The phoney war is over and the BBC’s pretence of maintaining a neutral stance on the EU referendum is over. That pretence of neutrality was always straining for credibility even before Cameron’s ‘win’ as the BBC managed to fill the airwaves with people who ‘just happened’ to support staying in the EU. Now however the gloves really are off and the BBC discussions that are supposed to inform us and bring both sides of the story to us are stage managed to appear to discuss the issues but remarkably end up with the conclusion that staying in the EU is the safest bet….and the BBC’s frontpage headlining story?…from a Michael Fallon interview…given prime spot on the Today programme at 08:10….
EU referendum: Leaving EU ‘big gamble’ for UK security
Strange how soon the BBC forgets that Cameron was described as a diplomatic irrelevance in regard to pressurising Russia over Ukraine….and it wasn’t ‘Europe’ that put that pressure on Putin but France and Germany.
David is right about the immediate attack on Boris, presaged of course by Nick Robinson’s attack on him on the Marr show. Boris is being set up as a calculating, unprincipled man out to further his own career…based on what evidence? And why look so closely at Boris’ motivations when others like Cameron get off scot free?
5Live brought on Sonia Purnell (at around 12:10), a former colleague and biographer of Boris…..apparently Boris and Purnell do not get on….but you weren’t told that by the BBC who presented her somewhat poisonous comments as gospel…….she claimed Boris was a fraud, secretly wanting to stay in the EU and his 30 years of writing Euro-sceptic columns was all a front….this is all about being PM she suggested.
Sonia Purnell
@soniapurnell So, what exactly is the price Boris is holding out for for going against Brexit?
Some comments about her biography which might indicate she is no friend of Boris….
Sonia Purnell’s Just Boris is an indispensable examination into the mind, ambitions and deep insecurities of London’s mayor; Boris hates it because she dares speak truth to power.’
(Nicholas Lezard Guardian – Best of 2012)
‘Through fast prose and a vast array of interviews, Purnell … portrays better than any predecessor the arrogance, opportunism, and irresistible buffoonery of our most celebrated politician.’
(Independent on Sunday)
No wonder the BBC chose her…..as did the Guardian for numerous hatchet jobs on Boris and the Tories.
Looks like she is pro-EU as well……
@soniapurnell 5 hours ago
I do think this piece by William Hague is significant for all sorts of reasons http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12167610/David-Cameron-has-beaten-Europe-at-its-own-game.-That-makes-it-worth-staying.html …
Later on on 5Live we had a discussion about security (9 mins 30 secs) asking would we be more or less secure if we left the EU? We had on the ‘independent’ think tank Chatham House.…independent but of course not necessarily without its own ideas and indeed what we got was an assessment that we would be safer to stay in Europe…no one put up to oppose that view as it was given. I can’t see too much, if any, pro-Brexit comment on the Chatham House site and indeed here is the head of Chatham House, Robin Niblett, giving his own editorial comment which is pro-staying in Europe…as this line makes clear…
The risks to Britain’s position in Europe and, therefore, to its international influence are inescapable in the next parliament, irrespective of who wins the election.
Other comment from the Labour party on the site is clear on which direction we should go…
Making the Case for Britain in Europe
Hilary Benn will make present an internationalist case for Britain remaining in the European Union. Drawing on his experience in government, he will contend that being in Europe strengthens the UK’s voice on major international challenges such as regional conflict and climate change.
Britain’s Place in Europe: Why the Future Lies in the EU
Alan Johnson MP, leader of the Labour In For Britain campaign, will set out why in an increasingly interconnected world, Britain is stronger as part of Europe.
Chatham House may be ‘independent’ of government or any other vested interest but it looks like it has a line to take and that is to stay in Europe so for the BBC to present it as completely neutral is not entirely true and adds to all those other commentators the BBC drags in that are supposedly neutral but turn out, funnily enough, to support the EU.
The same 5Live programme (15 mins) went to some length to dismiss a claim by hairdressers on a previous 5Live programme that their businesses were being effected by EU regulations on the power of hairdryers…..the BBC told us this was rubbish….not having heard the hairdresser’s original claim I can’t comment on the reasons for them but it is interesting the lengths the BBC go to to try and undermine criticism of the EU and bolster its reputation by disproving ‘myths’.
Trouble is the EU may not have actually banned such hairdryers at present but it really did want to ban such high power machines, and will no doubt try to in future...as the BBC once told us…
High-powered hairdryers are on a list of household electrical items the EU is considering banning in an attempt to curb energy consumption.
A study, commissioned by the European Commission, has identified up to 30 appliances including toasters and kettles which could be restricted.
The study forms part of the EU’s energy efficiency directive aimed at helping to tackle climate change.
The power of hairdryers could be reduced by as much as 30 per cent in order to be more eco-friendly, a draft study commissioned by Brussels suggests, threatening many of the models favoured by hairdressers and consumers for speedy blow-dries.
Günther Oettinger, the German EU energy commissioner, said that legislation preventing consumers from buying high-wattage appliances was necessary to fight climate change.
