01/06/2017 This Week

Tonight, This Week on Britain's got talent. They are all competing for

your votes, but who will top the public poll in next week's final?

Jeremy Corbyn? Theresa May? Tim Farron? Has Britain's media played a

blinder? Akala thinks the act is a joke. The media do not have my vote,

they have been biased and focused on personality over policy. Does

Britain have talent? As the political act but in their final

performances, it is almost time to pick a winner. And Lydia Bright is

finding it all too emotional. I am so excited to be in the click, this

is so much better than Towie. They are battling to keep their political

dreams alive. I cannot believe this is happening. I do not want it to go

on and on and on. 40 million votes soon to be cast, counted and

verified, who will make it to the very top and win the key to number

ten and an audience with Her Majesty the Queen?

And I begin tonight with a defence of the Westminster bubble.

Rightly or wrongly, the Westminster bubble has never

At least, so it seemed when she called the election,

enjoying a 20-point lead in the polls.

But as the campaign has progressed, perhaps as folks got

to know her a bit better, the views of voters

and the much-maligned bubble became more aligned.

Or so it would seem from the narrowing of the polls.

Perhaps, for once, the bubble was ahead of the people.

Of course, that doesn't mean she's going to lose.

Margaret Thatcher had several serious wobbles in the 1987 campaign

But as the campaign trail of 2017 has wended its often-tedious way,

it's been clear that whereas Jeremy Corbyn has really

started to enjoy himself, Mrs May has come to regard it

as the political equivalent of Chinese water torture.

There's one more week to go, or endure.

The Westminster bubble still thinks Mrs May will be PM on June 9th,

And even this defence of the bubble is not

Speaking of those who've spent their whole lives in a bubble,

largely because polite society thought it best, short of locking

them up, I'm joined on the sofa tonight by two political glum

buckets who could never be mistaken for a ray of sunshine.

Think of them as the weak and wobbly of late-night political chat.

I speak of course of Ed #DancingQueen Balls

Your moment of the week? My moment. About our election, it was in

France, when Emmanuel Macron through shade at Vladimir Putin. They were

on the podium together, one of the criticisms has been that he is a boy

wonder with no substance, but he took on Vladimir Putin and his

machine direct, he criticised Sputnik, Russia Today for their

interference in the Democratic process, and he is proving, contrary

to some of the earlier predictions of him as an insubstantial creation,

to be a formidable front rank politician. He has got off to an

amazing start, it means he is ahead in the polls for the French assembly

elections as well. It is amazing. A majority for a party that did not

exist. It is remarkable that a party that did not exist a year ago is on

course for if not a landslide... A tonne of seats. It was Monday night

in the debate, Theresa May was not barracked or booed or haste, she was

lost at by the audience, and that is a bad omen for any politician. You

are right she will still be the Prime Minister after the election,

the polls suggest that, but she went in inking this would strengthen her,

and there is no doubt that was a big miscalculation, she is substantially

weakened, and when the public openly laugh, that is bad for a politician.

You have no idea what we would give for the public to laugh at us, we

have been trying for years. Now, some of our regular viewers,

that will be Jo and Dave from Southend, have complained that

they're suffering Over two million people have

registered to vote since Theresa May called this election,

with registrations coming at a faster rate than before

the Brexit referendum. This election will, after all,

determine the future of our country. Of our security, our economy,

our public services and, looming above it all,

what Britain might Have the broadcasters,

the newspapers, covered the issues properly whilst giving all those

who aspire to be Prime Minister Here's poet and campaigner Akala

with his take of the week. Until last week virtually the entire

mainstream media predicted a landslide victory for the

Conservatives and had written off Jeremy Corbyn as totally

unelectable, but the Labour leader is outside the bubble, he speaks to

many of my generation who came of age during the Iraq war, a period of

lies by media and Government. We have often been written off as a

political, that many people like me will be voting for the first time.

