I believe that the potential is there for us to sort our own problems. And, from that statement alone, you should be able to work out that I think that there *are* some problems.

What can I say? Someone has to fight the good fight.

It needed to be said and it much more difficult for Tessa to dismiss out of hand when it comes from inside her own party

Bit to inward-looking and Westminsterish for my tastes, I’m afraid - reads a bit to much like a Labour Party parish noticeboard.

So, what did we get for our 50 minutes..?

The government has no intention of trying to legislate/regulate bloggers.

Blogging should not have no-go areas, apparently - I think she’s suggesting that the robust character of online debate may be a bit off putting for some people.

Extreme abuse and threatening language makes people apprehensive.

To much political debate is cynical and intolerant.

Sounds like a typical week’s PMQs to me…

Tim Ireland:

You want to help fix it? You can start by leading by example.

we are all entitled to take part in this debate. my press officer objects to being called a flunky. nothing that i say is intended to be patronising but i do think that we need a different kind of political debate, too much is conducted in a tone of intolerance and cynicism. so i think that you will get more people joining you if you make it clear that you stand for something different.

Quite… when does the standing for something different begin in govenment?

I think that there are similarities btween say parks and bloggoshere,and other aspects of the public realm.remember that these are democratic spaces where people meet as equals. in that most such spaces need broadly defined rules of engagement the debate about voluntary code is useful. I do think that it is right that comment should be owned and not anonymous and that vigorous debate should not be masked by simple abuse that is a substitute for argument. I am but one voice in this in a debate that i hpe will go on with thousands of others. thank you to all of you who have taken part over the last hour .

Parks? I must ask the council which bit of our local park specifically belongs to me because that’s the only way this analogy works.

We’ll share a cell. It’ll be fun.

I think you’ve probably more chance of a visit from Patsy Hewitt, and if that happens I’d plead justifiable verbal homicide.

I couldn’t agree more, Jeff. It’s just that some of us are enjoying the irony that a former Minister of state at the Department of - ahem - Education and Employment actually requires a spell checker.

DK

Anyone got a freshly painted wall I can watch for a few minutes while I’m waiting…

Tessa Jowell is the last person who should be flapping her lips about this… and it’s pretty obvious that if it weren’t this subject she would be stunt-riding on another.

(PS - Don’t say I didn’t warn you.)

EvilGiraffe:

there is absolutely no intension in government to give any kind of legisatory or statutory affect to this

Maybe they’re looking for a touch typist now to go with the dictionary…

Hello, everybody. Thank you very much for all the provocative comments, you have posted.

But in the end, it is up to you how the bloggersphere functions.

I think’s she’s caught the mood already and knows it could get ugly… especially as I saw PikeBishop kicking around in there earlier…

The natives has noticed the time and are starting to get rather restless - all does not auger well for Tessa, when she starts drawing comments like this before she’s even out the starting gate:

Perhaps the first step for Ms Jowell to ‘increase the quality of internet debates’ is to engage in one, rather than chickening out quicker than a minister from a chat with Paxman.