my own staff and who do you think they have put in charge? | :01:04. | :01:11. | |
The bearded bloke who inspects the Han hole covers. Manhole covers. | :01:12. | :01:14. | |
It's not only the cast of Downturn looking for new jobs. | :01:15. | :01:16. | |
Some big political figures have have also had to | :01:17. | :01:18. | |
I'm truly sorry I didn't succeed. Truly | :01:19. | :01:25. | |
Obviously the results have been more crushing than I imagined. | :01:26. | :01:28. | |
Settle down and treat yourself to a glass of mulled | :01:29. | :01:30. | |
Blue Nun as we prepare to serve our traditional | :01:31. | :01:32. | |
Welcome to our festive This Week 'Special' - | :01:33. | :01:43. | |
and I use the term advisedly - broadcasting to you from a veritable | :01:44. | :01:47. | |
no-expense spared Winter Wonderland, in O Little Town of Westminster. | :01:48. | :01:53. | |
It's our final show of the year - (HURRAH!) - and you join us | :01:54. | :01:59. | |
in a chillaxed mood, on what we like to call | :02:00. | :02:02. | |
We've ditched our traditional Christmas jumpers - | :02:03. | :02:07. | |
every Tom, Dick and One Show now copies us - | :02:08. | :02:09. | |
and decided to dress upmarket, as befits posh folk | :02:10. | :02:11. | |
And, as my contract demands, let's get this Party Seven started | :02:12. | :02:18. | |
with my very own band of merry carol singers. | :02:19. | :02:20. | |
Yes, they really do stagger through the snow | :02:21. | :02:22. | |
Hit me with your Yuletide rhythm stick, Ida! | :02:23. | :02:36. | |
Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, in the lane the snow is | :02:37. | :02:44. | |
glistening. A beautiful sight, we are happy tonight, walking in a | :02:45. | :02:50. | |
winter wonderland. Gone away, hear the bluebird. Here to stay is a new | :02:51. | :02:56. | |
bird. He sings a love song and we go along, walking in a winter | :02:57. | :03:03. | |
wonderland. Walking in a This Week wonderland. | :03:04. | :03:12. | |
APPLAUSE. I told you they were good. Ida will be singing us out tonight | :03:13. | :03:15. | |
to accompany your festive Twelfies. Yes, 'The Twelfie Night | :03:16. | :03:20. | |
of Christmas' is back! And once again it's time to tweet us | :03:21. | :03:22. | |
a festive picture of yourself - with proof you're | :03:23. | :03:25. | |
watching tonight's show. Extra points for any tinsel, | :03:26. | :03:27. | |
baubles, or Blue Nun in shot. If we get enough, our | :03:28. | :03:29. | |
work-experience elves will edit them Remember to tweet #TWelfie | :03:30. | :03:31. | |
if you want them to reach us. Speaking of programme content | :03:32. | :03:38. | |
we got on the cheap, I'm joined in the stable tonight | :03:39. | :03:41. | |
by four holy figures who travelled from afar, following a star, to bear | :03:42. | :03:45. | |
witness to my messiah complex. Think of them as the | :03:46. | :03:50. | |
Three Wise Pundits, and the Shadow Cabinet virgin | :03:51. | :03:56. | |
of late night political chat. I speak, of course, | :03:57. | :03:58. | |
of #sadmanonatrain Michael #madamemao Diane 'what happens | :03:59. | :04:00. | |
behind the Berlin Wall, stays behind the | :04:01. | :04:06. | |
Berlin Wall' Abbott. And #onepartystatesman - | :04:07. | :04:10. | |
SNP MP, John "I've forgot my wallet" And not forgetting the only | :04:11. | :04:15. | |
one you really care Aah. Michael, your moment of the | :04:16. | :04:34. | |
year? Well, it may seem a little bit dull but it was the unexpected, to | :04:35. | :04:38. | |
me, Conservative victory in the general election. Partly because it | :04:39. | :04:41. | |
brought in economic stability which I had not expected. I had expected | :04:42. | :04:47. | |
instability. It also ushered in political instability, because we | :04:48. | :04:50. | |
are now going to have a euro referendum. And goodness knows where | :04:51. | :04:56. | |
that will end up. We'll talk more about that. Diane? My exact moment | :04:57. | :05:01. | |
on the year was 10 o'clock on election night, I was on my way back | :05:02. | :05:05. | |
from my campaign headquarters and I heard that exit poll. I knew | :05:06. | :05:08. | |
straight away the exit poll was right. I never doubted the exit | :05:09. | :05:13. | |
poll. It was bongs on the Ten o'clock News on Radio 4 and I cried. | :05:14. | :05:19. | |
I knew we had lost. We kind of knew we were going to lose, but during | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
the campaign, the polls were so tight we began to believe we could | :05:24. | :05:28. | |
win. Not just tight, wrong. Basically wrong. Miranda? The Syria | :05:29. | :05:37. | |
vote actually, because it seemed to me such an appallingly tense moment | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
and these divisions between the two sides of the Labour Party were so | :05:44. | :05:50. | |
horribly on show. It is also very difficult to assess how Britain now | :05:51. | :05:54. | |
sees its place in the world. And David Cameron's attempts to play | :05:55. | :05:58. | |