Jeremy Corbyn has been subjected to personal attacks in the media,

especially in the wake of the Manchester bombing, blasted as a

shameless apologist for men of evil. But his recognition that the Iraq

war help spread terrorism echoes the analysis of the intelligence

services and even some Tories. The media lies have boosted his

credibility. Similarly, the failure of

journalists to properly probe Prime Minister about Britain's

relationship with Saudi Arabia, even as they kill civilians in Yemen by

bombs sold to them by British companies, or the proposed

dismantling of the NHS has served to confirm that the media is indeed

protecting the elite. Why is this surprising? A hugely

disproportionate amount of senior figures within the British media

went to the same private schools and universities as our senior

politicians. Can they represent the radically diverging worldviews that

exist within Britain? Much less the five billionaires that own an

estimated 80% of British media. Last year a study ranked the British

media of the most right wing of the major countries in Europe. Is it any

surprise that the social policies that are considered normal and much

of the continent are portrayed as left-wing lunacy here?

No expense spared by the production team! Welcome to the programme. If

the media is so biased against Jeremy Corbyn, why is he having such

a good campaign? Partly because Theresa May has proved completely

inept, she has called a snap election, her campaign has been all

over the place, there has been a large social media presence, and at

the Labour Party has gained momentum, the media has had to take

them more seriously, the Pru awful wigs ago the tone of serious

opposition. There at all. Many in the Labour Party thought that as

well. If the media is full of Tory stooges, what about the polls now?

They have seen a campaign that is inept, they have seen a manifesto

that has been written off by -- as Marxist nonsense, but this is not

even close, it contains many policies that are at a looking

normal in some of the wealthiest countries in the world, and another

manifesto that is completely un-costed. The media has told them

it is on costed. I do not understand why the media has been so biased,

the media has reported a lot of how bad Theresa May's campaign has been,

that Jeremy Corbyn is having a better campaign than most people

expected, than even he himself. If you add that together, I would have

thought the media is doing its job. I don't know if I accept that. The

media has had to take the candidate more seriously as the trends have

changed, and it is people who have organised and shown their support

and record youth registration that has come out has forced a change in

tone and an attempt to treat this seriously. Have the media been

biased against Jeremy Corbyn? He has faced some tough questions in the

early period, and Theresa May has had some tough questions in the

later period. When you think of David Cameron or George Osbourne

when they were Prime Minister and Chancellor, or Theresa May, two they

faced the questions Jeremy gets asked about what he was doing 30, 35

years ago? The counter argument is it goes to questions of political

judgment and character, the relationships he had and the people

he dealt with. My argument comes back to this, one of the strengths

of our society is we have an independent BBC, which is not owned

by billionaires, and is trusted because it has always been objective

and tough, the BBC has been tough on both sides in this campaign, quite a

lot of Jeremy Corbyn supporters think the BBC is part of the elite

establishment, but I am not sure it is right. Do you draw the

distinction between the broadcasters and the newspapers? The newspapers

have been much worse, but you make a point about Jeremy Corbyn facing

tough questions about the past, why is the Prime Minister not facing

tough questions about calibration ship with a country that is a fund

of terrorism? We will see how it pans out, but the article in the

Daily Mail suggested that the Manchester terrorist was not only

allowed but facilitated in travelling to Libya to kill people

and help overthrow Colonel Gaddafi and be let back into the country...

It has been raised about Theresa May. I take the point. We'll be

Prime Minister be grilled about that? What is wrong with grilling

the Labour leader? Absolutely nothing, but I am asking now, we

have trade relationships with a country that stands accused of

terrorism now, not 34 years ago, and I do not see the same tone of

questioning. I am not suggesting it is completely disparate, there are

subtle differences that add up to massive differences. When a former

politician gets the cover of the Evening Standard to save comrades

Jeremy Corbyn flies the flag, that his adjectives, it is not critic of

policy. It is not a Marxist manifesto. The Evening Standard is

not exactly a cheerleader for the Prime Minister. I take the point.

