Twonk of the Day Is ?

Most definitely twonk of the day is Chloe Smith MP  ( @chloesmithmp ) who just happens to be Economic Secretary to the Treasury.

Appearing on Newsnight last night to comment on Christine Legardes IMF report on the state of the UK economy, our minister appeared along side Rachel Reeves ( @Rachelreevesmp ) the labour Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

You can see the episode on Iplayer here.

So why twonk of the day ?

Firstly there was a major gaff by Chloe in that she describes the government success of reducing the debt of the UK. Clearly this wrong as the debt is going up !
What the minister meant was reduction of the  deficit ! For an explanation of the difference see here.

However, under the pressure of live news a slip of the tongue can be excused and does not qualify for twonk status.

But it became clear during the interviews that our minister had made it a condition of appearing on the programme that she would not debate directly with her fellow MP.

Chloe, this wins you my Twonk of the day award !

Why the hell would you not debate ? Why Why Why ?

Your a government minister and you are not willing to allow another MP ask you a question in public ? Do you lack conviction ? Do you lack knowledge ?

You then compound your failure to act in an accountable way by stating in reply that you would be happy to debate Rachel Reeves any time ! Apparently not ! according to newsnight.

Minister, you may be brilliant at you job for all I know, but when you appear in an official capacity you have no rights whatsoever to lay down conditions re interview. To do so simply destroys the public’s trust in our politicians, government and your own personal integrity.