Paxman vs Wales

Jeremy Street

I'm sorry, Alex, I know you're a Unionist, but... you couldn't have managed to spell Plaid Cymru correctly? It's in the title of the video, FFS. It's bad enough that every single English newsreader always fucks up the pronunciation. For the record, "Plaid" sounds like "plied", the Y in "Cymru" is pronounced like the U in "cup", not like the Oo in "book" - I don't even know how people get to that from the spelling - and the U at the end is basically an "ee" sound with a rolled tongue.

I know I'm an insufferable pedant, but Welsh is the only language people routinely feel they can be this slapdash with, which is a shame, as it's the only other British language with a substantial number of speakers, and by far the oldest.

Ghengis

A superb and highly entertaining "car crash", well deserved by a sloppily prepared inquisitor. Serves him right.

A Dougal

A well deserved thrashing for Paxman I think. He really shouldn't underestimate hsi interviewees like this. Read your briefs man and don't patronise the bean counters. You are bound to get caught out

Kevyn Bodman

Wonderful viewing.

I am not a Plaid Cymru supporter but I very much enjoyed this video and at one point laughed out loud at the mess Paxman got into with his papers.

Paxman's laziness was exposed,he hadn't done his preparation and tried to fall back on arrogance and bluster. And it didn't work.

In a just world this would be a career-ending performance by Paxman.He was that bad.

Sir Graphus

Nearly 70% of Wales' GDP is provided by govt spending. Independence? No chance. For that money they ought to abolish their own parliament out of gratitude, and let the English beat them at rugby, annually.

David Lindsay

Plaid Cymru is receiving a lot of coverage. Unlike the SNP, it is an economically left-wing party. Unlike the SNP, it has working-class support; these days, people do forget that both the working class or the Left exist in rural areas.

Unlike the SNP, it is barely, if at all, in any direct fight against Labour, there being very little Labour support in the Welsh-speaking countryside and even less Plaid support in the ex-industrial areas of South Wales, where opposition even to the present level of devolution is still strong and where distaste for the Welsh language is visceral.

Unlike the SNP, it voted to save the Labour Government in 1979. And unlike the SNP, its price would be financial, easy both to understand and to deliver, rather than constitutional.

One to watch.

ndm

That was pretty funny. I am sufficiently out of it I thought Paxman was complaining about his Wikipedia entry.

I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't happen more often. Matthew Yglesias points out occasionally that the generalist "journalist" often doesn't have an-depth knowledge of any specific topic and so focuses on the horse-trading aspect of policy.

Jeremy Street

Nice one ;) Now don't do it again or I'll burn your cottage down.

Jeremy Street

@David Lindsay

Plaid currently have three seats at Westminster; even if they doubled that, they're still highly unlikely to be in a position to prop up a Labour government single-handed. In alliance with the SNP, conceivably, but as you note, that's problematic for several reasons.

daniel maris

As someone with Welsh genes in his DNA I must say I did enjoy the interview. Particularly the mirror image nit-picking and demands for instant information!

Paxman has been (lazily) riding for a fall for a long time and now the Egocentrum has landed on his by now no doubt ample posterior.

Noa Zrk

A sheer pleasure and an object lesson for any interviewed politician who wants to earn credibility and respect from the electorate, the lessons to be learned are:
- Know your facts
- stick to your guns
- be honest
- and, again, finally, stick to your guns!

THX1138

Us LDN'ers might get more from the state that the Taff's but I bet it's not as much as we pay in tax.. Very funny though!

Super Blue

Paxo has problems with his briefs again - not the M&S kind this time.