Thursday 5 November 2009

Newsnicht - Willie Bain

Willie Bain is on the left

Willie Bain was in the hot seat on Newnight Scotland last night. He is the labour candidate for the Glasgow North East by-election.

The interviewer was Gordon Brewer and I feel he was very 'soft' and far less time was given than was allocated to David Kerr on Monday. Is that a good or bad thing?

Mr Bain appeared confident but Gordon Brewer wasn't intent on an in depth interview.

In my opinion Mr Bain received an very easy ride but I give him 7 out of 10 for confidence.

That doesn't mean I'm not still slightly concerned that a man of 36, who works part-time in London (perhaps because he can't find a job in Scotland), still lives at home with his parents. I have a 'thing' about grown men living with their parents especially when they have an income through their own efforts.

11 comments:

Kezia Dugdale said...

Subrosa,

Sigh - will you not accept that Willie lives at home because his mum is housebound and being at home allows him to give his dad some respite?

Kez

subrosa said...

I didn't know that Kez. Pity he has to commute 1000 miles a week to be a part-time carer though isn't it? Quite a sad state of affairs Glasgow social work can't arrange something.

Strange he hasn't highlighted the plight of carers during his interviews either.

Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Kezia:

Can I ask how on earth Mr Bain intends to be a part time career when he is employed by us to be a full time MP?

Anonymous said...

On reflection regarding my last post I feel I have to add that I have no problem with a guy living part time with his parents, regardless of his age, particularly when they have care needs.

I simply worry that he will not be able to fulfil his full time job in London with his care duties.

subrosa said...

Good point tris. Then aren't MPs part-time in Westminster? They certainly aren't there much of the year.

Dramfineday said...

Look guys, it's all down to acceptable and equal standards of behaviour. The people asking the questions should be impartial and they are not. Labour started the dirty tricks with the religion spin, then we had the orange order weighing in - and no response from the press to tackle labour or Bain on it. So carer or not, it is legitimate to ask him about where he lives etc especially since labour have made an issue out of where Kerr lives and comes from (a load of CRAP in my opinion but that's the line labour are taking).
Equality and neutrality is all I was asking for but it is impossible to achieve with the BBC.

PS SR - this might be one for you to muse over. What do we do with this organisation (BBC) and the unionist political parties post independence? Does modern Scotland want these people anywhere near the levers of power? Grrrr

Anonymous said...

Actually, in a ward with multiple deprivation indicators at one of the highest in Europe, it could only be the weakest possible tactic to talk about where someone comes from, lives, was born, whatever.

They should be discussing poverty and its offspring.

I think many of the poor souls who live there might want to know what Mr Bain's party intends to do about the number of people in receipt of Incapacity Benefit for example. I note that none of the interviewers has asked that.

In some areas it might not be a question of huge interest, but I suspect in that ward, where people die ten years earlier than a ten minute bus ride away, it would be a top priority.

It would be an embarrassing answer that Bain would be obliged to give...

Dramfineday said...

quite right Tris

subrosa said...

Aye, well said Tris.

pure jamie said...

Does Gordon Brown or anyone really know anything about William Bain, the Labour candidate in Glasgow North East?

He is curently employed as a law lecturer in London at the London South Bank University but there are no other proper biographical details about him. As a lecturer you would think he did research and attended academic conferences but there is no record of these on Google. He is a mystery man. Does anyone know:

- what did he do between 1995 and 2003?

- where does he live when he is working at LSBU?

- what does he do in his non-work life?

subrosa said...

I don't know anyone who has any information about him jamie.

As you will see from the first comment, I am told that he gives his father respite because his mother is housebound.

That's all I can tell you jamie.

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