Making Plans For Nigel

Generally, I try to avoid Question Time, as I can only spit so much blood before I collapse in a heap. Luckily, there's NCIS on the other side, and watching Jethro Gibbs kick arse is infinitely more preferable to seeing politicians worm their way out of a straight answer.

For reasons beyond my ken, I did tune into the last half of QT, to be confronted by the mug of Nigel Farage, head of the United Kingdom Independence Party. UKIP are kind of like a posh version of the English Defence League, except instead of going on marches where you shout abuse at Muslim folk, you have nice parties where you lament the moral decline of the nation. They don't want to beat up immigrants, essentially, just put them on the first boat home.

Anyway, when the panel were discussing people from That London being told if they want social housing, they have to move up here, to the Grim North, Nigel seized his chance. Clearly, this was all the fault of those foreign people who just need to rock up at immigration at Heathrow and they're given a free house - if Daily Mail readers were listening, they'd add in a free BMW and plasma TV to the deal.

Sadly for the would-be leader, when the subject was thrown open to the audience, one young man put his hand up and stated he worked for the immigration services and that Nifty Nige was talking what is known as complete bollocks. Despite having shushed down a few quiet mutterings during his own lecture, Farage then proceeded to try  and shout the poor lad down constantly.

I actually wouldn't be too surprised if we're told that the guy was a BBC plant, put there to help push the broadcaster's left-wing, liberal, pro-Europe agenda.

The problem I have is that in cases such as this, we end up with John Ford of the myth getting far more space than the truth: fine when you're looking to make a great western with the Duke, not so good when you're dealing with the lives of real people. Perhaps Farage should have looked to another reason why there is such a shortage of social housing - the fact huge chunks of it have been flogged off.

On a similar note, tabloids like the Daily Mail like to slam Health and Safety as being detrimental to a good life. It gets in the way, slows down people trying to do their job. But, surely the advancement of such procedures has saved countless lives over the years? When do you hear about times where careful evaluation of danger has helped? Perhaps we all like being enraged and don't want to hear stories with happy endings.

But back to Farage and his shouting. It's a common tactic I've noticed in politics these days: when someone disagrees with you, or has provided evidence to derail your point, you shout enough so that nobody remembers them. Or, as our esteemed Prime Minister does, when you've been caught talking shite, spin it back on your accuser by saying they have no sense of humour. Works every time!