Maybe the newspapers do not matter as much anymore. They matter

slightly less. One area where I disagree is that the media is not a

monolith. Nobody is forced to consume newspapers or any particular

type of media. There have been alternatives, and on the left there

are websites, whatever I might think of them, they have a voice. There is

a greater degree of clueless, and amongst some younger voters there is

an enthusiasm for Jeremy Corbyn that is reflected in the media and less

so in the mainstream media. But there are some tough questions that

Jeremy has to face, and if you attend a meeting and call for a

minute's silence for the IRA and for terrorists who have been killed,

that is a big question. Imagine if Theresa May had called for silence.

Like Cameron going to King Abdullah's funeral? There is a big

difference between King Abdullah and the IRA. Imagine if somebody bidding

to be Prime Minister had sought to honour the fascists of the BNP? You

are flogging a dead horse. No, I'm talking about the dead people the

IRA have killed, and the point is that the IRA was an organisation run

on the basis of killing innocents and budding British soldiers in the

line of fire, and Jeremy Corbyn wants to run this country, wants to

lead our Armed Forces, and he dishonoured them and their memory by

calling for a minutes silence. As we speak, the story has broken, which I

want to see next week, if the Prime Minister is going to be facing tough

questions about collaboration with known terrorist and visors. That is

a story which is broken, so the Prime Minister should be asked it. I

wouldn't ask a tough question if I didn't have any evidence to back it

up. You can't just like about the question. Many media outlets have

carried it. But without evidence. Then they should be sued for libel.

I don't think there are going to sue the Daily Mail for libel. It isn't

only the Daily Mail. These are tough questions for the Prime Minister. We

have a relationship with Saudi Arabia and they are widely accused

of supporting terrorism, that's not disputed. Is there any evidence that

young people would write to Mr Corbyn in huge numbers? The YouGov

organisation and the Times organisation have taken in Paul

Dummett, but the difference between the pollsters is, the others are

saying, if you didn't vote in the last election, we are going to issue

in the end you won't turn out, whereas YouGov is taking a punt on

greater turnout. We know from the numbers that, if young people under

30 came out in large numbers, that would be a swing to labour. It's a

big none -- a big unknown. I know that you hope it happens, but what

is the evidence it will happen? I have been here many times before.

I'm still dubious and I am aware we are quite a Conservative country.

I'm not a particularly Labour supporter. My politics are more

Green Party. Are you going to vote? Yes, because I think there is a

significant difference between this party and the Tories. But in the

last election he would have voted for the Green Party? Yes. The media

coverage may or may not have been biased in the past week but it has

done one thing, and it is a media campaign that has largely shunned

it, it has rumbled Theresa May and shown her up to be a second division

politician. Considering I stood in an election against Theresa May and

she buried me, I have to acknowledge that would make me a Vauxhall

conference level politician. I don't think we have that any more. The

third division. There was not actually a vote. Has there been a

worse Tory campaign in living memory? Yes, my one for the

leadership. A general election campaign. Has there been a worse

election campaign for the Tories in living memory? The critical thing is

that you cannot judge a campaign until the end result. All sorts of

people criticised the Leave campaign, and it ended up winning,

but victory in the end will be the confirmation of how bad or well this

campaign has been run. The 1997 campaign by the Conservatives had

its moments which were portrayed as wobbles. Will victory for Theresa

May proved to be as pyrrhic as victory in the Leave campaign was

for you? I don't think it was pyrrhic, in the sense that, even

though the outworking sledge to me no longer being in government, I am

glad that Britain is leaving the EU. You will be back in ten days. Do you

think not so badly off the media after tonight? It is not even

necessarily that I think the Rob Lee of the media, in that I don't

believe complete objectivity -- that I think terribly of the media. If I

ran a news channel, it would naturally reflect some of my

beliefs. So if you had similarly educated people from different

backgrounds running the main institutions, even if they don't

intend it, the outcome would be the same. I think that's one of your

strongest point. Would you exclude this programme? I'll have to watch a

few more episodes. So we have one more viewer.

