Do you like the way in which the BBC portrays David Cameron’s decision to “break” his “truce” with the Dear Leader? Once again, the Conservatives are being portrayed as the bad guys because they dare dissent from Gordon’s world-view. Cameron is absolutely right to point out that Brown has his grubby-fingerprints all over many of the economic woes that afflict us but the Brown narrative is that our problems all originate in the USA and the BBC then uses this to suggest that a dissenting Cameron is being unreasonable.
“TRUCE OVER”?
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They seem to have ignored the fact that Brown was the one who actually broke the truce by making a party political point at PMQs last week. Rather than just answer a question, he turned it into dig at Cameron for all his idiot backbenchers to laugh at.
I have already complained about the ridiculously partisan quote used in that article. Out of all the ones they could have chosen – including many which simply express concern at the financial situation – they choose one which peddles the Labour line exactly.
The opening headlines on the Today programme at 7.00 am referred to ‘him sharing the blame’. It sounded like David Cameron sharing the blame for supporting the government but only by listening a bit more I assume it was carefully worded so the listener heard than – but actually meant that Brown shared the blame for the banks collapse with the bankers themselves. I should have listened more so I could explain more fully to BBBCers – but so livid couldn’t face it.
Deborah
I think it was:
The Conservative leader, David Cameron, is to launch his strongest attack yet on Gordon Brown;s handling of the economy. He says he shares some of the blame for the financial crisis.
Until the day comes when a Conservative Leader actually does something about BBC bias its going to continue and get worse. The bias wouldn’t be as endemic as it is unless many people at the very top of the BBC wanted it that way. Unless Cameron addresses this and proposes the drastic action needed to restore BBC integrity, BBC Gramscians wont be sweating. I’m sure noone is holding their breath for Cameron to do the necessary.
The Conservatives ARE the bad guys for creating the powder puff economy in the 80s that we are now lumbered with (and that Labour deluded themselves did not need to be challenged).
Cameron’s speech this morning was one policy-lite, rightwing whinge.
He rightly pointed the finger at Brown for being at the helm these last eleven years and taking credit for rosy economic conditions that were none of his doing.
However, the reason the polls are narrowing is because the British people are not stupid: they recognise that this economic system is the same one set up, implemented, bequeathed to Labour and trumpeted for 30 years by the Conservative Party and its bully-boy supporters in the press.
Voters understand the Tories are still blinded by discredited free-market dogma (and Cameron came dangerously close to throwing unconditional support for this bombed out creed this morning) and would probably make the current situation a whole lot worse by their stubborn, arrogant refusal to acknowledge that they are wrong.
Hmm. I can’t see what your issue here is.
In journalistic talk people make ‘attacks’ and have ‘truces’ all the time. It’s not used a value judgement.
Blaming Brown for continuing Thatcherite free-market policies and not acknowledging where they came from is hypocritical, but taken as criticisms of the current state what they’re pretty valid things for Dave to say.
Hang on – Is this the same anti-conservative BBC who they did the Hutton report about?
magic dave: The BBC sided with the left over Iraq. The BBC fell out with Tony Bliar, not the Labour party. The BBC went after Bliar because he sided with George Bush.
Note how the BBC never brings up the fact that not only did Gordon Brown back the war in Iraq, he was the man that wrote the cheques.
I said all along that the Tories should have opposed this Government bank bailout. Supporting it was never going to give the Tories any benefit and if it goes south (like it’s doing) they will get the blame.
This is the same mess the Tories got into supporting the war in Iraq. If Tony Blair and Gordon Brown wanted the war in Iraq they should have been forced to get the vote in Parliament with their own party.
The job of the opposition is to oppose. The Government has the majority so it can pass the legislation it wants.
more pro conservative talk from this very biased website.
Sorry to break your bubble but Labour is seeing its poll ratings go up, many conservative friends who I know are admitting to me that they are worried and don’t believe that the Tories will win the next election and I agree with them. We all remember the last economic crisis and how the Conservatives acted then.
Dolly Draper’s rebuttal-butties have managed to find this web-site, then ?
I see Draper’s astroturfers are busy today.
Tell me, do you seriously think anyone believes these posts from ‘new’ ZanuLabour suporting commenters who pop up out of nowhere like so many mushrooms?
Jack, there’s no way you actually have any friends, let alone Conservative ones. Get back to Draper’s arse-sucking unit.
i have never understood why Cameron warbles on about “responsible” opposition… utter bollocks that makes him sound like a wimp.
he should grow some fucking balls and do what New Labour did – get stuck in!
