Manchester Question Time organised by Total Politics, 11 February 2010

Event reviewed by Simon Belt

I've been to a wide variety of meetings about politics in my time, and this one at the City Inn Hotel in Manchester appealled because it was being organised by Total Politics as a Question Time event ahead of the forthcoming general election. This was my first Total Politics event, and first ever event at the City Inn - they asked for £400 for a room for 20-30 people for the Manchester Salon last year, and spending money on the room ahead of the travel costs of quality speakers isn't what I do. The format was a traditional three way head to head between Labour (Tony Lloyd MP, Manchester Central), Conservatives (Graham Brady MP, Altrincham & Sale West) and Liberal (Mark Hunter MP, Cheadle) with the fourth panel member being David Ottewell, chief reporter at Manchester Evening News. Shane Greer, executive editor of Total Politics chaired the event.

The Road

reviewed by Dave Porter

The Road came swathed in such adulatory praise, it leaves the ordinary cinemagoer in a difficult position: if everyone says it’s good, then it must be. Right?

Well, only half right on this occasion. Author Cormac McCarthy – on whose book the film is predicated – is renowned for his grimy portrayals of cowboy life on the US-Mexican borders. The swathe of colour he draws his characters and places produces breathtaking literature.

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