Now, it's late, naked-and-alone late, but if the idea

of Jeremy Corbyn streaking through Brussels leaves you weak

and wobbly at the knees, fear not, because waiting in the wings

is Towie star and businesswoman Lydia Bright, here to put

So, don't be a Faceboob, don't be a Twitter tit,

please don't wear your Snapchaps, none of us want to

Now, Jeremy Corbyn is obviously both hip and happening.

Stormzy and others endorsed him in the viral Grime4Corbyn campaign,

even my good friend Big Narstie told me that he was

a gas dench buffting - which the This Week interns tell me

After rapper JME, Captain Corbz has now appeared on the cover of edgy

magazine NME, which he hopes will appeal to the youth vote.

In fact, he's not the first Labour leader to appear

on NME's front page - Neil Kinnock, Tony Blair

and Ken Livingstone all featured and look how well it's served them!

Comrade Corbyn can clearly look forward to a glorious legacy!

Here's Andrew Rawnsley with his round up of the political week.

Fiendish team is now batting. -- the English team is now batting. Oh, the

British summer has finally arrived, and with it cricket, Mrs May's's

favourite sport. Can you hear the clunk of leather on willow, or is

that the sound of jaws dropping as they contemplate the state of the

Tory campaign? The polls, for what they are worth, have been

tightening, some in the team getting twitchy, and the captain, who sold

herself as strong and stable, has looked uncertain at the crease. So

in the final full week of play, they went back to their original game

plan, which was to try and make it all about Brexit. Britain is about

to enter into the most important negotiations of my lifetime. They

begin just 11 days after polling day, and the European Union is

already adopting an aggressive negotiating position. Jeremy

Corbyn's minders can put him in a smart blue suit for an interview

with Jeremy Paxman but, with his position on Brexit, he will find

himself alone and naked in the negotiating chamber of the European

Union. We know the Conservatives are getting a bit desperate, but really,

trying to threaten us with the idea of the bearded one in the bath? Is

there no scare tactic the Tories will not stick to? Captain May was

on a sticky wicket when it came to U-turns and what that might mean

when she faced fast bowling from the European 27. If I were sitting in

Brussels and I were looking at you as the person I had to negotiate

with, I'd think, she is a blowhard who collapses at the first sign of

gunfire. APPLAUSE

I've had a grandstand seat for a lot of big Test matches. One unusual

thing about this campaign is how little of it has been about tax and

spending, usually central to British elections. That seems to have made

some of the players a bit casual in front of the wicket. On the day he

launched his party's policy on childcare, Jeremy Corbyn visited

woman's hour. Perhaps his coaches thought the Labour leader would face

some easy bowling from a female interviewer. They were wrong. How

much will it cost us to mock it will cost... It will obviously cost a lot

to do so. We accept that. I have the figures. I do. We are making it

universal and we will collect the money through corporate taxation.

How much will it cost? I will give you the figure in a moment. You are

logging into your iPad. It only one of the major commitment in his

manifesto, not like he was forgetting anything important and,

to be fair, the only reason the Tories don't forget the costings in

their manifesto is because they are no costings. The Labour leader faced

a lot of bouncers, about his attitude towards tourism. I

obviously did meet people from Sinn Fein, as indeed I met people from

other organisations. I have not spoken to the IRA. I have in the

past, I often meet people from Sinn Fein. I did make contact with Sinn

Fein when they were not allowed, the leadership was not allowed to travel

to Britain. I wanted there to be a process. As for Shadow Home

Secretary and maths prodigy Diane Abbott, she dismissed her record as

ancient history. It was 34 years ago, I had a rather splendid Afro at

the time. I don't have the same hairstyle I don't have the same

views. It was 34 years on. The hairstyle has gone and some of the

views of God. I speak to Tories who are ibid issues that this -- who are

a bit baffled this hasn't done more damage. Perhaps that is the cost to

a lot of younger voters this is history. Boris Johnson, remember

him, long, shaggy, once a famous stroke maker and now usually to be

found at silly mid-off. If he is to be found at all. Boris has been

confined to the dressing room for most of the match, but he was

briefly let out to attempt some wild sledging of Labour's representative.

