Andrew marr

Diary – 13 July 2017

It has been an unqualified delight, even if it is mildly absurd: I have been chairing the judges for this year’s Forward Prizes for poetry, wallowing in some quite extraordinary writing. It has been like gorging on champagne truffles every day. We are nearly there. Winners are emerging. But the absurd aspect is that everybody being judged is already a fine poet, with much to say and fine technical skill; so, winnowing down to ‘winners’ relies on personal prejudice and chance mood on one particular day. That’s horribly unfair and I think all the judges feel it. So why have such a prize? Because the hullabaloo and coverage will draw

Sunday shows round-up: Vince Cable says Brexit may never happen

Sir Vince Cable – ‘Brexit may never happen’ Sir Vince Cable, who remains the only candidate in the running for the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, has once again hit the headlines due to his firm standpoint against the UK leaving the European Union. On this occasion, Sir Vince has opined to Andrew Marr that Brexit may not actually happen and that the Liberal Democrat policy of a second referendum could still be on the cards: Marr: On Brexit, do you want Britain to fail economically? Cable: I do not want it to fail economically. I don’t think the public voted to have cuts in their standard of living… Marr:

Sunday shows round-up: Michael Gove says ‘yes’

Michael Gove: The DUP deal is good for the union The newly installed Environment Secretary Michael Gove took to Andrew Marr’s sofa today to defend the government’s deal with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland. Controversial for awarding the province an additional £1 billion, Gove rejected the idea that deal this amounted to a ‘bung’, and argued that far from dividing the country, the ‘confidence and supply’ deal would serve to strengthen the United Kingdom: Marr: Can we at least determine that there is not going to be another… large about of money paid to the DUP? Because [Sir Nicholas] MacPherson, the former Permanent Secretary to the Treasury said

Sunday shows round-up: David Davis says a leadership contest would be catastrophic for Brexit talks

David Davis – Leadership contest would be ‘catastrophic’ for Brexit negotiations After a tough few weeks for Theresa May, and amid speculation that Conservatives are rallying to replace her, Brexit Secretary David Davis spoke to Andrew Marr about what a leadership challenge would mean for the UK’s negotiations with the EU. Davis made it clear that he did not want to see a leadership challenge occur in the near future, though he didn’t entirely rule out a leadership bid of his own should the circumstances arise: Marr: Would it be catastrophic for our Brexit negotiations for the Tory party now to have a leadership contest? Davis: Yes… Let me be

Sunday shows round-up: Sturgeon sticks up for Corbyn

Amber Rudd – Abedi operation is still at ‘full tilt’ In the wake of Monday’s horrific attack in Manchester, Andrew Marr interviewed the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, about what action the government was taking in the aftermath of the attack, and whether the government and security services had done enough to prevent the attack happening in the first place: AM: You’ve downgraded the threat level one point, and we hear that a large part of the group around this terrorist have been apprehended and taken. Does that mean that some of the group are still out there? AR: Potentially. I mean, it’s an ongoing operation, there are 11 people in

Steerpike

Watch: Diane Abbott’s hair-raising Andrew Marr interview

With Labour beginning to gain ground in the polls, the party will be keen to keep its momentum going in the final days of the campaign. So, whichever brain at Labour HQ decided it was a good idea to send Diane Abbott onto the Andrew Marr show has some explaining to do. Explaining her credentials to take on one of the great offices of state come June 9, the shadow home secretary said she was confident she was up to the job as she had spent time in the Home Office as a graduate trainee. When Marr moved onto Abbott’s questionable views on the IRA, she came up with an

Theresa May interpreted: her Sunday morning interviews

Theresa May has perfected the art of saying nothing in interviews. The most any journalist can hope for is a subtle shift in position, or an absence where a position once stood. She seems to think that, if you refuse to give the press anything, the public won’t care. Worse, she seems to be right – for now, at least. So it would have been with a heavy heart that Andrew Marr set off to see if he could try to draw blood out of the Prime Ministerial granite. Same for Robert Peston afterwards. A Theresa May interview means the recital or verbal formulae: ‘strong and stable’ here, ‘working families’