Blair on the world stage. How will that end? And I think also very | :05:59. | :06:03. | |
divisive moment in terms of polarising people over whether they | :06:04. | :06:07. | |
think Britain should be militarily involved. Your guy spoke for this | :06:08. | :06:11. | |
military intervention. We are just doing moment of the year at the | :06:12. | :06:16. | |
moment. That comes later. I know you haven't been with us for a while. We | :06:17. | :06:23. | |
are not attacking every pundit. John, your moment of the year? I | :06:24. | :06:28. | |
suppose my moment of the year politically was being elected. Along | :06:29. | :06:35. | |
with quite a few others. It was the most extraordinary moment. The most | :06:36. | :06:39. | |
extraordinary night in Scotland. Unbelievable. These guys are much | :06:40. | :06:45. | |
more experienced politically than I am but nothing prepares you for | :06:46. | :06:50. | |
standing on stage, hearing your name, and having to go forward and | :06:51. | :06:56. | |
deliver a speech. And you are not a candidate any more but you are an | :06:57. | :07:02. | |
MP. You have to speak for the people who voted for you and against. And | :07:03. | :07:07. | |
prepare for losing too. He knows! Full of Christmas cheer. I've only | :07:08. | :07:14. | |
just been elected! About losing, we know who can give you lessons. | :07:15. | :07:19. | |
Now, for excited fans around the world, the wait is finally over. | :07:20. | :07:22. | |
Many of you no doubt grew up with a series set in a galaxy far, | :07:23. | :07:25. | |
far away, introducing us to some of the best-loved characters | :07:26. | :07:27. | |
And many of you will have no doubt queued since early this morn | :07:28. | :07:32. | |
to secure a front row seat for what critics are calling | :07:33. | :07:34. | |
Yes, 'may the force keep you well-and-truly awake' | :07:35. | :07:37. | |
as we return, once again, to the epic stately-home-space-opera | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
Later in the show we will premiere the sixth and latest instalment, | :07:42. | :07:47. | |
but for now, an exclusive look behind the scenes at how a modern | :07:48. | :07:50. | |
Think of what follows as the cheap DVD extras | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
It's a great British TV institution that's made us laugh and cry. | :07:56. | :08:11. | |
But after six years, two days and a whopping 14 episodes, | :08:12. | :08:18. | |
This Week's Downturn Abbey is finally drawing to a close. | :08:19. | :08:24. | |
So tonight our cameras have been given a rare glimpse into how | :08:25. | :08:31. | |
This place needs a bit of attention certainly. | :08:32. | :08:43. | |
The show began way back in 2010, when I was just a nipper, | :08:44. | :08:50. | |
following the ups and downs of life in a Westminster stately home. | :08:51. | :08:56. | |
You should see me bake a Victoria sponge! | :08:57. | :09:06. | |
Actually I had no choice, I was contractually obliged | :09:07. | :09:18. | |
But it did while away two or three minutes sitting on a platform | :09:19. | :09:24. | |
And I think it was a parable of modern life. | :09:25. | :09:29. | |
"O tempora o mores," as Cicero would say. | :09:30. | :09:35. | |
The stars of the show are the Eric and Ernie of late | :09:36. | :09:42. | |
The Daily Mail's fabulous Quentin Letts and the Mirror's | :09:43. | :09:49. | |
No, I don't know who they are either! | :09:50. | :09:55. | |
I only gave the programme six months at the start. | :09:56. | :09:58. | |
It was only meant to last as long as the coalition. | :09:59. | :10:00. | |
But it went on and on and on, and we've ended up like this. | :10:01. | :10:05. | |
Well, we do get on, despite coming from poles apart politically. | :10:06. | :10:11. | |
But Quentin, I've got to tell you, I voted for Jeremy Corbyn. | :10:12. | :10:14. | |
Hm, so did I... twice. | :10:15. | :10:19. | |
This year the part-time team of four have crammed 12 months of incredible | :10:20. | :10:28. | |
Relations on set are a little more tense than usual | :10:29. | :10:35. | |
It's a dire, awful, unbelievably bad programme, | :10:36. | :10:54. | |
and every year when I see Downturn Abbey it puts | :10:55. | :10:57. | |
The equivalent of which I have only reached those depths on May 7th | :10:58. | :11:02. | |
He'd obviously had some advance information. | :11:03. | :11:08. | |
I was expecting a great Labour victory. | :11:09. | :11:10. | |
He was on his iPhone booking up a holiday in Ibiza. | :11:11. | :11:16. | |
The year's other big stories were the rise of the SNP. | :11:17. | :11:21. | |
Jeremy Corbyn becoming leader of the Labour Party. | :11:22. | :11:24. | |
And our former Prime Minister spoke in the Commons for one last time. | :11:25. | :11:29. | |
the final ever episode of Downturn Abbey. | :11:30. | :12:01. | |
Magic, historical television. Thanks to Brian Blessed for doing the | :12:02. | :12:08. | |
commentary on that. It will be in the archives forever. All of you, | :12:09. | :12:12. | |
give me the major reason why you think Mr Cameron and the Tories | :12:13. | :12:16. | |