Are you going to stay in the single market? Yes. You know what our

position is filled I voted to trigger Article 50. In or out,

umpire? In or out? Mrs May gave herself out when the party leaders

were invited to take part in the BBC debate. The Tory skipper decided

she'd prefer to rest in the pavilion rather than make the case to the

country. That didn't stop everybody else is talking about her. Tim

Farron was quite witty about it. Where do you think Theresa May is

tonight? Take a look out of your window, she might be out there,

sizing up your house to pay for your social care, and what you think she

called this election? She wants five years as Prime Minister and feast --

she thinks you will give it to her no questions asked. She won't turn

up to this debate because her campaign of sound bites is turning

apart. Week and Rob Lee is where we are, not so much the Iron Lady is

the U-turn queen. -- week and wobbly. I don't flip flop, I have

always been, for example, a Brexiteer. The first will of

leadership is to show up. You don't call a general election and say it's

the most important election in her lifetime and then not even be

bothered to come and debate the issues at stake. Time to stop play

footy. This week has generously provided this hamper. No expense

spared. Fancy a couple? -- fancy a tipple? The BBC debate was a lively

affair despite the absence of the Tory captain, or maybe precisely

because she wasn't there. Jeremy Corbyn made a late decision to turn

up. The misrule difference between Labour and the Tories, the essential

clash between their worldviews, was captured by this exchange between

him and the Tory leader's sound in, Amber Rudd. I know there is no extra

payment you don't want added to, no tax you don't want to rise, we have

to concentrate resources on the people who need it most, and we have

to stop thinking, as you do, that there is a magic money tree. Have

you been to a food bank, have you seen people sleeping around

outstations? APPLAUSE

-- sleeping around our stations. Have you seen the levels of poverty

that exist because of your government's conscious decisions on

benefits? Who will be in, who will be out? The ultimate umpire, you,

the voters, will deliver the verdict in just seven days.

And with us now, the lovely, the delightful, Miranda Green.

And the SNP's Tommy Sheppard, who reckons he's better looking,

more charasmatic and funnier than his colleague, John Nicolson.

We have never heard of him. Don't remember anything. Michael, this

campaign has not gone exactly to plan for the Tories, is it? Go

camping ever goes to plan. This hasn't just not gone to plan, it has

been spectacularly off plan. Psion made an answer like Theresa May!

The critical thing is that all others are attempting to make a

judgment on the basis of what the Westminster bubble are saying.

People love that they can write a narrative about the poll is

narrowing, but we do not know which of the polls will be accurate, we

have been in a position where polls have misled us, and many people who

made predictions during the campaign about how it would turn out have

shown they have egg on their face. The point you made is that some of

the virtues that political commentators have are often the

opposite of what the public appreciate. You surprised at how

well Jeremy Corbyn is doing? Theresa May started in a strong position,

and she has been exposed, Jeremy Corbyn started with people having

written him off, people who have not seen him, often, having a

caricature, and he has turned out to be able to perform in a way which

makes him seem more reasonable. Theresa May looks like she cannot

wait for it to come to an end. There are people who will vote Green or

Ukip all Liberal Democrats who have come to Labour, there does not seem

to be a lot of Labour/ Tory switching going on. The Tories have

helped their position quite strongly. The third parties have

gravitated to Labour. Jeremy has enjoyed it and do better than people

expected, but the question is, can he get over the leadership hurdle he

faces in comparison with Theresa May? If so, he is a contender. Is it

more of a race than it was at the start? I think Theresa May is still

the favourite, but it is not a foregone conclusion that it was. The

idea of the Conservatives coming back with a stomping majority and

the humiliation of the opposition does not seem to be on the cards.

