Why did no one realise that Reverend Paul Flowers was a preacher behaving very badly? On this week’s View from 22 podcast, the author and publisher Melanie Phillips and the Conservative MP Jesse Norman ask why a man, who didn’t know one end of a balance sheet from the other, was given so much power over financial institutions and charities. Was it because he ticked all the right progressive boxes? Was it because the establishment is too willing to look the other way? Did Parliament fail in its duty by not quizzing him properly? And how deep should select committees dig into private lives?
Mark Forsyth discusses the importance of the political soundbite with our deputy editor Mary Wakefield. They wonder why the coalition government has failed to create a memorable soundbite, and ask if JFK was a rhetorical genius or simply someone painting by numbers.
Plus, James Forsyth examines the tale of two modern political partnerships — David and George vs Ed and Ed.
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