against most predictions won an overall majority. I think they had a | :12:17. | :12:23. | |
very targeted strategy. They took out the Lib Dems ruthlessly. From in | :12:24. | :12:27. | |
the West Country and other places. For people that were meant to be | :12:28. | :12:32. | |
their coalition targets. And although I thought Ed Miliband is | :12:33. | :12:36. | |
fantastic and has been proved right on many issues, he didn't cut it | :12:37. | :12:42. | |
with the electorate. John? People weren't convinced by Ed Miliband. I | :12:43. | :12:47. | |
would go around the doors in my constituency and Labour voters would | :12:48. | :12:50. | |
say, I cannot see that man as Prime Minister. I thought it was terribly | :12:51. | :12:58. | |
unfair, because I think he would have been a perfectly competent | :12:59. | :13:02. | |
Prime Minister. He is obviously a bright cookie. So Ed Miliband? I | :13:03. | :13:06. | |
think Ed Miliband really did the Labour Party a lot of damage. | :13:07. | :13:11. | |
Michael? Yes, Ed Miliband but the Conservatives convinced people that | :13:12. | :13:16. | |
they were serious about the economy and convinced people you needed to | :13:17. | :13:20. | |
be serious about the economy. Miranda? A combination of all these | :13:21. | :13:26. | |
things plus the genius message from the Conservatives they wouldn't just | :13:27. | :13:29. | |
be voting for Ed Miliband in Downing Street but Ed Miliband backed by the | :13:30. | :13:36. | |
SNP. And that I'm afraid is what, I know apologists argue about this, | :13:37. | :13:40. | |
but in the Lib Dem seats you don't get people voting Lib Dem if they | :13:41. | :13:43. | |
are scared of the Labour leader in Downing Street. All parties have | :13:44. | :13:48. | |
given that as the reason. Michael, why were you so convinced at the | :13:49. | :13:52. | |
time that it wasn't within Mr Cameron's ability to deliver an | :13:53. | :13:56. | |
overall majority? Because I couldn't see him improving on 37%, which was | :13:57. | :14:02. | |
what he had got the time before. Governments don't improve on their | :14:03. | :14:05. | |
previous record. And I couldn't conceive of the combination of votes | :14:06. | :14:09. | |
that would give the Tories an overall majority with 37%. They did | :14:10. | :14:15. | |
in fact get 37%, but because of the collapse of Labour Party, not least | :14:16. | :14:19. | |
in Scotland, this 37% was sufficient to give them an overall majority. | :14:20. | :14:22. | |
The Tories shouldn't convince themselves. When John Major won in | :14:23. | :14:29. | |
1992, they had 42% and millions of Tory votes have gone away and | :14:30. | :14:33. | |
haven't come back. And they won seats in Scotland too under John | :14:34. | :14:37. | |
Major. Isn't it worth pointing out, that even had Labour won every seat | :14:38. | :14:41. | |
in Scotland they still wouldn't have been able to form a government? I | :14:42. | :14:47. | |
wanted to make that point to Diane. You were wiped out in Scotland but | :14:48. | :14:49. | |
you did badly in England, why? Outside of London there is a lot to | :14:50. | :14:59. | |
be done to rebuild Labour's position with what we used to regard as core | :15:00. | :15:04. | |
Labour voters. And I think in Scotland as well there is an | :15:05. | :15:08. | |
organisational issue. Scotland had been a Bastian for so long that the | :15:09. | :15:12. | |
structure of the party had atrophied. That was one of the | :15:13. | :15:17. | |
issues, putting independence to one side. You agree now with Miranda | :15:18. | :15:22. | |
that it was that the Tories frightened particularly the English, | :15:23. | :15:27. | |
with not just Mr Miliband, but Miliband propped up by Nicola | :15:28. | :15:31. | |
Sturgeon? I was very doubtful that the time. I remember. Thank you, you | :15:32. | :15:40. | |
have a memory like an elephant. Especially when you are wrong. It | :15:41. | :15:46. | |
has been a hopeless year for me because I did misunderstand that, I | :15:47. | :15:49. | |
did not predict a Conservative victory and I did not dig the | :15:50. | :15:53. | |
triumph of Diane's friend, Jeremy Corbyn. As the SNP was taking all | :15:54. | :16:03. | |
before it and Nicola Sturgeon had become a UK- wide figure because of | :16:04. | :16:07. | |
the debates and the rise of the SNP, did you ever take into account that | :16:08. | :16:11. | |
you would as a result of this stop Labour from winning? No, because I | :16:12. | :16:16. | |
don't think it have that effect, myself. I think Labour lost on its | :16:17. | :16:23. | |
own, and because of its own policies and its own campaigning, and because | :16:24. | :16:28. | |
of its own leader. So I don't accept that analysis. And I have to say, I | :16:29. | :16:33. | |
have not met these mythical people who apparently were so scared of the | :16:34. | :16:38. | |
SNP they decided to vote Tory. You might need to get around England a | :16:39. | :16:42. | |
bit more. Miranda, tell him he is wrong. Diane's point about the well | :16:43. | :16:49. | |
