‘Gullible’ BBC acting as backing band to Labour’s attacks on spending cuts, claims Eric Pickles in fresh attack on TV news
- Communities Secretary steps up criticism of the BBC reporting
- Claims Labour is behaving like a 1980s tribute act with local BBC acting as a backing band
Just hope the tribute band in question isn’t ‘Spandeau Ballet’:
A BBC radio announcer has apologised after accidentally saying that Nazi architect Albert Speer spent 20 years in the 1980’s new romantic band Spandau Ballet, instead of Spandau Prison.
Certainly true in the bBBC NorthWest. In this region nearly every local authority, and most MPs, are Labour and the bBBC regurgitates their propaganda every day. It’s relentless … cuts … foodbank … childcare … Hillsborough (Thatcher’s fault) … tonight it’s Liverpool hospital cuts. The ‘journalists’ hardly ever ask a probing question.
Ahhhh, Bbbc “Northwest”….I remember it well…
When I lived in Atherton, Greater Manchester, Labour closed down the A&E department (this was the A&E department that saved my brothers life) of Leigh hospital, that hospital catered for Atherton, Leigh and Tyldesley, resulting in anyone who needed urgent help had to go to Wigan (about 8 miles away)…now then, if you lived in either Leigh or Tyldesley, and did not have a car…well, sorry, but yer dead….no train stations in either town and a bus service that was about as reliable as a Milliband policy…once an hour during the day, and no night service…There was an hourly train service from the laughably named “Atherton central”, and again, no night service.
Who was (is) the MP for Atherton, Leigh & Tyldesley you may ask?
That would be a certain Mr Andy Burnham
What was his job at the time of the closure?
That would have been Secretary of State for Health.
And the idiots in the area STILL vote for Labour, needless to say, Northwest tonight never mentioned this closure, unless it was with a positive spin.
I hate the BBC.
I live in Leigh and endorse everything that is said here, including the comments relating to the BBC. Yes, we do have to use Wigan Hospital A&E now. Also, Leigh is the biggest town in England without a railway station. Guess what Andy Burnam sits on the fence as usual. Without boundary changes we haven’t got a chance to improve things here.
Is Leigh bigger than Mansfield then? Mansfield’s pop is just under 100k.
In answer to Jeremy’s post:
“after the reopening of Mansfield and Corby railway stations, Leigh is now one of the largest towns in Great Britain without a railway station.”
No, nothing will ever change in the Leigh area as long as those boundaries are in place…..just how Labour like it, thanks very much!
Something else to be noted on the Bbc’s local coverage, it is very “centric”, i.e. the only news that happens is in either Liverpool or Manchester, nothing about the smaller communities…oh, Oldham, Bolton & Bury get plenty of mentions when naughty “Men” have been doing naughty things.
Quote: ‘Gullible’ BBC acting as backing band to Labour’s attack on spending cuts, claims Eric Pickles
Gullible ? You’re having a larf Pickles. They know exactly what they are doing, I’d be surprised if they don’t have a hot line directly to Labour HQ.
And as for local BBC, in my neck of the woods they seem to find a bleeding heart story for every single cut back the government make no matter how tenuous or tortuous the link. If they can manipulate the story to convince us plebs that it’s ALL the nasty Tory’s fault they will.
Gullible ? Good politics (small p) to give them an excuse.
eric pickles – solid point
but he wants to leave backing band, out of it 😀
maybe hes just jealous, he isn t in “bad manners” anymore :-D,
just as that “reunion” shows gonna air too.
oh never mind eric eh! …
warsi pass him a pie … halal of course
“lip up fatty”
-1
Oi!
Enough with the stoutism! Who do you think you are the BBC? ;p
Today the government has said it will go ahead with it’s controversial plans to force councils to cut back on their caviar budget.
A man who once shared a train carriage with a disabled traveler said “this discussion clearly hasn’t been thought out, it’s too much too fast. It unfairly favours the rich and will hit the most vulnerable members of our society – not to mention the effect it will have on catastrophic climate change.”
On the first link page the corporation says –
‘We were surprised by Mr Pickles comments since we are confident that BBC Local and regional coverage of the economy is impartial, fair and balanced, reflecting a wide range of views.
