I find Caroline Quinn hard work each morning on the Today programme. I think she lacks empathy with her interviewee, when the interview goes in a different direction it seems as if she is unable to tack with them and either asks the same question again, or follows up with a non sequitur.
So, I think she fails to get the best out of the interviewees, today on transport was a good example. Government Transport Minister, Dr Stephen Ladyman was trying to point out that people with 4x4 cars already pay a large amount in fuel duty, so an additional amount in VED is unlikely to change their behaviour and she kept on asking the same question about charging "gas guzzlers" 1800 pounds, rather than the intended 210. Instead of investigating whether fuel pricing does discourage usage, she stuck to the same issue, to the detriment of the interview.
The transport committee's recommendations are very regressive, pricing poorer people off planes and out of larger cars. The former seems unfair, the latter should affect all people equally. Looking at the Government's VED car fuel data website it is all the expensive cars which have the worst emissions, see the raw data to make this obvious. The only people who really have a call on big 4x4s are farmers etc, charging them 1800 pounds alongside the Chelsea tractor set seems disingenuous.
Back to my point, maybe Caroline Quinn needs to relax and follow the story rather than her list of questions. Then again, I'm not interviewing people at 8am, but other presenters on Today seem to be able to do it well.
