It's always a tricky business recording a topical comedy quiz show in advance and never more so than at the moment with politics moving so fast. So well done to Labour's Jess Phillips who predicted former Kwasi Kwarteng's departure from his post as Chancellor at the recording of Have I Got News For You the day before it happened.
Phillips' quip came while testing her mic before the record started last night: "“I’m looking forward to this being completely out of date and the Chancellor having resigned by the time this airs!”.
“Typical Labour… such low expectations!” replied a laughing Ian Hislop, “the prime minister will resign…”
Ian Hislop and the panel then got stuck straight in to the week’s events.
“It’s not going very well, she’s had another very, very bad week, and the economy has tanked. A lot of people - I mean, obviously not me - have said it's because her and her chancellor are useless. In fact, it's the fault of a number of other people. It's the OBR, the IRA,” Hislop quipped.
“ELO,” Richard Osman joked. “I'm gonna have to stick up for her. She said she would get things done quickly. If she can tank the economy in seven days, think what she can do in two years. There’s so many cliffhangers, it’s moving so quickly.”
“You could turn it into a murder mystery, Richard?” said host Adil Ray.
“Oh no, there’s no money in it,” Osman replied.
“‘No money in it’ is Liz Truss’s watchword,” Hislop joked. “Nearly everything announced in the mini budget isn't going to happen. So all the pain and all the turbulence will be for nothing.”
“Because, to be fair… they’ve listened,” Osman quipped.
“I actually think they think nothing bad is happening,” said Labour MP Jess Phillips.
“Labour are 90,000 points ahead in the polls! Does that not scare them?” asked Hislop.
“They don't seem to have noticed!” replied Phillips.
“It scares me!” laughed Hislop.
“On current polling, there would be three Tories left,” Phillips said.
“Yeah… Ian. Duncan. Smith.” added Paul Merton.
Later on in the show, the panel’s attention turned to the news that Liverpool had beaten Glasgow to the honour of hosting next year’s Eurovision Song Contest, holding it on behalf of Ukraine, who won the competition this year.
“Eurovision Song Contest. Won by Liverpool in a face-to-face battle with Glasgow. Ukraine won the Eurovision Song Contest earlier this year, but for various reasons that are obvious, they won't be holding the event next year. So Liverpool won,” said Paul Merton.
Have I Got News For You' continues on BBC One tonight, Friday 14th October, at 9.00pm, with guest host Adil Ray joined by panellists Richard Osman and Jess Phillips MP.
Picture: Hat Trick Productions