Good, they won’t mind being privatised then, as they’re bound to get plenty of subscribers holding “a wide range of views”.
“a wide range of views”.
So thats what the ‘Compliance Department.’ does. Ensures a wide range of bourgeois liberal views.
Bourgeois liberalism? More like anti-liberal socialism.
Why do they always think it’s enough to simply say they’re confident of balance? What evidence do they have?
I can answer my own question. They have none. I’ve never seen any evidence, just bluster.
It is to be hoped that the era of bluster is coming to an end.
Certainly throwing back any ‘we are confident in our belief that we are right’ attempt from CECUTT as interesting but stupid (don’t use those words! That’s all they need to go the bad faith banning route) so try again, seems to send them in a spin.
They usually dig out a Director or Trustee to say it instead and then close the file.
Or expedite you for being awkward enough to call The Emperor’s New Clothes for what they are. You’ll be surprised how many Kings are just a Queen with a moustache, and how many are unable to admit what all can see. There may be a metaphor around here somewhere.
Apologies for my ignorance – but what does CECUTT stand for?
My apologies… it was coined a while ago and refers to the BBC complaints labyrinth greasy pole sequence..
Complaints (via the website – at least 2 or 3 default blow-offs)
ECU (Editorial Complaints Unit – usually a couple there, including a ‘Director’)
The Trust (can be a few there before the tell you they think you got it about wrong)
Could posters please put in a link instead of embedding these large video files. It makes using this site on mobile devices difficult.
Could posters please put in a link
That’s all I did.
I think the system auto-embeds.
The only way to prevent it it may be to add text after the video URL.
‘….A spokesman (for the BBC) said: ‘We were surprised by Mr Pickles comments since we are confident that BBC Local and regional coverage of the economy is impartial, fair and balanced, reflecting a wide range of views’.
No it effin well isn’t (apologies). In the Midlands I recall BBC Midlands Today running a ‘cuts week’ complete with graphics showing blood dripping from an axe.
Never a day goes by without the BBC using the words ‘cuts’, I have never heard them use the word ‘savings’, or heard them balance their narrative with any consideration of why savings are needed – in fact any member of the Government (or audience member on QT) is soon silenced as soon as they mention Labours appalling economic legacy.
Actually I think Pickles understates the problem. See how BBC activists seem more than happy to support other Labour initiatives . It was noticeable how Panorama’s special on the building blacklist coincided with Labour’s debate and questions in the house and last week. This week Labour is going big on the Under-occupancy Restriction, known by Labour as the ‘Bedroom Tax’, a name that Victoria Derbyshire used repeatedly yesterday when she featured the issue.
And when the BBC aren’t providing a conduit for Labour’s messages, their silence is telling. In the last week the BBC could have been expected to seriously challenge Miliband on his refusal to hold an EU referendum and, minutes later, his subsequent U-turn. And yesterday, while the BBC focussed solely on splits in the coalition (and were keen to interview any of the four Tories who voted against the Constituency Boundary review), no challenge to Miliband or Labour about their cynical obstruction of the people’s right to having votes of equal value.
Where the BBC aren’t delivering the Labour message, they are sat, riding shotgun on Miliband’s bandwagon, providing him with protection from any scrutiny that an impartial broadcaster would deliver.
BBC = Socialist Trash
BBC – the Bolshevik Broadcasting Commissariat.
I bet Panto Nikki does not have a phone in about this.
In fact Rudolph Hess was my neighbour. I was stationed in Smuts Barracks in Spandau which was adjoined to Spandau prison back in the early 1980s.
I think he had been transferred to Broadcasting House by then to work on the final solution.
continuing with my rant about local BBC – on more than one occasion I’ve switched to BBC local radio in the car (a rare occurrence) to hear how the local council is making cuts that will effect parents, children, people on low income, the disabled or whatever suits the whims of the local BBC radio producer at the time… is it a nasty Conservative council ? Nope it’s a Labour council ! But just as the listener starts to get really angry with the people they elected, a representative of the local council is given as much air time as they please to tell the audience that they have been forced to make these cuts by the Tory led coalition…balance is restored and all is well in the world of BBC bias, it was after all, the Conservatives fault, phewwww.