Sunday political interviews round-up: Salmond claims May ‘will crumble’ over IndyRef2

Alex Salmond – Theresa May ‘will crumble’ over Scottish referendum Despite Parliament having retired this week, the political debate rages on. Alex Salmond appeared on the Andrew Marr show to offer his take on the circumstances of a second referendum on Scottish independence. He remained defiant that it would still take place despite Theresa May’s statement that ‘now is not the time’. ‘The Theresa May line… “Now is not the time” is not going to stand. Back in the day I remember David Cameron telling me there wasn’t going to be a Scottish referendum, but that didn’t last against the democratic wishes of the Scottish people and the Scottish Parliament

What can Nigel Farage be planning to wreck in 2017?

One remark from the Christmas party season knocks insistently around my head. It came from Nigel Farage on a staircase in the Ritz. For those who didn’t enjoy 2016, a year of political revolution, he gleefully promised: ‘2017 will be a hell of a sight worse.’ My, my. What did he mean? Had he taken one Ferrero Rocher too many? Or does Farage, like an increasing number of MPs, expect a general election next year, including further dramatic upsets? The biggest reason for pooh-poohing a 2017 election isn’t the Fixed-term Parliaments Act but Prime Minister’s character. Theresa May is extremely cautious and she doesn’t want to test the electorate just

Philip Hammond and John McDonnell go head-to-head – but are we any clearer on Brexit?

This morning’s Marr show was something of a financial matter, with the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, and Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell sharing the sofa. As Andrew Marr pointed out, having the pair of Chancellors share a sofa is a ‘great tradition’, but one that had a stop put to it when George Osborne was in charge. Now the tradition has come back – but it this morning’s performance might be a good example of why Osborne chose to put a stop to it in the first place. The general consensus seems to be that McDonnell came out on top – with commenters saying that he ran rings around Hammond. Naturally, lots

Suzanne Evans and Paul Nuttall announce Ukip leadership bids

Suzanne Evans, former deputy chairman of Ukip, has announced her intention to run for the leadership of the party. ‘I think I’m the right person to lead Ukip into the challenges ahead,’ she told Andrew Marr, adding, ‘first and foremost, I think I’m absolutely the right person to champion the cause of those 17.4 million people who voted to leave the European Union.’ Nigel Farage’s former deputy, Paul Nuttall, also announced his intention to run telling Andrew Neil that he would ‘stand on a platform of the unity candidate – Ukip needs to come together.’ Evans and Nuttall are the latest candidates to join a field that includes Raheem Kassam, Farage’s former spin doctor and

Digging for the truth

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb may well be one of the 20th century’s great stories — but naturally that doesn’t mean a television drama won’t want to jazz it up a bit. Or, in the case of ITV’s lavishly produced but distinctly corny Tutankhamun, quite a lot. The programme gives us a Howard Carter younger and considerably hunkier than in real life. It throws in a couple of smitten hotties to emphasise the fact. Above all, it transforms Carter into the archaeological equivalent of a maverick TV cop: a man who doesn’t play by the rules, isn’t afraid to follow wild hunches but, by God, gets results. In Sunday’s opener,

The UK that Scotland voted to remain within ‘doesn’t exist anymore’

The First Minister gave an interview on Scotland’s position in the UK after Brexit on the Andrew Marr Show this morning. Here’s what she said: Andrew Marr: Can I ask first of all, is it your priority to have a negotiation as Scotland with Brussels to allow Scotland to more or less seamlessly stay inside the EU? Nicola Sturgeon: My short answer to that is yes, but let me perhaps expand on the position that I find myself in. Marr: Please do. Sturgeon: You know, the first thing I should say is that I didn’t want to be in this position this weekend. I hoped very much and campaigned to