targeted Tory campaign, it is on the level of, if you vote Labour, Nicola | :16:50. | :16:56. | |
Sturgeon will block your ARoad. You will not have met those people, | :16:57. | :17:02. | |
because it was a talented campaign. -- targeted campaign. | :17:03. | :17:11. | |
How did a lacklustre Miliband lead to an unknown Corbyn? It wasn't, as | :17:12. | :17:19. | |
it were, from individual to individual. I think it was that the | :17:20. | :17:24. | |
party as a whole decided, decisively, that it wanted to put | :17:25. | :17:29. | |
the Blair-Brown years behind it. Is that what happened in the summer? I | :17:30. | :17:36. | |
think so. All of the candidates were good, particularly Liz Kendall, who | :17:37. | :17:41. | |
I don't agree with, but was tied in with the Blair-Brown legacy. The | :17:42. | :17:45. | |
party said, maybe great things were done, but we want to move ahead. It | :17:46. | :17:50. | |
depends what you mean by the party. The parliamentary party did not once | :17:51. | :17:54. | |
Jeremy Corbyn. He was only nominated because some people lent their votes | :17:55. | :17:59. | |
to him for the nomination. They won't do that again in a hurry! As | :18:00. | :18:05. | |
for the party at large, as you know, the ranks were swollen by vast | :18:06. | :18:10. | |
numbers appear from nowhere. We have just seen the joke where Quentin | :18:11. | :18:14. | |
Letts says that he voted for Jeremy Corbyn. Michael, I love you. But you | :18:15. | :18:20. | |
need to stop reading Tory propaganda. Jeremy one in every | :18:21. | :18:25. | |
section of the electorate, existing members, ?3 per head members and the | :18:26. | :18:30. | |
trade union affiliates. Not the members of Parliament. It was a | :18:31. | :18:38. | |
decisive win. Did it ever cross any leading Lib Dem mind that the party | :18:39. | :18:43. | |
would be all but wiped out? I don't think it did. It was a huge | :18:44. | :18:47. | |
surprise. Something really bad happened which had never happened in | :18:48. | :18:52. | |
any party. There was a tinge of believing your own propaganda. This | :18:53. | :18:58. | |
idea that Lib Dem MPs as individuals are so well dug in and in their | :18:59. | :19:01. | |
local area that they are untouchable. OK, fine, but if the | :19:02. | :19:06. | |
tide is going out massively, even that is not going to save you. So | :19:07. | :19:12. | |
there was quite a lot of delusion, actually. It was inevitable that | :19:13. | :19:17. | |
going into coalition was going to be electorally toxic, but the scale of | :19:18. | :19:22. | |
the damage, no way to predict. Was it hard to see Nick Clegg preside | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
over the crushing of his party yet keep his seat? If he had lost his | :19:28. | :19:30. | |
seat, he could have started life all over again. I think he has, he does | :19:31. | :19:37. | |
not turn up and vote very often. He did make a very good resignation | :19:38. | :19:45. | |
speech. That is a new meaning to damning with faint praise. That was | :19:46. | :19:50. | |
the best moment of my career. And you have gone on to great things, so | :19:51. | :19:56. | |
there we are. Is Scotland now a 1-party state? No, because a 1-party | :19:57. | :20:02. | |
state is eight country where only one party is allowed to stand. | :20:03. | :20:08. | |
Scotland is a country which has... You are not going to allow other | :20:09. | :20:13. | |
parties to stand, are you? It is worth saying we all know what they | :20:14. | :20:16. | |
1-party state is, and it certainly is not Scotland. You know what I | :20:17. | :20:24. | |
mean, you are so dominant now, in a sense you have all of these MPs in | :20:25. | :20:27. | |
Westminster, but do you really have much power? It is interesting how | :20:28. | :20:34. | |
the narrative has changed about SNP MPs at Westminster. In May we were | :20:35. | :20:39. | |
all uncontrollable hooligans. You were going to be drunk every night. | :20:40. | :20:44. | |
Drunk on champagne, the Daily Mail said. We would be staggering around | :20:45. | :20:48. | |
and Nicola Sturgeon would be unable to control us. Fast forward, and the | :20:49. | :20:55. | |
narrative has changed and we are now 56 robots, marching in perfect | :20:56. | :21:00. | |
Unison. Not really, because only 54 of you have the whip. Two have | :21:01. | :21:06. | |
already lost the whip. But in the Daily Mail, the other two are still | :21:07. | :21:09. | |
marching with us. Because they want the job back! It... The SNP is doing | :21:10. | :21:21. | |
well because people seem to like the SNP. It has been in government for | :21:22. | :21:25. | |
eight years. If we look at the polls in Scotland it is extraordinary. At | :21:26. | :21:29. | |
the next election, the Holyrood election, they seem on course to win | :21:30. | :21:35. | |
even more seats. We will go there shortly for all of you in 2016. | :21:36. | :21:38. | |
Now, enough of this conversational good cheer. | :21:39. | :21:40. | |
Let's raise a glass once more to our very merry carol singers. | :21:41. | :21:43. | |
