I like it that Stewart Lee starts off with "I don't know." I respect his appreciation of uncertainty.

We all know Stewart was only pro alcohol because of his families history of cider based agriculture. He gave it to them straight, like a pear cider, that's made from 100% pears

I wonder if Andrew Neil drinks Pear Cider, that's made from 100% pears??!!

I'm an expat in Korea and they drink as much or more than the UK and there is ZERO trouble. People just do not become belligerent and destructive. It's such an enjoyable and comfortable environment in which to enjoy oneself.

I see the by now somewhat tired trope of making comments regarding Mr Lees slowly degenerating appearance has let itself go.

Im fairly sure that intro didnt need to be 2 minutes long. Watching Stewart Lee with these guys is like that episode of The Muppets where Jean-Paul Sartre was the guest.

I can never quite get over the surreallism of Portillo and Stewart in the same conversation.

I never see drunk people at the week-end as I can't focus my eyes.

Stewart called Michael Portillo "the little wooden goblin from the Cuprinol advert".....

I love Stewart Lee he’s always been a favourite of mine xx

I I got " 1984" after 6 words. Truly Impressive by any criteria.

What we should really be talking about is why we drink, and how we drink, not so much about how much we drink. Too many people are drinking as a way of coping with difficulties in their life - stress, shyness, depression - and this never works out well. We need to put more emphasis on coping with life's difficulties in our schooling and parenting. Its not a quick fix, but i think it might be the best one. The trouble is with trying to address these problems via politics, is that politicians don't really understand the nature of the problem.

I could debate this all day. I live in a small northern town, comprised mainly of clubs, pubs and shops. I have to avoid the town centre on Fridays and Saturdays because I just seem to keep getting physically harassed during my walk home from work. I think the alcohol culture is a huge drawback of living in England. It's actually a hobby now to get drunk, vomit and then brag about it the next day. Honestly, I could write a book about it, I'm that opinionated about it. It absolutely sickens me.

At first, I assumed it was the Cuprinol wood goblin, but then I realised It was Michael Portillo.

Honestly, this was one of the greatest shows on TV. Most nights had discussions as funny and interesting as this one. And I fondly remember rolling off the sofa, glass of whisky in my hand, after a gag from one of the guests. I know Lee has since been harsh on Neil and Portillo but I think from his act more so - he was definitely comfortable with them in the times he was on the show (at least twice)

Man, the people on this show never let each other finish a point before interrupting.

i drink because im shy as fuck, is this a problem?

A used tissue has let itself go

That Dianne Abbot's let himself go.....

If only Dianne Abbott could shut up and listen. Stewart Lee was making some intelligent and nuanced points.

I'm watching this while drinking.

I'll give it to you straight, the BBC has really let itself go.

Why is Stewart so much more articulate and intelligent then the other 3? He's a comedian too.

Stewart Lee is one of the rare breed of comedian: Like George Carlin he has gotten cleverer, funnier and sharper as he has progressed in his career.

General Ratko Mladić has let himself go

Oprah has let herself go

I'm watching this while being hideously hungover

Stewart Lee hits the nail on the head. Alcohol makes work viable.

Dianne Abbots madhouse was one of the best programmes of the 80's

Well put, I agree 100%

I think Stewart makes a great point - many people socialise better with alcohol (sad as it is) so more should be done to look at confidence and anxiety without the stuff.

Repression. There it is, in a nutshell...same in Australia. Personally, I think alcohol is complete rubbish - I prefer marijuana...but, apparently that's "bad." When our culture can show a little maturity when it comes to issues like creativity, emotion and sex I think we'll see a massive shift away from drug abuse as a whole - can't see that happening anytime soon, though.

I've never watched this show while sober.

03:58. Lee's look of silent contempt.

i luv stewart lee

He says thanks for having us 🤣🤣🤣

I have no drink problem: I drink. I get drunk. I fall over. No problem!

great intro ... but even more fun to re-watch & substitute the words booze/alchohol (or similar) for casino investment banking ... waaaaay more hilarious

Anything Stewart Lee is saying is going straight over their heads XD

Dianne Abbott's let herself go... I mean, Stewart Lee has let himself go.

hobbitthedog thankyou for informing me that you only watched because of stewart lee. i was getting really quite worried.

Graham Norton has let himself go.

Diane Abbott's let herself go. *Grin*

not everyone gets to drink in a taxpayer subsidised bar like MPs!

A group of friends played the 'guess the book game' the last player Dave Sinclair read out the following passage:" 'My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath:' " We retired to the smoking room and played some games of Billiards.

OH Please, when was the last time Michael Portillo was out in one of our city centre's on a Friday night? NEVER. I live in Manchester, a very lively city day and night, especially at weekends, but I just don't recognize this image of dunks staggering all over the place, fighting and throwing up on innocent passers-by. The vast majority of people out at the weekends are just having a good time, having a drink and a laugh and a dance or whatever and there really isn't that much 'trouble'. The media magnify this and make it into some sort of crisis when in actual fact it's a minority of people.

harrison ford's let himself go

2:18 for the Stewart Lee bit

In the UK, laws were made to limit the opening hours of pubs during WW1 so that the factories could be fully manned and operative to drive the war machine. The problem started there as some punters would drink as much as was physically possible during the allotted hours. These habits are hard to break even when the pubs are open all day.

