The question from the Summer School debate – is the Duchess pregnant?

Marlborough’s MP Claire Perry produced the sensation of the evening: “I think Kate Middleton [aka the Duchess of Cambridge] is pregnant – and that would be good for the economy.”  So at last the government’s Plan B to get the country out of recession was unveiled.

That was just one of the entertaining interventions during Marlborough College Summer School’s first Question Time debate – an innovation in its famed evening entertainments for those attending the daytime courses.  Chaired by former political journalist Michael Kallenbach who lives in Mildenhall (pictured with Claire Perry.)

The event attracted an audience of over two hundred and fifty people some from the town and many who were attending Summer School.

The panel was Lt.Gen. Sir Barney White-Spunner, who chairs the Countryside Alliance; Chris Bryant MP an opposition front bencher and campaigner on the phone hacking scandal – of which he was a target; Douglas Murray, author and journalist; Nick Watt, deputy political editor of The Guardian; and Claire Perry, the local MP.

The first questioner asked “Does the panel think George Osborne is a part-time Chancellor and should be replaced by Vince Cable.” Mrs Perry’s answer came in three words “No” and “God forbid.”

Chris Bryant thought that mixing party political strategy with the economy of the country was “a big mistake” and highlighted the problem of youth unemployment. The number of young people out of work for more than a year in his constituency (Rhondda) had risen by 775 per cent in the last year. Douglas Murray thought Osborne should concentrate on being Chancellor.

Nick Watt, describing himself as a “dodgy left-wing Guardian journalist”, said Cable should definitely not be Chancellor, but described Osborne as “a tactician, not a strategist, too like a news editor managing a twenty-four hour news channel.” And Sir Barney launched a very lively debate by calling for ‘politicians with experience of real life’.

Some of the panel had the traditional go at knocking journalists with Douglas Murray calling for a day on which the press takes a day off, the government does something and the press then report it – leaving out all the briefing, previewing and second guessing. Chris Bryant pointed out that “Some journalists have never done anything in the real world.” Tut, tut.

Claire Perry repeated her riff on the gloom-mongers in the media – she didn’t even want weather forecasters to warn us it was going to be hot at night.

Jane Nicholson then asked whether it had been an error of judgment for David Cameron to appoint Andy Coulson. Chris Bryant told the audience he felt as though he’d been locked in a cupboard with Andy Coulson for a year:  “Very serious questions should have been asked and I don’t think they were.”

Bryant believes the scandal unveiled at the Leveson Inquiry could turn out to be “The biggest case of commercial corruption since 1720” – which, as every journalist knows, was the date of the South Sea Bubble. Mrs Perry had worked with Coulson for a time and said he was “A very good and honourable human being.”

There followed questions on the Olympics, on the price paid to farmers for milk, and paying cash to tradesmen.  But, Giacomo, a thirteen year-old Italian boy who’s at the Summer School asked the question of the night: “Why do human beings always need to debate?”

The slight problem was that his question started a lengthy and good natured debate.  The main disagreement came as to whether men or women were the best debaters and/or listeners. We don’t need to say who took which side on that issue.Then there was the Olympic question: will it bring the country out of recession and who will light the cauldron?  To the first part it was generally agreed it might produce a little bounce in the figures.  To the second the panel was split wide open.

Nick Watt, leaving himself liable to censure by his republican-leaning employers, wanted the Queen to light the cauldron. Douglas Murray thought that might create problems – these things tended to go out and Princess Margaret was no longer around to proffer a cigarette lighter.

But Murray did want the Games to “put back a sense of being British – so we could rejoice at being British.” He thought the opening ceremony might prove more important than the sports and as long as there was no Spice Girls reunion, he didn’t much mind who lit the cauldron.

Sir Barney got some boos for backing David Beckham to light the cauldron.  But having seen him in Afghanistan with the troops, he knew he was a really good and solid role model.

Claire Perry took a three-way bet – she wanted three people to join in the lighting: Steve Redgrave, Kelly Holmes and Derek Derenalagi, who lost both legs in an Afghanistan mine explosion and has been selected for the Team GB Paralympics in the discus.

Afterwards, it was clear the audience had enjoyed the evening a great deal.  And it’s very likely there’ll be as good an audience for the second Question Time on Thursday, August 9 – full details here.  Certainly the Summer School’s organiser, Jon Copp, is looking forward to another sparky panel debating both serious and light-hearted questions.