# Ding dong merrily on high # In heaven the bells are ringing | :21:44. | :21:57. | |
# Ding-dong verily the sky # Is riven with angels singing | :21:58. | :22:06. | |
# Gloria # Portillo in ex-Chelsea this | :22:07. | :22:14. | |
# # Portillo in | :22:15. | :22:26. | |
That is the best one yet! He loves being sung about. | :22:27. | :22:31. | |
Ladies and gentlemen, our merry carollers, | :22:32. | :22:33. | |
Appearing on a front doorstep near you very soon. | :22:34. | :22:36. | |
Please give them all your spare change. | :22:37. | :22:38. | |
And don't forget, you too can let the Christmas spirit pour forth | :22:39. | :22:40. | |
on The Twitter, The Fleecebook and the former Great Leader's World | :22:41. | :22:43. | |
We guarantee that all comments and complaints will receive | :22:44. | :22:46. | |
and ready yourself for the cinematic ride of your life, | :22:47. | :22:54. | |
as we suspend all critical faculties and rejoin the cast | :22:55. | :22:56. | |
of Downturn Abbey for their latest and final epic adventure. | :22:57. | :23:01. | |
We'd like to say this year's film picks up | :23:02. | :23:04. | |
head nor tail of last year's instalment, so we're not wildly | :23:05. | :23:11. | |
See if you can figure out what the hell we're on about, | :23:12. | :23:15. | |
as we return, one more time, to Downturn Abbey. | :23:16. | :23:44. | |
I can't believe it's come to this Maguire. | :23:45. | :23:48. | |
Packed off to the dower house, at my age. | :23:49. | :23:50. | |
There's so much I still want to do. | :23:51. | :23:58. | |
After five years of being held back I'm in charge alone. | :23:59. | :24:01. | |
And now my heir, George, he thinks he's running the place. | :24:02. | :24:06. | |
Bargain Hunt's on the wireless, my lord. | :24:07. | :24:13. | |
You think you've got it bad, my lord. | :24:14. | :24:19. | |
And who do you think they've put in charge? | :24:20. | :24:22. | |
That bearded bloke who inspects the manhole covers. | :24:23. | :24:25. | |
He could be here for the next five years. | :24:26. | :24:28. | |
I thought you'd taken up with that Farage fellow. | :24:29. | :25:17. | |
No, it turns out I don't need a partner after all. | :25:18. | :25:21. | |
I always knew you hated me but even I never dreamed you could be | :25:22. | :25:32. | |
How is the resistance at Downturn, comrades? | :25:33. | :25:50. | |
Mr Maguire, it's so depressing, it's a shambles downstairs. | :25:51. | :25:53. | |
Every idea has to be submitted to a subcommittee of the staff. | :25:54. | :25:57. | |
That is reviewed in parallel by an executive of former valets. | :25:58. | :26:01. | |
Then it has to be approved by two thirds of the executive, | :26:02. | :26:05. | |
unless it is overruled by a commissariat of the butler. | :26:06. | :26:10. | |
I only asked for a cup of tea and a custard cream. | :26:11. | :26:13. | |
Oh, look, it's the Downturn carol singers. | :26:14. | :26:22. | |
# We'll keep the red flag flying here... | :26:23. | :26:26. | |
Well, they've certainly got "momentum". | :26:27. | :26:29. | |
Shall I turf them out into the gutter, my lord, | :26:30. | :26:37. | |
Keep it up for another five years, I say. | :26:38. | :26:43. | |
Every time I go away to make one of my little railway films, | :26:44. | :26:53. | |
It's bad enough that you've made a mess of the big house and now | :26:54. | :26:59. | |
Go on, clear off, or I'll get Mr Carson onto you. | :27:00. | :27:05. | |
Kevin and Quentin never returned to Downturn Abbey. | :27:06. | :27:17. | |
The house was demolished to make way for a third runway | :27:18. | :27:20. | |
The end of a TV epic. Television will never be like that again. | :27:21. | :27:52. | |
Diane, Jeremy Corbyn has a mandate from the members but not the MPs or | :27:53. | :27:57. | |
the Shadow Cabinet. Does he unite the party by reaching out to the | :27:58. | :28:02. | |
mainstream in 2016, all recast the party in his image? Party membership | :28:03. | :28:09. | |
has doubled and the people that have joined are more likely to support | :28:10. | :28:12. | |
Jeremy Corbyn. You do not support after a new leader if you do not | :28:13. | :28:17. | |
support the leader. But Syria was immensely divisive. But there is | :28:18. | :28:21. | |
more unity around domestic politics, so we have to hope, if you want the | :28:22. | :28:26. | |
Labour Party to succeed, that we managed to gain unity around | :28:27. | :28:29. | |
domestic politics while the Tories are split on Europe. If the party | :28:30. | :28:36. | |
has changed, do institutions within the party, like the National | :28:37. | :28:39. | |
executive committee and the Shadow Cabinet, do they have to change to | :28:40. | :28:43. | |
reflect the changing nature of the party? Overtime. As far as I know | :28:44. | :28:49. | |
there are no plans for a reshuffle, no plans for drastic constitutional | :28:50. | :28:53. | |
change. Will there be a reshuffle next year to make it more like you | :28:54. | :29:00. | |
and Mr Corbyn? Not as far as I know. So there will be, I can see by your | :29:01. | :29:07. | |