David Cameron is not where he would like to be in this EU referendum 

David Cameron is now having to face questions on what he would do if, as looks far more likely than he would have liked at this stage, Britain votes to leave the European Union. As James predicted in his cover piece this week, Cameron will have to row back on predictions that he made about Brexit putting a bomb under the economy in order to calm nerves in the event of a Leave vote. But with the polls the way they are, the Prime Minister is already having to answer questions about whether he really believes his own warnings now, as he did on this morning’s Marr Show. Cameron can

Polly Toynbee forgets to check her privilege on Marr

With the Sunday papers filled with the details of David Cameron’s past tax returns, the subject of his family’s wealth remains high on the news agenda. Happily Guardian heavyweight Polly Toynbee was on hand to offer her take on the row during the Andrew Marr show paper review. Toynbee argued that the real story was not any supposed wrongdoing on Cameron’s part when it comes to paying tax, but instead his personal wealth is the problem. She went on to muse that the Prime Minister was ‘phenomenally rich’ and that this would not sit well with the public given the ‘extraordinary growth of inequality in this country’: ‘That’s the real story, it’s not really about

Andrew Marr accused of EU bias over Boris Johnson interview

This week Nigel Farage revealed that he had been left ‘worried’ about Boris Johnson’s ability to campaign for Brexit after his ‘slightly shambolic’ North London press conference. While the Ukip leader insists he has since come round to Johnson’s involvement, Mr S wonders what he will make of the Mayor of London’s turn on The Andrew Marr show. Johnson appeared on the BBC show to put forward the case for leaving the EU. However, what followed was a tense exchange between Johnson and Marr as each tried to set the interview agenda. With Boris keen to speak about the single market and sovereignty, he clashed with Marr when the presenter attempted to change topic: AM:

Watch: Jeremy Hunt compares himself to Nye Bevan

This morning Jeremy Hunt appeared on The Andrew Marr Show to defend his growing feud with the junior doctors. While Marr took the health secretary to task over the junior doctors’ strike — reading out a number of hostile letters from those affected, Hunt responded with an interesting form of defence. Discussing his health reforms, Hunt argued that the hostile reception he has received from both the public and NHS staff over the junior doctor contracts is perfectly normal. He then appeared to compare himself to Nye Bevan — explaining that the Welsh Labour politician — who served as minister for health under Clement Attlee — had experienced a similar situation when he established the NHS: ‘Look at the history of

Labour’s war with the BBC wages on: ‘Marr’s Corbyn interview was a disgrace’

Jeremy Corbyn’s interview on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday saw the Labour leader wax lyrical on the virtues of Trident submarines without warheads, discuss the prospect of peace talks with ISIS, and ponder a deal with Argentina over the Falklands. While he also discussed housing and the junior doctor strike, his more divisive comments have today been followed up in the papers, with The Sun running an ‘Off His War Head’ splash. Although Labour brains seem unhappy with the way the interview went, little blame is being placed with their dear leader. Instead, party members appear to be blaming their enemy of the month — the BBC. John Prescott has taken to Twitter to describe the interview

French connection | 19 November 2015

It was as if Andrew Marr and his guests on Start the Week on Monday morning were standing on the edge of a precipice with no idea how far they would fall if they strayed too near the edge. Their conversation this week, Marr told us, would not, as usual, be a live discussion but had actually been recorded in Paris on Friday, just hours before the terrible events of later that evening. Their discussion, quite coincidentally, was focused on French history, society and identity as part of a new Radio 4 season inspired by the great 20-volume series of novels by Émile Zola, which create a fictionalised record of

National Poetry Day broke the key rule of poetry readings: never let normal people do the reading

Imagine what Brennig Davies must have felt like just before 11 o’clock last Tuesday evening. The 15-year-old was about to hear Ian McKellen reading his prizewinning short story nationwide on Radio 1. The voice of Gandalf broadcasting words that have emerged from your own head must have been a spooky moment for Davies, whose story ‘Skinning’ had just won the BBC’s Young Writers’ Award (organised with the Book Trust). This new venture (attached to the BBC National Short Story Award, which was also announced last week, the winner being Jonathan Buckley) in some way makes up for the fact that there is now virtually no programming for children on the