“Voters understand the Tories are still blinded by discredited free-market dogma”
as opposed to fully credited socialist dogma?
Oh dear, the nu socialist rapid rebuttal unit is in action here too? Brownshirts without the brown shirts,
Whats the difference between a brownshirt thug standing outside a jewish shop bullying people from going in and what the NuLab trolls are doing? I see not much difference and if they get away with this then what will they get upto next I wonder?
First time posters rushing on to blame the Tories, its the Tories fault is it?
You see how the dirty tricks department of NuLabour supported by their BBC allies opperate, monitor the blogs and attack in force, peddling the labour message and laying blame on the Tories where they can!
Message to the trolls, we know your sick purpose, we know who you support and work for, we have your number alright.
What kind of desperate political party employs dirty tricks like this? NuLabour does!
Eleven years of misrule and ‘change’ and the trolls still blame the Tories? The polls are meaningless and the only poll that matters is the one on election day.
The pathetic anti democratic forces of NuLabour at work, your tax money at work,Labours answer to democratic thought? the jackboot crushing dissent by any means!
David, sorry to disappoint you but I do have plenty of friends. One of my best friends is a conservative MP!!! We may not agree when it comes to politics but we are very good friends.
Tell me, do you seriously think anyone believes these posts from ‘new’ ZanuLabour suporting commenters who pop up out of nowhere like so many mushrooms?
I’d be interested to know how they’re finding this site in the first place. They often say they’ve come here to learn, right? And many come here with a specific agenda, which is what we’re always accused of having.
I wonder what leads them here in the first place? A link from a fellow traveler laughing and pointing? A positive link from someone they otherwise trusted? Someone’s blogroll? The site owner or any mods with the right access can check referrals.
I wouldn’t ask specifically who came here from where (not my business, unless someone volunteers the info on their own), just which sites were leading them here in the first place. Genuine curiosity on my part.
jack | 17.10.08 – 7:40 pm
dont take it from me – take it from folks who bet cold hard cash on political contests – the folks at politicalbetting.com
http://politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2008/10/17/could-the-next-polls-put-labour-back-in-contention/
NOTE: Today’s Daily Politics Com Res poll, as usual, is of zero value. It is not past vote weighted, there is no element of filtering on certainty to vote and simply should not be put out in this form. The BBC should get a grip on its polling and insist on modern methodologies which ComRes do with their voting intention polls.
This is paid for by your licence fee and those interested in politics should expect better.
jack | 17.10.08 – 8:17 pm
there are many wings to the conservative party jack. and some of the so called “conservatives” find it very easy to cosy up to labour – just look at the debacle in Stoke.
dont treat us like fools please.
being a conservative m.p. matters not a bit – thats just a label – what matters is what your values are.
hence , his values are very similar to your yours – which is why you are friends.
“David Preiser (USA)”
my guess is that its because of the U.S. election.
Denis Praeger came out explicitly against the BBC last week. saying that he doesnt share ONE IOTA of moral values with them.
hard hitting stuff. and i’ve listened to the guy for years now – first time he’s really come out against the BBC big time.
i noticed the astroturfers coming here after that.
I am a life long Tory voter ultra loyal to Toryism but the fabulous way that our great leader and certified genius Brown has mastered the entire planet and stands like a god over us mere mortals and blinds us with his utter brilliance has convinced me to become a socialist!
I am sure that all us life long Tories feel the same now we have been lucky enough to witness the Braun vision.
David Preiser: I know it sounds paranoid but I really wouldn’t rule out ZaNuLabour’s recently revitalised rebuttal unit.
Nor even BBC employees, come to that. Reith may have been ordered to knock it off (my guess), but that doesn’t mean we’re not a thorn in their flesh.
GCooper,
My best guess is the dirty tricks dept of draper, the rapid rebuttal unit better known as the Brownshirts.
Its a media offensive designed to crush dissent through lies and propaganda, sick I know but it tells you much about the desperation of NuLabour that even though they have the media tied up, they will not be satisfied unless the net is tied up too!
Archduke:
You ought to hear the two of us when it comes to a good old political talk – we don’t agree on a lot.
The thing is I don’t judge people on the Party they support and I don’t feel the need to insult them for it.
The problem with the conservatives is they picked a man who they thought would suit the BBC – they ran away from principle to presentation.
We all remember the last economic crisis and how the Conservatives acted then.
jack | 17.10.08 – 7:40 pm |
You are joking – do you really think that Brown has “saved the country”.