face. Will you give us a date? From all of you, briefly, will Mr Corbyn | :29:08. | :29:13. | |
lead Labour into the next election? Yes, the Labour Party is sentimental | :29:14. | :29:17. | |
about its leaders. I think there is something important about the way | :29:18. | :29:20. | |
the Labour Party voted, and it is that they were told for years and | :29:21. | :29:26. | |
years that if they trimmed and they bit their tongue and adopted | :29:27. | :29:28. | |
policies they did not relieve believing, they would be electorally | :29:29. | :29:32. | |
successful. It failed, so this time they thought, you know what, we | :29:33. | :29:36. | |
don't think he will win the election but we will vote for someone who we | :29:37. | :29:41. | |
actually believe in. I just want to know if he will take Labour into the | :29:42. | :29:43. | |
next election. I am certainly will. Will he be able to do it for five | :29:44. | :29:56. | |
years? I don't see how they'll be able to dislodge him, and with | :29:57. | :30:02. | |
boundary changes... Michael? The MPs will attempt to drive him to a | :30:03. | :30:07. | |
nervous breakdown so he resigns but they'll be unsuccessful. I know what | :30:08. | :30:12. | |
your answer will be. There are a lot of elections in May, local elections | :30:13. | :30:17. | |
in England, Scottish Parliament elections, Welsh Assembly elections, | :30:18. | :30:21. | |
Northern Ireland too? I'm not sure. How big a test for Mr Corbyn? They | :30:22. | :30:28. | |
are a test but it's not a defining test. The regional elections, maybe | :30:29. | :30:34. | |
we'll do well. We hope to win London, but it is tricky. We've only | :30:35. | :30:40. | |
won London as the Labour Party once in four elections. I believe Jeremy | :30:41. | :30:45. | |
will survive and lead introduce 2020. The Tories, Michael, Mr | :30:46. | :30:51. | |
Cameron and Europe, which as we see is gaining momentum as an issue and | :30:52. | :30:57. | |
trouble for the Tories is an issue too. In terms of trouble, will | :30:58. | :31:01. | |
Europe be for the Tories what Mr Corbyn is for Labour? I don't think | :31:02. | :31:05. | |
it is a problem for the Tories in the sense that once you have the | :31:06. | :31:09. | |
vote the thing is resolved. So whatever split there's been in the | :31:10. | :31:14. | |
Conservative Party has finished once it has happened. I see it as a | :31:15. | :31:17. | |
disaster for the Prime Minister, because if the country doesn't vote | :31:18. | :31:24. | |
the way he wants it too, and it is looking less certain it will, it is | :31:25. | :31:29. | |
less certain how he can remain in his position. He must in the quiet | :31:30. | :31:32. | |
moments of the night be thinking, why did I hold this referendum? What | :31:33. | :31:38. | |
have I done? It was unnecessary. Something that seemed like a bright | :31:39. | :31:43. | |
idea three or four years ago in the circumstances of the moment, which | :31:44. | :31:49. | |
we have all forgotten, Ukip in the ascendancy, now seems like a | :31:50. | :31:53. | |
wretched idea. Do you get the sense the Government would like to get | :31:54. | :31:57. | |
this referendum over quickly? It has until the late autumn of 2017. Don't | :31:58. | :32:02. | |
you feel if it could do it in 2016 it will do it? The longer this goes | :32:03. | :32:07. | |
on the more Cameron's last years as Prime Minister, since he know he is | :32:08. | :32:11. | |
going, are dominated by this problem. You don't necessarily want | :32:12. | :32:16. | |
a referendum midterm. There are lots of factors pushing towards them | :32:17. | :32:21. | |
trying to get it done in 2016. All of the incrowd, as it were, would | :32:22. | :32:27. | |
like to do that. It is early days yet because the public aren't | :32:28. | :32:31. | |
concentrating on this issue, it is a Westminster issue at the moment. But | :32:32. | :32:35. | |
it will come when he comes back with some deal, or whatever it is. A | :32:36. | :32:41. | |
triumph. It is always going to be a try. Harold Wilson said it was | :32:42. | :32:46. | |
triumph when he got almost nothing, in 1975. Do you get the sense the | :32:47. | :32:50. | |
main campaign is losing ground a bit? I think on balance people will | :32:51. | :32:56. | |
vote to stay in. I think we'll see Project Fear 2. Referring of course | :32:57. | :32:59. | |
to the Scottish referendum. The Scottish referendum. They'll be told | :33:00. | :33:06. | |
the UK will be a bask case if at this time leaves the European Union, | :33:07. | :33:09. | |
so I think on balance people will vote. But it could be tighter. | :33:10. | :33:15. | |
People in referenda people tend to vote for the statous quo, so I think | :33:16. | :33:22. | |
the balance of probability is the referendum will be next year. Amber | :33:23. | :33:27. | |
Rudd let that cat out of the bag, and tinge Prime Minister will win. | :33:28. | :33:31. | |
But how he'll be able to repackage the absolute defeat he will suffer | :33:32. | :33:35. | |
with his negotiations with other European leaders as a triumph will | :33:36. | :33:41. | |
