Well then, today sees all sorts of political drama and/or farce. Gordon has reshuffled Darling, erm, back into the role he occupies as Chancellor – strong stuff my friends. Here’s a thread for you to comment on what you observe. For what it’s worth, I detect the BBC, UNBELIEVABLY, are still doing their level best for Gordon but we all know it’s over, as Roy Orbison would have said. So….now it’s over to you!
IN MEMORIAM – NULABOUR OPEN THREAD
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I'm still laughing over how Red Dawn is insisting that people she's door-stepped in Bristol believe Brown is the only man to lead us out of the mess he created. She also believes the disappointing results are because of the expenses scandal. Labour lost 8 of its 10 seats; 4 to the Cons and 4 to the LibDims.
Nick Robinson last night in BBC1 News at Ten looked completely stunned when he reported the publication of Purnell's resignation letter in the Times and Sun. Purnell had not bounced this off the lobby first (as is customary – access to the inside track is how the lobby justifies its existence). Nick was devastated: no jokey remarks, no smiles, no intimations that this was actually good for Brown (and no relaying of the usual mantra that such news is "devastating for the Conservatives"). He was delivering the death announcement of a friend – and he looked it.
The nice young BBC News 24 presenter outside Parliament just said that 'everyone would agree' with the Scottish Secretary's statement that at the next election there will be a 'clear choice' between a Conservative Party 'committed to cuts' and a Labour Party pledged to maintain public spending. But Alistair Darling's Budget committed the labour Party to 7% cuts in public spending every year from 2011 onwards. So the BBC is propping up the Labour spin that only the Tories will cut spending.
Why on Earth do we need a helicopter over Westminster for the BBC News live coverage?
The fact that Labour councillors have dropped by 23 to 20 after only three results seems not to deserve a mention!
It's pathetic – trying to sex-up coverage of the cabinet reshuffle with helicopter shots. We're all too stupid to pay attention otherwise, you see. BBC news editors share the same contempt for the public and the public's money as our troughing MPs.
Hopefully they have the chopper out to crash land on No.10 for ruining their left-of-centre ideology and making very hard work for them to spin Labours woes to Labours foes (i.e. the whole of Britain)?
This would be the only thing to get GB out, he clings on to power like Mugabe…
Watching the news this morning one could be forgiven for not being aware an election had taken place. Between 07:15 and 08:00 there were only two brief mentions of the election results in so far and one of those was a local new bulliten.
Instead we get a breath-takingly dull insight into the coming re-arrangement of the Titanic's deck chairs.
Could it be that the BBC are burying bad news again?
Oh, and does anyone want to make a book on the first espousing of 'this is a disappointing result for the Tories' from the Beeb?
I bet 15:15.
ive been staggered by the number of people phoning Radio 5 Live this morning supporting Gordon Brown. "Best man for the Job," "Strong Leader", "The right policies," and unbeliveably "The World came to Gordon brown for advice on how to get out of the Worldwide recession."
Has the word gone out to Labour members to swamp the phonelines to give the impression that all is ok in Xanadu?
Dimbledore is busy shilling for labour on news 24. To clegg: "not as good result as you would have expected" (having just won bristol council).
To Hague: "how do you know Brown wanted to shift Balls to the treasury? That's just propaganda, isn't it?" (This after nick robinson had been stringing the rumour for a week or so…)
andanotherthing: Radio5 is a Labour stooge. Here's what happens. People text in, if you text in with a positive Labour comment they ring you back and ask you to go on air live. If you text back a negative Labour comment they ignore you.
I've tried it from TWO mobiles at the same time on a phone in. It worked. The positive Labour text got them to ring me. The negative text from my other phone went unanswered.
It also works with emails. Create an email with a name like Mohammed and send it a positive comment about McTwat, it will get read out. send in one from what appears to be a nice middle class Troy person and they will not read it out.
This is HOW they get their callers to air. They select who they call back.
Looks like Brown is going for a scorched earth policy. He's just done for all those Post Offices. So much for listening to the people. I don't seem to be able to find a BBC story on the closures.
What a bunch of scumbags…
Correct me if I'm wrong, but there does seem to be a distinct air of we'ness about the BBC's current coverage. There's an unending string of interviews with Labour representatives going out on R4 as I write discussing the intricacies of Labour loyalties. All are conducted in a considerate, friendly manner.
Contrast this with what I remember of the coverage surrounding Majors similar problems back in the 90's & various Tory upheavals since. The BBC then very much a remote bystander. Canvassing Tory opinion yes, but in a much more searching & hostile manner, and continually referring to representatives of the other two leading parties for comment.
1.40 – 1.45 pm, Radio 4, election special. Beeboid reporting from a North-west area being astonished at how Labout could possibly do badly 'after all they've done in terms of hospitals and primary schools and so forth.' Bit late for the Party Political Advert, dear.