“We haven’t got round to these devices yet, we want curb power consumption,” he told Bild newspaper. “All EU countries agree that energy efficiency is the most effective method to reduce energy consumption and dependence on imports and to improve the climate. Therefore there needs to be mandatory consumption limits for small electrical appliances.”
Celebrity colourist and NHF past president Mark Coray, who uses a 2,100-watt dryer in his Cardiff salon, warned the plans could be deeply damaging to the UK industry: “You have a salon environment and somebody in their lunch-break wanting to have their hair done; you have time constraints,” he says. “The more powerful, the faster the blow dry – it’s as simple as that.”
All of which goes to show that the EU does want to ban such products and that such bans would have an effect on hairdresser businesses….so not so laughable after all.
Good summary but you’ve fallen into the Remainian’s trap of refering to the EU as ‘Europe’. One’s a corrupt, anti-democratic, power-mad, expansionist, crony socialist dictatorship, the other’s a continent made up of 50 countries.
On a side note; how long before the BBC start referring to the European Union as “our EU”?
While I’m grateful for small mercies in that BoJo has joined the Leavers, nevertheless he doesn’t want to actually leave the EU; he just wants to have a second referendum to negotiate better terms to stay in. I think he speaks with forked tongue.
It may be worse than that.
He has abandoned any hope of leading the “leave” campaign and is willing (it appears) to take a hammering from the “remain” camp without fighting back. He has arrived at leave, for what may be entirely sincere and honourable reasons, but he is refusing to get stuck in to the fight. The media’s great populist hero of the Leave campaign, is throwing the fight.
Quick, Call Farage, he, at least, is always up for the fight. Boris is turning out to be a cowardly inner, sent in to disrupt their enemy’s camp!
The BBC and Channel 4 seem full of the “Tory splits”.
You`d have thought that labour were united-certainly there is no talk of THEIR seismic schisms.
Bob Crow and Tony Benn with the hard left?….as opposed to Blairs carrion and gutless soft lefties like Alan Johnson?
AND-let`s not forget-had we not voted Tory-we`d NOT even be HAVING a referendum.
And the political elite are incandescent that we`re being allowed it…the BBC and the Left, the Greens SNP, Plaid Cymru and the runting rutting few libDims…ALL hate the notion that we can vote to slough them off like this.
AS I watch Nick Robinson now-he`s just come up with some canard about Canada needing seven years to get a deal with the EU as he talks to an ant-EU woman on Panorama.
And he used exactly the same spurious “fact” on Nigel Lawson fourteen hours ago.
He must be proud of this baby to wave it around twice…but WGAF?
The BBC just get it all flat pack and phoned in don`t they?…be great to do a Benny Hill and slap the sad buggers head ceaselessly once we`ve told his BBC to sling their hook in Spanish waters-as we get ours back for the first time in 40 years.
Seven years during which VW wouldn’t be allowed to sell us its cars?
Who does Marr think he is kidding (Mr Hitler…)
The BBC’s contribution to Project Fear is hosted tonight by Nick Robinson. Leicester praised for its diversity including its football team. Anna Soubry tells us that having to show a passport is the same as controlling the movement of people. BBC reporter Alan Little explains that Norway is in effect in the EU in order to access the single market, it just doesn’t know it. Why does this report and the Tory pro EU attack dog of the day, Anna Soubry, deliberately confuse a free trade deal with one to be part of the single market, which we have no need to be in?
James Langdale discusses sovereignty and says Britain can veto EU commission proposed laws on the Council of Ministers, but has he never heard of qualified majority voting ? Robinson tells Chris Grayling that ‘the normal business of government is controlled from Whitehall’. No problems about sovereignty then!
This programme was amazingly superficial, very typical of the modern dumbed down BBC1, and definitely pro EU.
Am I the only one getting fed up with being told that ‘Norway is outside the EU but still has to abide by its trade rules!’ Yes, but the point is it doesn’t have to. It’s like being told you must only shop with Tesco, and if you decide instead to shop with Mr Patel’s MicroMarket, ‘you will still have to pay him and be subject to his opening hours’!
I’ve heard Putin’s name being thrown around – regarding Britain’s security – like an exclamation mark to warn us of the consequences of leaving the EU. Blatant scare-mongering seeing as the troubles in Ukraine are, we are told, to do with EU expansion into former Soviet territory.
Putin will be hoping Britain leaves the EU, not so it gives him more chance of invading us, but that it will hinder EU expansion into places it has no business expanding into – especially Turkey!
As we already know, Greece and Spain are suffering economically, but I doubt we’ll be hearing much about those forgotten places from the BBC except when talking about the ‘poor’ British expats who live there who are thinking about selling up and moving back to the UK. I’m sure Spain will be happy to take them in seeing as they are not economic migrants but benefactors to the Spanish economy. It wouldn’t be in Spain’s interest to alienate their wealthy British expat population.