be host amusing to watch. But this is really difficult, because all of | :33:42. | :33:46. | |
David Cameron's domestic political opponents want to take potshots at | :33:47. | :33:51. | |
the disastrous strategy, the smoke and mirrors over the renegotiation, | :33:52. | :33:57. | |
but everyone else who wants to remain in will have to rally around | :33:58. | :34:05. | |
David Cameron. What happens with the independents when Labour was on the | :34:06. | :34:09. | |
platforms with the Tories, the voters didn't like it. Can you | :34:10. | :34:18. | |
foresee any scenario in which we would come out? No. That's very | :34:19. | :34:28. | |
disobliging. I don't think they are quite as stupid as sometimes he | :34:29. | :34:32. | |
thinks that we are on. On the timing of the referendum, he is likely to | :34:33. | :34:35. | |
treat this as a general election campaign, so of course he would like | :34:36. | :34:39. | |
to get it out of the way in June 2016. But if you get into 2016 and | :34:40. | :34:44. | |
it doesn't look like you can win, you must postpone it and hope that | :34:45. | :34:49. | |
something will turn up. Whereas it could get worse. By 2017, midterm, | :34:50. | :34:55. | |
even successful governments are often unpopular. John, you swept all | :34:56. | :35:02. | |
before you in the general election. All the polls suggest that you're | :35:03. | :35:07. | |
going to do very well. Maybe even better than your current situation | :35:08. | :35:12. | |
in the Holyrood elections. At this point we are taking nothing for | :35:13. | :35:19. | |
granted. That's the political cliche I'm meant to trot out at this stage. | :35:20. | :35:24. | |
We are united on that. But despite the success of the SNP, independence | :35:25. | :35:30. | |
is kind of off the agenda. Well, it is and it isn't. It is an | :35:31. | :35:33. | |
extraordinary thing, when I go around and speak to a lot of schools | :35:34. | :35:37. | |
in my constituency and elsewhere, one of the remarkable things when | :35:38. | :35:43. | |
you ask the kids for a show of hands who supports independence and who | :35:44. | :35:46. | |
doesn't. We are talking about voters, 16, 17 and 18-year-olds, | :35:47. | :35:50. | |
very few people say they don't support independence. Wasn't that | :35:51. | :35:54. | |
true at the referendum too? Yes, and it an age demographic things. 65s | :35:55. | :36:00. | |
and others were strongly against independence. If the referendum had | :36:01. | :36:07. | |
been confined to 16 and older, it would have been a yes. My feeling is | :36:08. | :36:14. | |
that... So why don't you talk about it more? Well, I think you've got to | :36:15. | :36:20. | |
respect the electorate. We had a vote and people voted the way they | :36:21. | :36:25. | |
wanted to vote. I never liked it before I became a politician when I | :36:26. | :36:32. | |
used to watch referenda in Europe and politicians would keep asking | :36:33. | :36:35. | |
until they got the answer they wanted. You don't say, your party, | :36:36. | :36:40. | |
that if England votes to come out of the EU but Scotland votes to stay | :36:41. | :36:45. | |
in, that is automatically a case for another referendum. You don't say | :36:46. | :36:50. | |
that any more. I do think if England votes to pull out and we vote to | :36:51. | :36:53. | |
stay in, I think that will certainly trigger a bit of a crisis. A bit a | :36:54. | :37:02. | |
bit of a crisis, not necessarily a referendum. I haven't had a | :37:03. | :37:06. | |
discussion with any senior party figure that. But I do know that | :37:07. | :37:14. | |
often in the constituency I will talk to noe voters who say if we | :37:15. | :37:19. | |
pull out of the European Union I will vote for independence. Am I | :37:20. | :37:23. | |
allowed to meanly mention the oil price? Do you think that might have | :37:24. | :37:31. | |
something to do with it The chat in the pubs is not about oil prices. It | :37:32. | :37:41. | |
might be in ab-David Beckham. It might be in Aberdeen. Anyway, you | :37:42. | :37:46. | |
are enjoying yourself in the flesh pots of Westminster, I use that | :37:47. | :37:52. | |
metaphorically, of course. Would you care if Britain voted to leave the | :37:53. | :37:58. | |
European Union? I would. Whatever one's problems, I think the way | :37:59. | :38:02. | |
Greece was treated was appalling. The European union has always been a | :38:03. | :38:10. | |
union of elite. Sounds like the Stockholm syndrome when you fall in | :38:11. | :38:19. | |
love with your kidnapper. I had forgotten how rude he is. I remember | :38:20. | :38:24. | |
she used to lag off the European Union. | :38:25. | :38:26. | |
Tonight on This Week, hankies at the ready | :38:27. | :38:35. | |
That's enough chatter from Diane Abbott. | :38:36. | :38:36. | |
Tis the season to be jolly, through the ancient Christmas Carol... The | :38:37. | :39:04. | |
one and only Ida. Crazy name, crazy ladies. | :39:05. | :39:11. | |
Awards and predictions. UK politician of the year? I don't mean | :39:12. | :39:21. | |