He’s done nothing different than usual – throw money at a problem and hope it works. Well I’m afraid you might be satisfied with Brown but millions won’t be when the real problems of unemployment and house repossesions begin. You won’t get the facts from the BBC – you should look elsewhere if you want the truth of what is really happening
“Britain’s employment “miracle” has been exposed: the jobless total is expected to hit two million by Christmas • and keep rising. Inflation, at 5.2 per cent, is the highest since 1991. Stagflation, the disease that advanced macro-management was supposed to have eliminated, is coming back.
House prices, for so long the reserve bank of British consumers, are falling by about 12 per cent a year. The feelgood factor has been replaced by bad karma, as home repossessions rise above 15,000 a quarter. People who thought they had a roof above their heads are having the rug pulled from under their feet.
Bankruptcies will again total about 100,000 this year, the equivalent of a city the size of Colchester going bust. The pension system is a house of cards, thanks to Gordon Brown playing his tax joker on company schemes. The combined pension deficit of FTSE 100 members has ballooned to £100 billion. ”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/jeffrandall/3212394/If-anyone-can-find-George-Osborne-tell-him-his-country-needs-him.html
Never mind though – the BBC say Brown is our “economic saviour” so jack and his friends can be happy.
“The problem with the conservatives is they picked a man who they thought would suit the BBC – they ran away from principle to presentation.”
I wonder if you actually heard Cameron’s conference speech. It was the most traditionally conservative thing the party has produced since the mid 80s. Cameron is more of a conservative than Heath, Macmillan and possibly even Major. And yet he gets this reputation just because he’s young and likes a few green issues.
“And yet he gets this reputation just because he’s young and likes a few green issues.”
…and is commited to keeping us in the dicatorial EU – even though even if he does win the next election will still be making diktats which will override any policies he wishes to put forward.
Was Heath a conservative?
Martin, thanks for your answer.
I think a great many people feel betrayed by the New Labour government, left and right alike, but I think do think most of governing is voodoo and it’s quite difficult to see what all the positives and negatives are until we see the big picture later. It’s all fairly cyclical.
I still don’t see how this article demonstrates BBC bias though! 😉
magic dave: Because it was Gordon Brown that broke the truce along with the Labour party last week. It was the Labour party that shouted Cameron down in the Commons when he suggested city bonus’s for banks taking Government money be blocked (now adopted by Broon and Darling)
Gordon Broon was the one making political capital out of tihs mess even though he’s responsible inpart for it.
The BBC don’t seem to want to point the finger at him, yet happily blame the Tories and Thatcher (who left power 17 years ago) for it.
I took a mortgage out in 1995. The Building Society wouldn’t lend me more than 2.5 times my salary, I had to show proof of earnings, proof of savings and a good deposit.
I don’t remember 125% mortgages being allowed or self certified ones either.
Did they come in under the Tories? I think not.
GCooper and Cassandra,
I really don’t believe that Labour or the BBC or anyone else pays people to come here and do drive-bys or thread hijacks. I can’t imagine that this site has anything like a high enough profile that Labour or some political activist group would bother, as flattering though the idea may be. Plus, there are clearly enough home-grown brownshirts who will come here quite happily on their own to fight the good fight. I suppose it’s possible that individuals associated with Draper or whomever might come here on their own time, but that’s not the same thing as a concerted effort.
I’m curious as to where they’re coming through to get here, what site they visit that links to this one. Early on in DV’s tenure, one or two of his critics followed him here, but that didn’t last very long. If the US election is what’s bringing them out of the woodwork this time, I’d still like to know how they’re finding this blog.
Jon,
Perhaps it is not best to quote an article from the Telegraph a very BIASED (I know how much that word drives you all mad) paper in favour of the Conservative Party – surely you know that?!
I am happy, Mr Brown has acted well during such difficult times and has gained much respect from the international community.
I invite you to read this article from the New York times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/opinion/13krugman.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
I will tell you one thing I trust Mr. Brown much more in these times than Mr.Cameron.
The Conservatives record in tough financial times isn’t exactly good is it? Not once have you denied that.
Labour has helped me and my family and I am grateful for that.
When I think back 11 years and think about the last Conservative government I am reminded of exactly why I support Labour.
I hope that should anyone wish to reply to my comments they will do it in a polite way and not start personally attacking me because I have different views to them. I am entitled to my view just as much as you are.
To put it into perspective, Mr Preiser, when the reckonings take place (and in so far as these things have any meaning at all), this blog – though perhaps not up there in the ratings with the top UK political blogs like Guido’s, Devil’s Kitchen or Iain Dale – still scores pretty respectably.