Ironically, of all the European countries, it is the poorest that will be shitting bricks if we leave the EU. It will be our holiday destinations of choice – Spain, Greece, Portugal – that will resist economic retaliation. And perhaps those countries will, in turn, threaten their own EU referendums.
Edward is right about the EU poorer countries being most effected by Brexit. They have been on the Brussels teat for too long and it will be a case of cold turkey when the UK cash tap is turned off. An example of this is the Czech Republic, the fastest growing EU economy last year, but it is estimated that half of that growth came from EU funding. This of course makes no sense and is waste on a grand scale. The short sighted intransigence of Poland and Hungary to Dave’s benefit reforms clearly demonstrate that the EU is unable and has no interest in reforming itself.
Just listened to Wake up to Money and Lord Digby Jones giving a slap on arse to the remainers at the BBBC, I don’t think they got the interview they expected. Get him on board any Out campaign.
The BBC’s Pro-EU bias is relentless with the headline:
“EU exit would risk jobs”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news
Even the Guardian is more even handed with their “EU referendum: Top firms back pro-EU letter, but supermarkets refuse to sign” story:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/feb/22/brexit-eu-referendum-top-firms-sign-letter-times-pro-eu-shell-easyjet-bae-systems-supermarkets-sainsbury-morrisons-tesco
The BBC’s tricky juggles between personalities and policies it likes, or does not, continues apace:
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/02/watch-george-galloways-car-crash-interview-on-daily-politics/
A few worthy quotes. ‘Cos it’s the BBC and they do not lie.
I have to say that I believe Ms Purnell ,whilst being used as a tacit ‘Tory-basher’ by the odious B BC, is correct in that Boris Johnson merely wants re-negotiation on the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU and not full Brexit.
I think that this whole ‘Boris joining the Leavers’ side is a faux exercise designed to marginalise UKIP and Farage , whilst moving the compliant media focus onto supposed Tory leadership battles. I fully expect that BJ will end up being accepted back into the Tory fold by declaring that there will be a great ‘victory’ achieved when we re-negotiate with a stronger hand.
This is a Win-Win situation for the Tories -they think they can eclipse Farage and UKIP for ever ,and ,as Cameron is going anyway, they move the focus onto irrelevancies.
IMO, they have seriously underestimated the dislike and distaste that their core voters feel for their policies-I will NEVER vote for them again and I hope that at least some of the sheeple out there can see through this charade.
As it has been confirmed (although the hysterical mainstream media appeared to miss it in Boris’ original statement), Boris has refused to lead any Brexit campaign. He will not share a stage with Farage or Galloway and he will not share a stage with any tory who wants to remain, which means he is a lame duck.
I thought it was strange in their reporting from Sunday onwards when the media was working itself into an orgasmic frenzy of “Brexit have a great leader” that nobody on the Brexit side had actually appointed a leader at all. And I did notice Boris saying clearly that he would not debate Cameron, nor share a stage with Farage or Galloway.
Basically, it appears he has joined Brexit in order to throw the fight. Or at least, I am sure that the media, having decided on their own to appoint him as the “leader” of Brexit, that his refusal to debate and fight for Brexit, that the media will now announce that the Brexit campaign is finished.
I am so glad that the Brexit campaigns themselves have been working latterally instead of hierarchichally for many months now. By growing a grass-roots campaign organically in social networks, we are winning the ground war and pursuading more and more people every day to the truth of our cause.
We do not need Boris, in order to win, whatever the out-of-touch, out-dated and biased media thinks. We are ALL leading in this fight and we will not quit until Britain is a free, democratic sovereign nation again.
I notice the BBC news webpage has discreetly changed it’s earlier hysterically pro-EU headline “Leaving EU ‘would threaten UK jobs'” to “Big firms warn EU exit ‘threaten jobs'” and now have conceded in it’s opening paragraph that two-thirds of FTSE 100 companies have not signed the letter.
Project Fear in full flow on BBC news channel. A discussion with two business representatives. A thoroughly decent bloke called Nigel makes reasoned case against scaremongering. A woman from something called BSE says our security is threatened , Great Britain will end and there will be two years of chaos while we negotiate a trade deal. Four months of this scaremongering? As Simon Heffer has said are we Chamberlains or Churchills?
I merely refer you to Fiona Bruce’s bright, breezy, smiling, tone and behaviour on the 10pm news last night, when reporting on Cameron’s HoC statement and ‘remain’ arguments.
And contrast that with the down-in-the-dumps, doom and gloom tone when she reports on almost every other government story.
The BBC have just removed the top comment from a HYS.
It was simply Vote Up to leave and Vote Down to stay.
The Up votes were 174 and the Down was 30.
This is probably the third time I’ve seen this simple poll posted as a comment and become the Highest rated but obviously the BBC have noticed and are now removing it because it goes against their pro-EU position.
Interestingly, many of the other comments today are slamming the BBC for their false reporting of the number of businesses that have signed a letter saying leaving the EU would be damaging.
What the BBC are not reporting is that only 1/3 of the businesses signed meaning 2/3 didn’t.