to be too party loyal, but it has to be Nicola Sturgeon. I'm not | :39:22. | :39:25. | |
surprised and there's a strong case for saying so. Miranda? Michael | :39:26. | :39:31. | |
Gove, who has gone to the Department of Justice and behaved like a | :39:32. | :39:37. | |
liberal and overturned all the terrible things that Chris Grayling | :39:38. | :39:44. | |
did. And wear rose robes and walk back Wards. Mike Snell Nicola | :39:45. | :39:59. | |
Sturgeon. It was a great achievement, but I don't think it | :40:00. | :40:03. | |
compares with Nicola Sturgeon wiping the floor in Scotland. That's a fair | :40:04. | :40:08. | |
argument. World politician of the year? Oh, dear. Mrs Merkel. I don't | :40:09. | :40:17. | |
share her politics but I've been filled with admiration for what she | :40:18. | :40:21. | |
has done with the refugees. To take on public opinion in Germany in the | :40:22. | :40:25. | |
way she has done, to do what she thinks is the right thing is | :40:26. | :40:29. | |
enormously admirable. And maybe paying the high price for it. Next | :40:30. | :40:35. | |
summer, the 206 summer will be an interesting time in Germany. | :40:36. | :40:43. | |
Millions settling there. Miranda? I think since John has taken Angela | :40:44. | :40:48. | |
Merkel, Barack Obama, because of the way he has spoken out against gun | :40:49. | :40:53. | |
crime in the US. It has been such an appalling year in America about mass | :40:54. | :40:58. | |
shootings. But not managed to do anything about it. Michael, world | :40:59. | :41:04. | |
politician? I think probably Angela Merkel. She's dominated Europe and | :41:05. | :41:11. | |
put a whole career on the line over the immigrants. And because Barack | :41:12. | :41:17. | |
Obama has disappeared. So she has filled a vacuum. Disagreement there. | :41:18. | :41:23. | |
Very well. Die an? Angela Merkel, because I like the way all the men | :41:24. | :41:32. | |
are so frightened of her. OK. Not chairman Mao? No-one thought about | :41:33. | :41:46. | |
President Putin? He has enough admirers in strange quarters. A | :41:47. | :41:51. | |
great admirer of Donald Trump. That will help Donald Trump. Who will be | :41:52. | :41:56. | |
the two presidential candidates in the election? Hillary Clinton. And I | :41:57. | :42:03. | |
I fear Donald Trump. And who would win? Hillary Clinton, without a | :42:04. | :42:10. | |
doubt. Trump and Clinton, Clinton to win. I take about as much interest | :42:11. | :42:15. | |
in this as I do Star Wars at the moment, but I would be delighted to | :42:16. | :42:20. | |
see Hillary Clinton trump Donald Trump. I worked in American politics | :42:21. | :42:26. | |
in the Senate. I think if the Republicans have an ounce of common | :42:27. | :42:33. | |
sense, they don't, they would go for the Reuben. They need the Hispanic | :42:34. | :42:39. | |
vote but they probably won't. I think Hillary Clinton will get the | :42:40. | :42:42. | |
Democratic nomination and she will win because of the Hispanic vote. | :42:43. | :42:46. | |
The Republican party will go so far to the right in the primaries they | :42:47. | :42:50. | |
will not find it possible to win the general election. We know what one | :42:51. | :42:56. | |
famous woman will end up doing, Mrs Clinton. What job will Diane be | :42:57. | :43:02. | |
doing by the end of the year? Could be the same one or a little | :43:03. | :43:07. | |
promotion. She could turn her hand to anything. Such a crawler. I am | :43:08. | :43:15. | |
waiting to see... Shadow Foreign Secretary. Diane, Shadow Foreign | :43:16. | :43:21. | |
Secretary? I love my current job in international development. Madam | :43:22. | :43:24. | |
Mao. That's your lot for tonight | :43:25. | :43:28. | |
folks, and for 2015. But not for us, because Lou Lou's | :43:29. | :43:31. | |
is double-booked tonight. Half the club's reserved | :43:32. | :43:33. | |
for the This Week Christmas party, the other half for Jose | :43:34. | :43:37. | |
Mourinho's leaving do. So let the battle of | :43:38. | :43:40. | |
the over-inflated egos commence. We'll be back in the new year, | :43:41. | :43:44. | |
but in the meantime we leave you with some seasonal cheer, | :43:45. | :43:48. | |
and our one and only lasting contribution to | :43:49. | :43:51. | |
Western civilisation. The This Week celebration | :43:52. | :43:52. | |
of Yuletide narcissism, otherwise known as the TWelfie | :43:53. | :43:56. | |
Night of Christmas. Accompanied by my very own band | :43:57. | :43:58. | |
of merry carol singers, Nighty night - don't let | :43:59. | :44:01. | |
the mulled Blue Nun bite. Silen Night Holy n All is calm, all | :44:02. | :44:41. | |
is bright, round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and | :44:42. | :45:03. | |
mild. Sleep in Heavenly peace. Sleep in Heavenly peace. | :45:04. | :45:12. | |
Heavenly host sing hallelujah. Christ the Saviour is born. Christ | :45:13. | :46:03. | |
the thy saviour is born. Will this Christmas | :46:04. | :46:07. | |
be one to remember... Your birth mum - if someone said, | :46:08. | :46:10. | |
"I can track her down," | :46:11. | :46:14. |