That was the hope at the beginning. Theresa May called the election to

strengthen her hand, especially her control of the party, but it does

not look as if it will turn out that way. I guess the real campaign will

begin on June the 9th inside the party, because Theresa May is badly

damaged. If she does not deliver the landslide majority. It looks like in

England and Scotland in different ways we are back to 2-party

politics. Absolutely. There is a definite feeling in both countries

that people want a strong opposition, because the idea of

1-party rule seems to have gone down badly, especially when the nation is

in crisis, but that binary election is not the period of history we

thought we were living through. We thought this was the beginning of

pleural politics, close elections, but it is not the case. That might

be an anomaly, because we are only a year away from the Brexit

existential choice, and if this is the post-Brexit election, we might

go back to something you wrote afterwards. Other brands are

available. It seems that the third parties are being squeezed out. In

Scotland it is the SNP and the Tories, who would have thought that?

In England it is very much now Labour and Conservative. The battle

in Scotland is between the SNP and the Conservatives. The SNP is under

more threat in seats from the Conservatives than it is from

Labour, although recent polls indicate that there is a battle

going on for second place. The last poll yesterday had the Tories and

Labour equal in Scotland, both on 25%. But I still think there is a

strong chance the Conservatives will come second. Why have the

Conservatives not make more of the economy in this election? The

economic argument is linked to the Brexit argument. One of the

essential questions is, who do you trust in the negotiations? If the

right outcome is secured, the economy flourishes in a way that it

would not if you ended up with a botched or a broken back deal. That

has been central to the argument. The economy lies behind a number of

the question that have been raised about the funding of Labour's

proposals. The IFS said that while on a superficial level Labour can

say increasing this tax will raise this amount of money, the dynamic

effect will be to depress growth. The IFS has said that. The Tories

have barely said that at all. For the first six and a half years of

this Government's life, it was all about getting the deficit down,

fiscal prudence, balancing or getting the public finances into

better shape, and now because they are associated with George Osborne

and David Cameron, Theresa May is running against them as well as

Jeremy Corbyn. Just wait and see. I have been waiting and seeing. Having

been inside some campaigns, one of the things I am aware of is that

timing is all, and it is in the last few days that you deploy some of

your strongest arguments, and I expect that more of a focus will be

on the fundamental economic danger that Jeremy Corbyn poses. There has

to be a vulnerability, but the Tories have not exploited it yet, it

is at least a legitimate question to ask, could Jeremy Corbyn really

raise the 50 billion for current spending by purely taxing the top 5%

and business? There were some really challenging questions on manifesto

day for Labour about whether the sums add up. The most interesting

thing is how the Tories have been able to exploit this, and the reason

is they are the first Government that I can remember which has not

had a sound, solid position itself, to then go for them. When Theresa

May says that Labour's plans do not add up, everybody yells, neither do

yours. John McDonnell said the only numbers of the page numbers. The

hard thing to read is that we know in the Brexit broke there was a big

divide between young people and old people, but also between the cities

and what is happening outside the cities, in the small towns where the

marginal seats tend to be. For Labour, are they stacking up votes

in the cities amongst Remain voters, or are they reaching into the

marginal seats? If they are, they have a chance, but it is much

tougher. The SNP is coming off an incredible high. Even if it loses

some seats, and it probably will, nobody doubts they will still be

clearly the biggest party in terms of seats. But why has Nicola

Sturgeon's personal rating suffered so badly? I don't know that it has.

