Being unable to immediately answer a complex question on demand with a full grasp of the facts is pretty much expected on occasions. But people tend to be a little less forgiving when you are a would-be elected representative.
But Natalie Bennett, leader of the Greens, is not the first politician to fluff, or forget, their lines. Here’s her moment of “mind blank”, plus some examples from other tongue-tied politicians.
Bennett talks to LBC’s Nick Ferrari
Already being described as one of the worst political interviews ever, Bennett struggles excruciatingly over her party’s housing policy.
Ed Balls on Newsnight
This classic of the genre from earlier this month saw the shadow chancellor forget the name of a prominent Labour business supporter. Balls brought up the man himself, then could only name him as “Bill somebody”, giving David Cameron something of an open goal at the next prime minister’s questions. If you, like Balls, have forgotten again, it turned out to be Bill Thomas, who chairs Labour’s small business taskforce.
Chloe Smith on Newsnight
If there’s one thing worse for a politician than not knowing an answer, it’s knowing it full well but being under strict orders from a sociopathic whip or murderous-eyed press officer to not give anything away. Chloe Smith was the 29-year-old junior Treasury minister sent on to Newsnight in June 2012 to explain George Osborne’s decision to defer a fuel duty rise. This was a surprise decision, and one which Smith had clearly not been party to. Asked repeatedly by Jeremy Paxman when she learned of the move Smith, like an automaton stuck in “obfuscate” mode, grinned, nodded, and said she was not giving “a running commentary” on the process. An irate Paxman replied: “I’m not asking for a running commentary. I’m asking for a statement of fact of when you were told.” Chloe Smith is no longer a junior minister.
David Cameron interviewed by Gay Times
Even the most generally fluent political performers can sometimes falter spectacularly. Back in March 2010, when David Cameron still believed detoxifying the Conservative brand was a worthwhile idea, he had this very tricky interview with Gay Times. Asked to defend a tricky position – seeking gay support when his own MPs and MEPs were hardly the most pro-equality bunch – Cameron repeatedly falters and stops, even saying: “You’re right, you’re right, sorry.” Eventually he asks to halt altogether for a while, falling back on the final politicians’ excuse – the interview is unfair.
Nigel Farage on LBC
If there’s one thing a politician dreads more even than forgetting their policy, or having a policy they can’t realistically defend, it’s this: facing an interviewer who has very, very carefully researched their brief. After waltzing through dozens of soft-touch interviews with a cheeky grin and a pint-glass salute, in May last year Nigel Farage had a hugely difficult time against LBC’s James O’Brien. So much did he flounder in the forensic and detailed quizzing that Farage’s then-PR boss, Patrick O’Flynn, effectively threw in the towel by intervening to declare the interview over.