Only David Vance knows how many hits he really gets, but we have a small environment over this side of the Atlantic and neither the BBC, nor ZaNuLabour, are used to mordant criticism. When they get it, they really squeal.
So, yes, I do believe we attract fire. Maybe only from stray Leftists – but maybe, on occasion, they’re not so stray.
Jack – you are, indeed, entitled to your point of view, but it might help if it had some relevance to the subject matter of this blog.
Or reality, come to that.
it has lots to do with the subject matter of this blog – pro conservative, biased.
I am surprised you have not all noticed just how hypocritical this website is.
What I say has plenty to do with reality. The last 11 years have been a true reality of the benefits of a Labour government.
Mr Brown has acted well during such difficult times and has gained much respect from the international community.
Which international community would that be? It must be the one which’s never heard of him (and therefore hasn’t had time to develop the inevitable opinion that he’s a rotten shyster), because those who have spend their time either laughing at him or ignoring him. Or they don’t like to limit their options, so they laugh at him and ignore him.
And difficult times? You mean the ones he created? Even if what you said did have any bearing on reality, you’d think it’d translate into public opinion. If people didn’t, in fact, think that Gordon Brown was a dangerous psychopath intent on bringing this country to its knees and then forcefully raping it with the fat end of a pool cue, without lubrication or even warning, then how come the only people who don’t despise the snot-gobbling miscreant are himself, his once again thoroughly discredited party (they’re going to have to come up with something more than just adding an adjective to the front of the name if they want to con the voting public to vote for their sorry band of delusional lefties again – ‘Fool me once’ and all that), the BBC and a few other fellow nutty travelers like you? I mean, the BBC’s Newsnight had a poll of the 12 post-war British Prime Ministers and he came dead last. And this was conducted by the BBC. The BBC!
Face it pal. You may think he’s the dog’s bollocks because he ‘helped you and your family’, but the rest of us – and we’re the clear majority – think about as much of him as we would a bucket of furry cat truffles. And the longer he doesn’t do the honourable thing and remove himself from office, the bigger the landslide will be when he finally gets around to getting back in touch with reality and calling a general election.
Oh Jack, Jack – you poor poor thing. You really found this site by accident then did you?
You stand out in a crowd lad, a sore thumb no less. You credibility is suspect and your posts ring of artificiality.
do what the other labour trolls do on Guido and Ian Dale, admit defeat and realise that you maybe able to fool some of the people some of the time, you will never fool us all again.
The last 11 years have been a true reality of the benefits of a Labour government.
jack | 18.10.08 – 1:21 am | #
“Benefits” here being the operative word.
So the piece in the telegraph is biased – well please point out which figures quoted are wrong.
i’m not in the minority. The country voted for a Labour goverment in 2005 and in 2010 I believe they will do the same thing.
I shall NEVER admit defeat, especially when I know what the consequences will be if I do – the possibility of a tory government.
I have never encountered such rude people. Not once have I personally insulted one of you but then I guess I have manners.
To me politics is important but its not so important that I am prepared to be rude to people.
Gordon Brown didn’t create these problems ITS A WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS!!! Surely you know that?
Mr. Brown will not lose the next election, the poll ratings are going up as slowly people realise that another tory government would be a disaster.
Vote Conservative and thats exactly what you will get – 4 years of broken policies that discriminate against people.
Jack,
Do you have the Red Flag playing in the background whilst you type?
Two brief points.
1. I am not a Conservative and do not care for much of what Mr Cameron says. I therefore fail to see how you can accuse the tone of this site of being pro-Conservative.
2. This site concerns itself with BBC bias, first, last and foremost. That bias manifests itself in so many ways and we delight in exposing it.
Period.
I’m afraid I have to disagree with you. This site is always promoting Mr Cameron and his party. On a number of articles you (this blog) not only reports on what is supposedly biased but also find the time to stick in a sentence or two that put down Mr Brown. Yes, if you think that the BBC is biased then you have a right to report on that but you don’t need to attack Mr. Brown in the posts. Surely this should be a blog were you expose the “biased” reporting of the BBC but don’t start moaning about Mr Brown whenever possible?
Thank you David for being possibly the only person who has replied with a few manners.
The BBC promotes your MR Brown – to the point where they never question his judgements. The reason why the conservatives are often mentioned is that they never get the same treatment from the BBC – Just look at their politics page or listen to BBC radio news., you will hardly ever hear a conservative – If they want to attack labour they will use a Liberal, but never the official oppostion.
So jack if you are happy with Brown fine, but I will always vote for governments who do not interfere in all aspects of your life, and if Labour did that I would vote for them.
Jack.
