Live from Oldham

BBC political brodacaster John Pienaar brought his Radio Five Live show to Oldham last night — live from the India Lounge, Austerlands. John is pictured, left, with fellow broadcaster Jim Hancock and MPs Andrew Stephenson (Cons), Tim Farron (Lib-Dem) and Ivan Lewis (Labour).

BBC political heavyweight John Pienaar brought his Radio Five Live show to town last night.

The broadcaster, widely respected in the corridors of power at Westminster, produced his Pienaar’s Politics show from the India Lounge in Austerlands.

Part of the bar and restaurant was turned into a studio where Mr Pienaar chatted with BBC reporter Chris Mason and veteran local radio commentator Jim Hancock as he set the scene for the nation on this week’s Oldham East and Saddleworth by-election.

Then he grilled three MPs representing the main parties — Tim Farron (Lib-Dem president and MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale), Ivan Lewis (Labour’s shadow culture, media and sports secretary who is MP for Bury South) and Andrew Stephenson (Conservative by-election campaign manager and MP for Pendle).

Mr Pienaar challenged Mr Farron on the weekend newspaper polls that had Labour running away with the race. When Mr Farron retorted that momentum was still with the Lib-Dems, Mr Pienaar sniped: “That’s like saying you are second behind Usain Bolt.”



THE three main by-election candidates clashed in the BBC studios on Oxford Road, Manchester, yesterday when they appeared on the lunchtime Politics Show.

But there were no few fresh arguments as Debbie Abrahams (Labour), Kashif Ali (Conservatives) and Elwyn Watkins (Lib-Dem) appeared with presenter Annabel Tiffin.

Mrs Abrahams slammed the Coalition over broken promises, Mr Watkins centred on the need for more manufacturing jobs and Mr Ali maintained the race was still three-way.


BBC Radio Manchester was today giving the trio another chance to lock horns on Andy Crane’s midday show.