I'm Very Right Wing.

A short piece related to British politics, Media and a sense of humour. If you have no interest in British politics then do feel free to scroll on by.

The other day the BBC launched a new Sunday politics show featuring its former political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. So far so normal.

What has caused the proverbial to hit the fan was the contribution of comedian Joe Lycett. He ruffled all manner of feathers and made himself a major talking point in the press and social media. 

This is my inexpert tuppenceworth.

Firstly, Kuenssberg herself. Throughout her time with the BBC, she has regularly been accused of bias, mainly but not always, pro-conservative. I don’t believe this to be very important or, given her background, at all surprising. Andrew Neil, any random Dimbleby and Andrew Marr have also been attacked for the same reason.

Anyone in this role will have personal political views. It is the job of the producers to limit obvious bias and prevent reportage becoming polemic. The most professional presenters would also try to maintain fairness in their work but even when they fail it would be a disservice to assume that viewers are too stupid to be able to tell the difference between fact and opinion. 

My personal problem with Kuenssberg isn’t that she may be partial, it’s that she fails to shed light on the current affairs upon which she comments. Her performance is reminiscent of a sportscaster who describes that which we can clearly see onscreen but who gives no insight into what unnoticed strategy may be unfolding on the pitch. The viewing figures will decide if her approach is what the public want and BBC management will ultimately decide if her performance in this role is value for money or not.

The second point is that the line-up of guests for a brand-new BBC politics show in a key time slot was pretty lightweight. Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak were both given painfully soft interviews at the end of their campaigns for the leadership of the Conservative party. Neither were likely to refuse the request but equally, neither had much of substance to say now that the internal party vote was over. 

Olena Zelensky gave an interview about Ukraine and said all that you would expect given the current situation. One can see why the interview happened but it didn’t really achieve an awful lot.

Labour MP Emily Thornberry was the only politician on the panel and she, predictably, pointed out that neither of our potential future prime ministers had outlined any kind of solution for the problems caused by the rising cost of living. 

Another guest was Cleo Watson, a former aide to Boris Johnson who was brought into Downing Street after working for Vote Leave during the brexit referendum. She has an upcoming political novel to promote so is clearly happy to raise her profile but she seemed like a very ‘small’ sort of guest for a show which has ambitions to be a flagship. Her contributions felt more suited to a gossip column than a political discussion.

And finally. . . Joe Lycett. Like him or not, I would suggest that a comedian known for persistently and politely mocking authority figures is an odd choice for a show which is all about those same authority figures. Upon being asked for his opinion following the Truss interview he grabbed the opportunity and repeatedly lavished outrageous and extravagant praise on the new Prime Minister, expressing utter conviction in her ability to lead us into the promised land despite 'some people' saying that she was the backwash of the dregs of the tory party and all the time insisting that he disagreed as he was ‘Very right wing’ in his own political views. 

Kuenssberg was irritated, Thornberry and Watson could barely avoid laughing out loud and Lycett went straight to ‘Enemy of the people’ status at the Daily Mail who denounced him in no uncertain terms on the next day’s front page which he surely sees as a tremendous accolade.

Opinion has followed the political divide but the unhappy voices are basically upset about two things. One is that a comedian was invited onto a supposedly serious show and another is that he satirically used conservative language and terms in order to make fun of both Liz Truss and the programme on which he was appearing. 

The former opinion is easily ignored. Comedians have as much right to an opinion as anyone else. For much of history the voice of moral outrage has been that supplied by comedians. Lenny Bruce and George Carlin preceded Frankie Boyle, Rachel Parris and others in speaking truth to power and this is unlikely to change any time soon.

As to the language, this really is a bit of an odd one. Tory MP Suella Braverman tweeted in support of Truss on Monday using almost exactly the same language as Lycett. Fellow MP James Cleverly and wannabe firebrand Darren Grimes joined in with equally gushing tweets. If the words are wrong then everyone is wrong. If the words are only wrong when used by Lycett then the problem is that those hearing the words are uncomfortable with the truth they reveal and that is a problem which has nothing to do with the comedian and everything to do with those shouting about him.

From the point of view of the BBC and Laura Kuenssberg though this has been a gift from heaven. An utterly unexciting, same old same old, politics show has been front and centre of political conversation in the UK for the last couple of days. Those who wouldn’t watch it at gunpoint are seeking it out online to see what the fuss is about. Memes and clips from it are flying around the web and audience numbers are now way beyond initial expectations and historic precedent. Next week’s show will also be guaranteed a significant audience of casual viewers just in case something comparable happens.

Joe Lycett has taken a televisual void and turned it into a current-affairs talking point and that really is ironic.

This is Lycett’s excerpt.

Joe Lycett on Laura K's show - YouTube

This is the entire show for the masochists among us.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg - YouTube