Those that are opposed to a tax funded BBC out of principle. Are likely to be to be the same people that oppose big government and increasing state control and survalance.
So many of us will be politically right of centre.
Those that support and work for the BBC are predominantly left of centre.
Their constant promotion of a left wing political agenda gives those of us to the right another reason to dislike and mistrust them.
Jack
I spend most of my time on this site raving about BBC bias, but as a bona-fide Labour supporter I thought that a little polite parable would be in order.
The parable of the two captains
There are two kinds of captain. The first captain, Captain Prudence, was a great man who planned his course, calculated his fuel needs, prepared his ship for storms at sea, battened hatches, made sure everything was working, and had contingency arrangements such as making sure there are provisioned lifeboats and such like. He also listened to the shipping forecast and therefore had a reasonable idea of what is over the horizon. He was a competent captain who stuck to his schedule and delivered his cargo – food aid for the starving in a Marxist client state.
The Second captain, lets call him Captain Brown, was placed in charge, by acclamation of a few of his friends, of a shiny new ship that had a large consortium of owners who were not consulted. He was committed and it was his vision to and decided to eradicate starvation in the Marxist client state all on his own.
Now he noticed the ship was in very good condition – worth a few bob – So good in fact that, depite the fact he wasn’t the owner of the vessle, he mortgaged the hull to a bank and the engines to GE holdings. This was great as he had some cash to spend, the new ‘owners’ would provide the maintenance and all he had to do was keep paying them for 275 years. They loved him and he had money.
He spent it, not on new navigational devices or new hatch covers, no he spent it on 94 office wallahs who ‘delivered’ against ‘performance criteria’ by writing long pointless memos to each other all day long. Mostly they argued amongst themselves about the definition of the “end” of a rope.
The great day came and the ship was loaded with a cargo of Ipods and citizenship studies packs and other vital aid and the captain cracked on, full speed ahead without consulting his charts and irrespective of the optimal cruising speed and fuel consumption. He didn’t bother with the shipping forecasts – because his Neo-classical-endogenous-macro-navigational-theory eliminated the need for application of real world knowledge. He knew better than the Admiralty charts.
Unfortunately because he has been steaming so fast to reach his destination and hasn’t been keeping an eye on the coal stocks and he discovers half way to his destination that it is all used up and the office wallahs have spent all of his cash. In a flash he realises the solution – to buy coal he will do two things – sell the cargo at an island where it is worth 5% of what he paid for it and borrow money from the bankers. Oh damn, the bankes have lent all their money to people who can’t pay back so they can’t help him. In fact they ask him to sell his neighbours house to sub them.
Somehow he buys the coal from a Russian commodities group for 20 times what it should have cost and sails on without a cargo into a very black cloud. He is so sure that he is right that he ignores it, piles on the coal and is looses ship, cargo and crew in the huge Typhoon that everyone warned him about. Unfortunately there is only one life boat so the captain escapes with only the ships cat for company while the crew all drown as the ship breaks up in the tempest. Because he saves the cat his firends in the broadcasting world hail him as a hero when he arrives home.
The sad thing is the bankers – even though he has subbed them with the neighbors house – they still have to be paid for the ship and the engines currently rusting on the seabed, and the office wallahs all need to be paid. What the hell he concludes, set up a virtual shipping industry without ships or cargo and then every one is happy.
you get the picture
Its all too much,
Its all too much!
Great parable and very funny(especialy the visualistaion) can I pass it around please?
feel free – correct some of the typos!
It’s all too much that was brilliant. I never really understood the economic climate or how it occured, but having read that it makes perfect sense.
I wonder if the BBC would put that on the BBC Newsround website, to educate a generation of indifferent kids to the ‘glory’ of the labour party.
As a conservative voter since 55BC I have found Jack’s arguments utterly compelling.
The scales have droped from my eyes and I see the economic wonder 11 years of Labour has brought.
They truely are wonderful and Gordon Brown (don’t you just quiver when you say that name?) a collosus under whose benign rule I will happily lose my home.
What I’d like to see from the BBC is some more analysis of the USA’s part in all this. Although it is true that without the problems in the US’s sub-prime market we would not be facing our own problems here (least not as severe), what we so infrequently hear is that it was the Clinton administration who forced banks to start giving loans to poor people. The Republicans did nothing to change that but it’s still a Democrat policy that started the whole thing.
It’s all too much,
Tremendous fun, well done. Amusingly, your ending seems to have set up a possibility that Captain Brown has become Prospero, which, I guess, means the BBC is Ariel. I can’t figure out who would be Caliban, though.