I am not an avid viewer of Channel 4’s Gogglebox, a show in which people are filmed watching television and then talking about it. That’s not to say I am in any way critical or dismissive of an idea that, surprisingly, works rather well. There are basically two formats. One in which ordinary folk participate and another with celebrities. It was the latter that attracted the biggest reaction last week because the Prime Minister was involved. And the reaction was not always positive.
Andy Burnham appeared with his best friend, the Liverpool Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram, specifically to support the channel’s Stand Up To Cancer initiative. The PM has form when it comes to good causes, including participating in running events, one recently he ran to support a homelessness charity. I have no doubt that Burnham’s motives were entirely good. I have lost quite enough friends to the evil that is cancer and I thought of them when the critics came out to play, not least in the gutter media, which is pretty well the entire media these days, and politicians like the perennially angry Leader of His Majesty’s Opposition, Kemi Bad Enoch.
“What I’m amazed at is that Andy Burnham has got time to go on Gogglebox,” she whined, appearing to suggest that Burnham should do nothing else in his life than be PM. Go to watch his beloved Everton or Leigh Leopards? Can’t do that. Support good causes by running marathons or appearing on popular TV shows? No way. Being Prime Minister is a full-time job and the man/woman doing the job should do nothing else, no sleeping, no eating and certainly not having a pint with your best mate while appearing on a TV show for free. Just like the Fagash Fuhrer Nigel Farage, eh?
It wasn’t that long ago that Britain’s most eminent fascist was appearing on I’m A Celebrity. For some reason, it was perfectly okay for him to be paid £1.5 million in order to eat kangaroo testicles, be covered from head to toe in insects and to receive a £5 million personal gift which he trousered himself. It is a matter of fact that the nicotine-stained man frog does little work as an MP but in the modern British media, that’s perfectly all right if you’re as right wing as they are.
I rather like Burnham’s reaction to the confected anger of the media and Bad Enoch:
“I make no apology for trying to lead with a bit of lightness at times, a bit of humour. That’s the way I go at things and connect with people as best I can.”
And this: “The only thing that does give some hope is there is so much incredible research going on, and some of the main cancers of years ago, there’s been such big progress on them. But it’s utter devastation isn’t it, if you’re that couple, I don’t know how you cope with that.”
Yes, that was the whole point of it. Stand Up To Cancer. I know lots of people who have been through cancer, quite a few have died from it, including some of my best friends. Although I didn’t watch this episode of Gogglebox, as I don’t watch any episodes of Gogglebox, there is no way I am going to be critical of person of real power, like the Prime Minister, stepping up to do something positive about it.
Bad Enoch would, presumably, decline any invitation from the Gogglebox team to Stand Up To Cancer, that ‘s certainly what she is more than implying. Most of us, I suspect, would do and support almost any activity that benefited the fight against this terrible disease. A politician trying to extract political capital out of Stand Up To Cancer by berating a man who is doing his bit to help don’t impress me much.
And a politician actually behaving like a normal human being? Well, we can’t have that, can we? At least not in Bad Enoch’s miserable world. We can certainly can have it in my world.
