Gordon, meet disillusionment. Disillusionment, the Prime Minister. Ask him
questions on whatever you want: the economy, jobs, immigration, expenses – the ball is in your court. Make him squirm, if you like. Confront him. He is, after all, here at your
pleasure.
For that was the set-up of Radio One Newsbeat’s interview with Gordon Brown earlier this afternoon. It was one of those impossible situations for the PM. He could hardly decline to be quizzed by a group of first time voters, aged between 18 and 28. But it put him at the mercy of some pretty disgruntled members of the public. And they took full advantage.
The questions were direct and drew blood. On the economy: “Where are the cuts going to come from?” On expenses: “You spent £1000s on cleaning … do you think that was right?” On immigration: “Why weren’t there controls to begin with?” On Afghanistan: “Are we fighting an unwinnable war?” And that’s just a select handful.
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