They are down 18 points, she now has a negative rating of minus four. I

do not know those figures. I meet people on the doorstep who say, I

don't like Nicola Sturgeon, and I ask if they liked Alex Salmond, and

they did not. People transfer and attitude onto the leader of the

party, which is a proxy for the fact that they do not like the party. The

party is polling better than the leader. Nicola Sturgeon is a very

strong asset for the SNP, she has been front and centre of the

campaign in every part of the country. Is it partly because she

may have misjudged the mood of the Scottish people? She thought that

the Brexit vote was going to increase the appetite for

independents and for a second referendum, but there is no evidence

that it has, on either of these cases. There was evidence that

Brexit has changed minds, that has been in both directions. There is a

churn going on in public opinion. But the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon have

said that we need to have a choice in Scotland on whether the Brexit

deal is what they voted for on -- in 2014 or not. But that is after what

we know what the Brexit deal is. The Conservatives have been fighting a

single issue in Scotland, only on independence. They hope to wrap the

Unionist vote around them. They are trying to coalesce the anti-SNP vote

around them. There is a bit of evidence, especially with older

voters, that there is some transferrin from Labour to the good

server tips, that it is one of two points, not enough to sweep it. The

opposite effect may happen with the younger demographic. The Lib Dems

are coming off a low base. If you look at the Labour Party being run

by a proud socialist, from the left of the Labour Party the Liberal

Democrats think that is a is going an extreme Brexit, the Liberal

Democrats cannot make breakthrough in that environment, when could

they? That would be the case if having a large space to occupy in

the national debate was the same thing as winning seats on the first

past the post. Especially in an election where it has become very

polarised and binary. They are in a difficult position. A bit like the

SNP in Scotland,, sing another referendum is not going down too

well. Even among Akala voters. If this election had come in 2020, the

vote -- the message may have done differently, but people are not

welcoming it, other than in those urban, heavenly Remain areas. It is

a difficult election for them, they have not been able to take advantage

of what seems like a great opportunity, but it is more of the

squeeze that you usually get. Has the messenger rather than the

message? I think it always helps if a small party has a leader that is

more popular and a larger figure than the party itself, even back to

David steel that was the case, he was the most popular politician in

the country, ... He is not in that position at the moment. But after

the election... Derek organ has not been humiliated, he will, very

strong, so it does not look like the moderate wing of Labour will be able

to take over again, and if you have the Lib Dems up a cue seats, the

Labour moderates do not know what to do, we might have our Emmanuel

Macron moment. Depending on the result of Jeremy Corbyn, the polls

are pulling in different directions, but what happens is -- what matters

is what happens on polling day, and the Tories will hope their vote will

be golden eyes. In my lifetime, you have had a Liberal Democrat leader

who has surged through, grown in popularity, it is to happen to

Charles Canady and Nick Clegg, but this time that does not seem to have

happened. If Theresa May does not increase their majority, or if she

has a smaller majority, or if she only ends up as the largest party,

she is below the water line. She could not survive. She called an

election and effectively lost it. Post. -- she is toast. Without the

butter! You should lay into her! A brief final point, or should we just

laughed? My endorsement is not necessarily a good thing! But this

is speculation, she will increase her majority, and everyone thinks

so. I have been used to having my questions answered, so we will move

on. Now, if you believe the pollsters

like YouGov, whose election predictions are the envy

of Horoscopes Quarterly, then Theresa May could end up

with one almighty egg This has prompted a round of frantic

finger wagging at Tory HQ, with many blaming Team May's Downing Street

insiders for incompetence, which means they're well qualified

to join the This Week team should they get the boot after next week,

provided they bring their own In anticipation of their imminent

arrival, we're putting cliques MUSIC: Down With The Clique

by Aaliyah. Some say Theresa May's

general election campaign has been self obsessed,

focusing on herself and her clique. Every vote for me and my local

candidates in this election will strengthen my hand

when I negotiate for Every vote for me and my local

candidates will be a vote for five years of strong and stable

leadership, to see us But Jezza says this election isn't

just about him and his Corbynistas. What we seem to be struggling

with here is an understanding of a process that brings

about a manifesto. No, what we've struggled

here with is... That's why I was elected

leader of our party, to give a voice to the members

and those that are However, he still had time to bond

with his gang over a posh crisp Meanwhile, our continental friends

seem to want a smaller, TRANSLATION: We Europeans must

really take our fate into our own hands -

of course, in friendship with the United States of America,

in friendship with Great Britain, but we have to know that we must

fight for our own future on our own. Apparently, you have to be

part of Trump's clique The President and a small

group of people know Lydia Bright, star of

The Only Way Is Essex, Fingers and toes

crossed, you love it. So is it worth being

in with the in crowd? Welcome to the programme. Thank you.

