UKC

Cameron the Phoney

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
 Yanis Nayu 26 Apr 2015
He seems to have forgotten the football team he pretends to support. I suppose that can happen when you pretending to be the common man in touch with people on the streets. He might have got confused while distracted by wondering whether they had any pasties in the fridge at home. Occupational hazard of being an inauthentic phoney politician I suppose.

Up the 'ammers!
1
 Dave the Rave 26 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:
It was great to watch him squirm. Again!
1
 lowersharpnose 26 Apr 2015
In reply to Dave the Rave:

He refused to answer 9x8 after giving a speech on primary school teaching of times tables and whatnot.

A man who had a very privileged education himself dare not answer what he expects all primary school children to know.

He deserves ridicule and contempt for that alone.
1
 MonkeyPuzzle 26 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:

Much though I enjoy watching him squirm and much though, as a Villa supporter myself, I'd prefer if he did support Wet Spam, his uncle has links to the club and he came to games when he was younger and he was in the crowd away at QPR a couple of seasons back. A genuine case of "mis-speaking", methinks.
1
Clauso 26 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:

He also enjoys listening to the Baltic Monkeys...
1
 Fraser 26 Apr 2015
In reply to lowersharpnose:

To be fair however, unless you're using your times tables regularly I know I forget some *very * basic arithmetic from time to time too! (And I was good at maths at school, but that is now a long time ago)

I can forgive people making mistakes or avoiding answers some times, nomatter who they may be. There but for the grace of God.. etc
 timjones 26 Apr 2015
In reply to lowersharpnose:

> He refused to answer 9x8 after giving a speech on primary school teaching of times tables and whatnot.

I think I might refuse to answer such a silly question, it's only ever going to be asked because some smartarse is hoping to make themselves look clever by catching you out. Why give them the opportunity?


OP Yanis Nayu 26 Apr 2015
In reply to MonkeyPuzzle:

Like when he bought his last pasty from the shop that doesn't sell pasties?

Or when he said "no top-down reorganisation of the NHS"?
1
KevinD 26 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

> I think I might refuse to answer such a silly question, it's only ever going to be asked because some smartarse is hoping to make themselves look clever by catching you out. Why give them the opportunity?

Apart from it wasnt someone just being a smartarse for shit and giggles. It was because the tories had just announced it was one of their goals to have kids knowing their times table by the time they left primary school.
Hence, not unreasonably, the reporters assumed if they considered it important then he should be able to answer it. This is the day after the education secretary failed to answer either.
1
 MonkeyPuzzle 26 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:

> Like when he bought his last pasty from the shop that doesn't sell pasties?

> Or when he said "no top-down reorganisation of the NHS"?

Nah, they were just lies.
 lummox 27 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:

How does one eat a hot dog ? #allinittogether
 The New NickB 27 Apr 2015
In reply to Yanis Nayu:

> Like when he bought his last pasty from the shop that doesn't sell pasties?

The bizarre thing about that was that he goes on his holidays every year to Cornwall. He could have just said, a pasty shop in Padstow / Rock / Polzeath.
1
 timjones 27 Apr 2015
In reply to dissonance:

> Apart from it wasnt someone just being a smartarse for shit and giggles. It was because the tories had just announced it was one of their goals to have kids knowing their times table by the time they left primary school.

> Hence, not unreasonably, the reporters assumed if they considered it important then he should be able to answer it. This is the day after the education secretary failed to answer either.

Oh come on, you can't really be naive enough to think that they asked the question in the hope that he got it right!

On the whole I'd sooner have a Prime Minister who recognises a trap when they see it, than one who walks right into it.
 tony 27 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

> On the whole I'd sooner have a Prime Minister who recognises a trap when they see it, than one who walks right into it.

On the whole, I'd sooner have a Prime Minister capable of primary school maths. Since when was 9 x 8 a trap?
1
 cander 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

It's all rather pathetic point scoring, same as Miliband being a dork when eating a bacon sarnie - good banter between boys but not important when discussing how the country is run.
KevinD 27 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

> Oh come on, you can't really be naive enough to think that they asked the question in the hope that he got it right!

You seem to have missed the point.
if the PM thinks it is important that kids learn the times table, for some godforsaken reason, then he should be able to answer them.
The interesting part of the story is he then admitted that the only time he uses them is helping his kids learn them. Which begs the question whats the point of them and whether teachers time might be better spent doing something more productive.


1
 cander 27 Apr 2015
In reply to dissonance:

Actually listening to my 8 year old grandson reciting his time tables flawlessly was an absolutely endearing moment (for both of us) - worth learning just for that - car journeys are now a endless game of trying to catch each other out with times tables - moving onto calculus next - and no he'll never need that either, but I'd sooner he knew how to do it than didn't know it.
 timjones 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

> On the whole, I'd sooner have a Prime Minister capable of primary school maths. Since when was 9 x 8 a trap?

Oh thats OK then lets have a schoolchild as PM
 timjones 27 Apr 2015
In reply to dissonance:

> You seem to have missed the point.

> if the PM thinks it is important that kids learn the times table, for some godforsaken reason, then he should be able to answer them.

> The interesting part of the story is he then admitted that the only time he uses them is helping his kids learn them. Which begs the question whats the point of them and whether teachers time might be better spent doing something more productive.

Do you really think that basic maths isn't a productive thing for schools to teach. What do you value as part of a good education?
 tony 27 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

> Do you really think that basic maths isn't a productive thing for schools to teach.

Well it seems you can become PM without mastering basic maths, so there are at least some exciting career options for the innumerate.

 timjones 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

> Well it seems you can become PM without mastering basic maths, so there are at least some exciting career options for the innumerate.

You seem a little confused over the difference between knowing basic maths and jumping through hoops for journalists that are almost certainly just trying to catch you out to sell their papers.
 Jim Hamilton 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

> Well it seems you can become PM without mastering basic maths, so there are at least some exciting career options for the innumerate.

I don’t think you can seriously doubt Cameron’s intelligence (or any of the other party leaders) going by their educational records and where they have ended up.
 Pedro50 27 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

The point is that you learn your times tables so well that you never forget them. I am still fluent up to 12 X 12 because they were drummed into us. I am 61
 tony 27 Apr 2015
In reply to timjones:

> You seem a little confused over the difference between knowing basic maths and jumping through hoops for journalists that are almost certainly just trying to catch you out to sell their papers.

So basic maths like 9 x 8 is a trap? Seriously?
 tony 27 Apr 2015
In reply to Jim Hamilton:

> I don’t think you can seriously doubt Cameron’s intelligence

Perhaps they don't teach times tables at Eton. Perhaps all that maths stuff is best left to the oiks.
 MG 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

Oh come on it's a "what's the price of milk type?" question. Ask enough of them and a politician will get one wrong. It says nothing interesting about their ability or knowledge.
 timjones 27 Apr 2015
In reply to tony:

> So basic maths like 9 x 8 is a trap? Seriously?

Why do you think the question was asked?

Was the journo hoping to make the PM look good?

Or were they hoping for a headline grabbing mistake?

You have a lot more faith in our press than I do!

New Topic
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Loading Notifications...