Lee did everything in the 80's.

Did someone drop one at 3:32?

I think stu hit the nail on the head when he said " we're not addressing the root cause of alcohol abuse" the idea that introducing minimum pricing will stop people drinking is idiotic, people will continue to drink the same levels but will spend less money on other things slowing the economy even more

i wonder if andrew neil uses syrup of fig as a mixer ?

Count Orlock ( Nosferatu) has let himself go

whats the name of the background track?

It is not just the british in terms of europe. It seems to me to be a northern european problem. I have seen the germans , dutch and scandanevians all get as pissed as much as the english.

Funnily people say it is a british attitude to drink, many of us have seen much the same elsewhere. meanwhile various other nations have moved the drink into the home and troubles there in can be problematic too. They could kill it off tomorrow via taxes if they wanted, kill off the pubs, but that is a big part of our economy.

Kim Jong Il has let himself go

whats that song, sounds cool

when all the MPs spent much of their time drinking, we had much better, less ideological, more understanding, more tolerant and more human government. Winston Churchill was a lush who began every day with champagne and orange juice (a buck's fizz), drank wine at all meals during the day, and finished every day with a good brandy. He was tipsy most of the time. Yet he delivered great and coherent speeches, was an inspired leader, and no-one would have said his abilities or his conduct were impaired by his alcohol consumption. Though he was a Tory, and I am not, I have great admiration for him. He was human, considerate, measured and brave. Contrast that with the bunch of weirdos we have now, constantly driven by their own assumed moral superiority to make unnecessary laws ordering us all about. I wish they all enjoyed a drink, it would loosen the buggers up and allow them to see how ridiculous , self-satisfied and self-serving they often are.

my favourite is 'a misshapen bin-bag of a man. he isn't really, he's lovely

1:10 what's that tune?

stewart lee contributed the most!

5:35 because smoking is a stupid fucking habit while drinking changes how people feel about this pointless world.

hopefully this is how we will debate pot in the future

good christ! thank this show making me feel like I have a face suitable for television

i think portillo hit on something at the end when he said about drinking being pushed all out to the friday night thing, now people dont just drink when they feel like it these days...

Stephen Baldwin's let himself go.

lol - tis weird that the UK has such a bad drink prob .... though I just clicked on this for the fab-ness of Mr Lee :)

Chris Morris is just Portillo with sarcasm

@artorwar what does prim mean?

That woman keeps looking up into her head to try and find something worthwhile to say.

Stewart Lee looks permanently pissed

haha brilliant...

im no fan of tories, but that woman paused as if to let Portillo speak which is why he "talked over" her. if she wasnt so fucking haughty she would have realised he'd made an honest mistake and she would have let him finish instead of carrying on with a haughty, incredulous look on her face and carrying on on talking without saying very much at all.

President Bashar al-Assad has let himself go

@stoxocube18 moderate binge drinking is fine. it's fun. it's when you drink your way past that it all goes wrong.

Who's that Chinese lad at 6:56? Where did he come from?

Look how she looks at him with utter disdain.

90s Adult Male Actor JJ Michaels has let himself go

that first pint on friday evening........something alkys will never enjoy again, hahaha

The Hoffmeister Bear has let himself go.

correct. its my business but it's also my problem and mine alone.

Still better than Talking Pints with Kerry Katona.

Nice little Oxbridge get-together here

Dianne Abbott's interruptions are dangerous to watch

Lee's right (as usual) - it's the root cause of alcohol abuse that needs to be tackled. There's something that lies at the heart of our culture that leads to people to want to lose themselves in booze - reservation, shyness, inhibition. Making alcohol more expensive will only make people more broke and it won't do anything to solve the problem. It's just papering over the cracks - something the govt loves to do in the absence of any meaningful research or hard work.

Video length: 10:58 Jesus, how fast were you drinking them?!

The Artist formerly known as Prince has let himself go.

An Ambassador of fun

exactly.

Diane Abbot has the eye movements of a blind person.

I live in Glasgow, and often go out on Friday and Saturday nights, it's really not that bad. Never been in a fight and I've rarely even seen one.

he's not there for his intelligence, he's there for the catering.

Stew is very articulate and makes some very good points. Michael Portillo looks like someone off Thunderbirds. 5.31 Interrupt me why don't you? The sad thing is that if we managed to curb city centre drunkenness, we would lose even more pubs

they're all pear ciders when I've finished with them Stu

mission accomplished

Ditto at 5:28, Abbot butting in saying "let me just say" is a bit like Ian Paisley asking for permission to be contradictory for a change.

-adjective 1. formally precise or proper, as persons or behavior; stiffly neat.

@canberraollie now we`ve started!