I much enjoyed hearing Any Questions, from St Matthew’s Church in Perth, On BBC Radio 4 on Saturday afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised. Normally I catch the first ten minutes of this weekly political knockabout, and get exasperated by the incessant carping and sniping, the bad temper, the party political posturing, the din of people talking over one another, and the constant interruptions of the chair who, keen to steer the debate in a particular direction, becomes a fifth member of the panel. I can’t bear it, and generally switch off before the end of the first question. Question Time on the TV is even worse, and I haven’t watched it for ages. Come to think of it, I haven’t turned the telly on for about a month.
But this time I listened to Any Questions from start to finish. I was in the car, and when I reached my destination I remained seated and heard the programme out. This is how radio can enthral you.
In the chair, Alex Forsyth. On the panel, Dame Jackie Baillie MSP (Labour), Murdo Fraser MSP (Conservative), Alyn Smith MP (SNP), and Joyce McMillan, freelance journalist and theatre critic for The Scotsman. Five questions were asked. All the panellists and questioners had Scottish accents; not that that matters, except in the sense that an extra character in the line-up was the City of Perth herself. Perth City Hall, a magnificent building near the banks of the River Tay which until recently was threatened with demolition, has been refurbished as Perth Museum, which will house the Stone of Destiny and is due to open next month. I wouldn’t be surprised if Any Questions will prove instrumental in increasing the footfall to the museum, and Perth city centre.
Listening to the programme, I had the sense that the panellists knew, and perhaps even quite liked, one another. There was mutual respect, good humour, sometimes jocularity, and none of the toxic hate-filled rants, now so familiar on social media, of people deaf to the opinions of others who do not occupy a particular silo, or echo chamber. The first question related to the advisability of political parties espousing tax cuts at a time when public services, such as the NHS, were struggling. Murdo Fraser perhaps predictably favoured wealth creation as a means of supplying the prosperity necessary to improve public amenities. I can’t say this is an argument that attracts me, but at least I was able to hear its exposition uninterrupted, and to hear various counterarguments, of which Joyce McMillan’s was perhaps the most nuanced.
Second up, alcohol minimum pricing. Good or bad? The Scottish Government is increasing the minimum unit price from 50p to 65p, which apparently will make a bottle of wine cost at least £6.09. (Goodness. When I think of the cost of a bottle of NZ Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, I blush.) I’ve grown used to the dismissive tone of frequent letters to The Herald. Unintended consequences! Another example of the SNP government’s incompetence! The alcoholics will just stop eating in order to finance their drink habit. But no. The panellists were inclined to follow the medical evidence base, and monitor events. How refreshing. But there was puzzlement as to why potential increased revenues are not taxed, far less hypothecated, but flow straight into the coffers of the supermarkets.
The third questioner pointed out that the lower age limit for standing to be US President is 35. Should there also be an upper limit? Well, Trump is 77, Biden 81. People are saying that Biden is losing his memory, while Trump’s apparent encouragement to Mr Putin, that he attack NATO members who don’t put 2% of GDP into defence, has been described as “unhinged”. They say Trump is looking at Tucker Carlson as a potential running mate. Jackie Baillie had a good gag, that Gordon Brown has apparently said he is too old for British politics, and too young for American. Apparently she stole this anecdote from Alyn Smith. There is cross-party collaboration after all. What a contrast between this conversation, and the stand-off between the Democrats and Republicans across the Pond. Far from “reaching out across the aisle”, the last outgoing party staged an insurrection when things didn’t go their way.
The fourth question brought the impending opening of Perth Museum into the spotlight, and asked for an evaluation of the importance of the Arts in the regeneration of decaying city centres. Apparently Melvyn Bragg has been expounding the importance of the Arts in the House of Lords. There was agreement and consensus within the panel, which I didn’t think was mere lip-service. Alyn Smith gave a special plug for the Smith Museum (no relation) in his constituency in Stirling. He’s quite right. It’s a great resource.
Fifth question. Just time for a quickie. Football is introducing “blue cards” for consigning badly behaved players to the Sin Bin for ten minutes. Who would the panellists put on the naughty step? Alyn Smith sin-binned Jackie Baillie for stealing his Gordon Brown joke.
Great programme. It was a fine exemplar of what could be achieved in public life, if people were kind and courteous to one another. It was also a great advert for Perth. It’s a great town, only 45 minutes up the A9 from where I am, and I often visit. Generally I park in the carpark by South Inch, and sometimes pop into the nearby Fergusson Gallery. From there I take a walk by the footbridge beside the railway track across the River Tay, and then follow the east bank of the Tay to access North Inch, and its neighbouring golf course. The round trip brings me back into the city in the vicinity of the magnificent Concert Hall, much favoured by renowned musicians from all over the world, for its fine acoustic. Perth Theatre, itself recently refurbished, is two minutes away. And I can’t resist popping into Waterstones, a stone’s throw from the new museum.
I can’t wait to visit.
jamescalumcampbell 