Justin Webb is having a moment of self-doubt on his blog. He agrees with an article in the Telegraph which talks about how the President needs to speak out about Mubarak's political prisoners. Webb tried to push The Obamessiah on this during his audience….sorry….interview earlier this week. He dodged the issue in a lame fashion, but there was really no good answer for that two days before making a major speech where Mubarak is the host.
Otherwise, he's obviously in full support of his Obamessiah, which is why he talks about loud voices and all that. It's a simple but effective way to dismiss criticism. Except, Justin Webb must be having a difficult time these days, because the Huffington Post – where he gets inspiration or confirmation for most of his ideas on the US – is complaining rather bitterly about The Obamessiah's speech. It seems that He's continuing too much of the Boooooosh Doctrine for their comfort. Anyone getting their information from sources other than the BBC will know that already, of course.
Poor ol' Justin. He might have to start nibbling around the edges of actual criticism. What's a sycophant to do?
I've just seen a picture of David Cameron's wife. He's got my vote.
Martin:
In addition to your points (all true) people have to remember that a phone-in programme is not a reflection of the number or variety of calls.
Before the show, the producer has the content of calls in mind. "We've got to have someone saying Brown's a wanker." and "Look out for a nutty conservative".
The system breaks down when, for example, 95% people call in demanding Brown's resignation and 5% call in saying he's great. With time constraints, and in the quest for "balance", all 5% pro-Browns will get on and so will 5% of the anti-Browns. But that will not reflect the real opinion in the country. Now add the producer's natural bias to the mix – you can't hide your natural bias under pressure – and you have the typical Radio 5 phone-in.
By the way, this accounts for the vilification of George W Bush. I'm sure he was not as hated outside the BBC as within. Margaret Thatcher was another hate figure to Beeboids.
So how to get on a phone in? A Radio 5 call screener once told me that a surefire way was to be a "ethnic minority" woman. There are many reasons for this (including bias). All producers have to fill in a form with details of the callers. If you have 90% white male English that is not a good thing. (I guess that accounts for the Question audience too – an unrepresentative menagerie of pet BBC categories.) "Ethnic minorities" are highly prized callers – "I had a text message from this great Muslim woman…" goes down well at lunch.
So even if a producer is conservative (there's no such thing, but work with me) the systems of PC regulation and reporting back will force them, if they want to keep their jobs, to swing left. (Actually, no-one loses their job in the BBC, they are given a meaningless "special project" to sideline them.
Conservatives look set to take Devon
Conservative 32
Liberal Democrat 12
Labour 4
Devon County Council
Live tv coverage
Tories are down 3% in Bromsgrove, as opposed to being up 4 nationally. Ooh, it's all because of the expenses scandals, Tories are the worst, yet Labour seems to be taking the blame. We get detailed reading – pretending to be brief – of Kirkbride's and Mackay's offenses, and much scowling. That couldn't possibly because there was an activist campaign and a load of Beeboids all over the landscape for days screaming about it and finding air time for nearly every last constituent who was angry about her, and endless footage of petitions, could it?
Dimbelby now spouting Gordon Brown's "The Tories Have No Plans" line. "You don't know what you'll actually do," he says, "and people will smoke that out."
"That should all come out during the process of a general election," Pickles replies.
Then the Beeboid starts badgering him: You don't really have any plans, do you? What are they? Can't you tell us right now? And so on.
They also let through a (supposedly) viewer "tweet" saying that a BNP win is Bromley is a bad day for the country. Keep your eyes peeled for a similarly negative vox pops about Labour…..
The Tories may be doing well, but….
The Tories may be doing well now, but….
Conservatives win Staffordshire: Staffordshire County Council
The crystal ball in the Black Tower at Chateau Prod is slightly misted today it seems.
First spotting of a 'disappointing for the Tories' 14:48 – still only 30 mins out!
And this is with Labour in meltdown and the Libs losing councils to the Tories!
This would be the only thing to get GB out, he clings on to power like Mugabe…
Don't you think that's a little unfair? I mean what did poor old Bob Mugabe ever do to get compared to an utter shit like Gordon 'Everything I touch, look at or stand near turns to ashes' Brown?
Anyway, it's nice to see New Labour finally being killed off like some sort of rabid, three-legged dog which's bitten loads of killed and raped at least one old lady's leg. I wonder what word they'll add next time to convince mindless dupes to vote for them? Mega? Super-duper? Who knows. Hopefully it won't be for a very, very long time. Britain needs time to recover from the brutal assault.
Sopel's pimping for Gordon now. Reshuffling the Cabinet was an amazing achievement. The Tories may be doing well, but….The Lib-Dems may be doing well, but…
Robert S. McNamara 2:59 PM, June 05, 2009
I wonder what word they'll add next time to convince mindless dupes to vote for them?
'All New Labour' if they are following the soap packet formula …
The BBC keeps dragging out old newsclips of Margaret Thatcher. I don't suppose they'd be trying to stir up some old ill-feeling towards the Tories. Why would they want to do that?
Let's all keep a record of Maggie clips aired on the Beeb over the coming months. I've a suspicion they will increase as we get closer to a general election.