Could someone give the chaps from This Morning a beginner’s lesson in citizenship?

Let’s be clear, I know politics is not usually a main topic on ITV’s This Morning. Fair enough. But does that really excuse the absolutely astonishing lack of basic knowledge about our political system displayed by their presenters today? I mean, surely they could at least have let their researchers look into the fundamental principles of this strange form of government we have, before interviewing the Prime Minister on their show, right? Then again, judging by the questions and comments from their audience, I can see why they could be reasonably sure they’d get away with it. But we’ll get to that later.

Now you might be forgiven for thinking that even if you haven’t taken your A-levels in Politics and Government, most people surely know what a parliamentary democracy is. Well, let me tell you, sadly that’s not true. You might also think that at least those people who don’t wouldn’t get very far in their careers. Aaand… wrong again. Actually, they become TV presenters.

A Letter to the Mail

I’ve been intending to write this piece for a while now – for ten days to be precise. Dear Liam Fox, I wanted to start, because as you might remember – or not, in fact, because ten days is a long time in politics – ten days ago, much to his unfeigned surprise I am sure, the defence secretary’s charming letter criticising aid targets was leaked to the press. Now you might also remember that for more than understandable reasons – after all the letter was obviously aimed at the wider public and the far-right of the party rather than him – David Cameron didn’t even bother with an answer. Or maybe he did and it just wasn’t leaked but that amounts to the same, following the basic principle of modern government communication: if it hasn’t been leaked, it could as well not have happened. Anyway, it was such a nice and polite and only ever so slightly populist and inflammatory letter that I thought it deserved an answer. And, heaven knows, I was only too happy to take care of that. But time has this funny habit never to be available in sufficient quantities, and so the letter drafted in my head slowly sank into oblivion.

Thankfully, though, pride of British journalism The Daily Mail joined the debate with predictable enthusiasm and stirred up my irritation once more with its coverage of G8 spending on foreign aid. Britain, the Mail revealed, currently spends more on aid as a percentage of GDP than any other G8 country and shows the strongest commitment to reach the 0.7% target. Now call me naive, but in my world-view that is something to be proud of. And the Mail, I reasoned, likes a bit of national pride, so surely they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to point out that we’re doing a lot better than the French? I had so much to learn.