Is everybody in some kind of clique? Is TOWIE a clique? I think that

cliques naturally form in all of society. It basically to me means a

friendship group, and I think that happens either because we are forced

together, whether in a workplace or growing up and being at school or

being in the same area, or because of a common interest, same morals,

and cliques are just friendships, and they are everywhere, really, and

we see them in politics and everyday life. We all have some form of a

clique. What can you say almost as if people are forced to join, so it

isn't as if people say they are going to join, circumstances can put

you into one. Evidently, like when you are in the workplace, you have

to be surrounded by those people, so sometimes you feel pressurised

really to form some sort of a clique, some sort of a support

network, so I think it isn't always choice. Sometimes you push into it

because of your environment. Does politics look a bit creepy to you?

Yes, there are cliques within politics to you. -- does it look a

bit cliquey. It can be positive, because all leaders need advisers to

help them with decision-making, but sometimes if the clique is too

small, the decision can be narrowed. You can isolate yourself and maybe

take on the opinions of too few people. I think the broader your

clique, if you integrate, like with Theresa May, if you integrate the

cabinet more within your decision-making, you are going to

make a more rounded decision, taking on the viewpoints of more people.

Which is precisely the criticism of the Tory manifesto, which was

decided by a clique, indeed, the cabinet on its way to the launch of

the manifesto didn't have much of a clue what was in it. I have never

seen a manifesto crowd sourced. Is the cabinet a crowd? No, but the

truth is that all manifestos... This one had involvement from individuals

in the cabinet, like previous ones. On the way up and the charabanc or

whatever it was they were in, they were asking each other, do you know

what is in it? It was done by a clique. It interesting that the

social care proposal was put forward by people in the cabinet and agreed

by people in the cabinet, but I was in the cabinet, unbelievably, in

2015 and I remember being on the bus to Swindon at the time looking at

the manifesto, some of it familiar, other bits, I was thinking, it looks

like a good idea. Is there a club in clique? I think there is because in

politics you will always have cliques. -- is there a Jeremy Corbyn

clique. Is it them coming together because they are old friends, they

have a common view of the world, or because it's about not being the

outsiders, against somebody else, and the danger in Number Ten is,

around Theresa May, they are defining themselves against people

who they saw on the other side within the Conservative Party. When

it was Cameron and Osborne. And even in this cabinet it looks like the

look Osborne is pushed out. As a Prime Minister, you need to involve,

and if it becomes cliquey and excluded, that's dangerous. Have you

changed cliques? Naturally throughout life, you change your

cliques and you meet new people. I think it's important that you have

support around you. You need people that can advise you and support your

decision-making, but ultimately you can't be too subjected, to a

specific clique, because then your views will always be narrowed. And

you almost get brainwashed by only their views. I think that's what

we've seen. This is all what's happened. What are you up to? Are

you doing more TOWIE? I am believing that behind, focusing on a new

project, so I've got a book I'd which is exciting. -- I am believing

that behind. Michael Gove has moved on, don't know what to, but he has

moved on. I'm going to say goodbye to my clique. There you go, he is

free. Still be no offers, even if he is free.

That's your lot tonight, folks, but not for us.

We're off to LouLou's for Donald Trump's toasty

The Donald has hired a fleet of Range Rovers

to ferry us all over London, and all our drinks will be

He specifically asked for Michael and Ed to be

there so that we could get as much hot air in the room as possible.

Nighty night, don't let these tropical animals that will soon be

-- don't let the Farage fake news bite.

If ever I saw a story that qualified for fake news, this is it.

With you beside me - whatever life sends.