And just for good measure this is all repeated again on local BBC TV.
you wanna try look east. every story about immigration is given a positive spin, doing the agricultural work nobody else wants to do etc, and if they ever have a story anywhere in luton its always the labour mp gavin shuker being given airtime. they once had the edl’s stephen lennon on for interview but look easts stewart white conducted the interview in the manner of a head teacher scolding a naughty pupil for having the wrong opinion. im no edl fan but its far from ballanced and impartial
We, in Watford just about miss “Look East”, we get London Tonight/Today….whenever…Hosted by cuddly ethnics Asad Ahmad & Riz Lateef…She’s been named as one of London’s ‘1,000 most influential people’ by the Evening Standard and won Media Professional of the Year 2009 at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards doncha know.
All our news is about “Yoofs” going out stabby stabbin’ folk, and “Men” doing naughty things all over Greater London.
Have you noticed the recent (since 2010) emergence within Britain of a previously unmentioned new social class?
The ‘most vulnerable’.
There may be no clear definition of their social and economic status, in fact they may be almost impossible to spot in your local high street – but references to them are suddenly all over the BBC airwaves.
(And Labour Party press releases, of course)
Does that supplement that other social class always used by Labour and the BBC- the poor ‘n vulnerable?
Are they the ones that live in schools n’ospitals ?
White girls in moslem areas?
They even have “Most vulnerable areas” now
Spiffing!
I guess what happened here (and perhaps some BBC insider might enlighten us?) is that some years ago whilst BBC national news rooms were still rather staid and traditional in outlook, a decision was made to allow in new blood and ideas into local news organisations.
I watched BBC London News and it was once made up of two main elements. There were reflections of national stories. For example the French President visited Britain today in the main news. BBC local news would have The French President visted London today. Then there was the crime news.
Now this wasn’t good enough. Fairplay to the BBC we didn’t need a mini replay of national news. As we got into those caring sharing 90s the BBC began to phase out the crime coverage (you had to look to local newspapers to find this kind of news previously available from the BBC).
Stories that went into BBC London bulletins now appeared to have been put together by the community unit. (I think this departmental title was actually later coined by ITV following on BBC’s coat tails – once again BBC insiders may enlighten us?)
So if you wanted to know about the local afro-carribean lesbian theatre project then BBC London News was your point of call.
They became very close to Ken Livingstone. Many stories which went to air on the BBC came directly from the London Mayoral PR department without question or challenge of any kind. This was the classic age of Labour spin and the BBC took to it like ducks to water.
BBC commentators were visibly shaken when Boris (supported by London’s ratepayers) kicked Red Ken into touch. Remember the recent result when, according to the BBC, Boris won by the skin of his teeth and yet in France Hollande with a similar margin won a landslide?
So where are we now? BBC national newsrooms now sing the red flag with relish. When it is time for news where you are then BBC London news simply ups the stakes coming in with the familiar deafening chorus of ‘cuts cuts cuts’.
Its the essential dishonesty of it that annoys most i.e. they know they are pushing pro-Leftist properganda, they know we know they are pushing pro-Leftist properganda, but they also know that if they were to be honest about what they are doing they would find the question “why am I forced to pay for this” hard to answer.
Not hard to answer in the sense of “they have a good point” but hard to answer in the sense that Leftists (if they are seeking power) will always dissimulate, because they know that if they were honest about their motives people will laugh at them (and/or despise them) as hate filled narcissists with a deranged sense of entitlement.
It reminds me of the Russian Revolution. The Communists never said what thy intended to do. They promised the peasants that they would have land, although of course what they planned to do was take land away from everybody, and tell them what to do.
When people come on here defending the BBC they never say what they believe in, because that would give the game away. It is like that Guardian journalist {Gott] who used to have a portrait of Stalin in his Hampstead home.
He never mentioned in his articles that he was a fan of that mass murderer, he used instead to write articles showing us what a compassionate man he was because he cared about the poor.
In the same way the BBC journalists will never admit that they earn their living from the public sector, instead they will say that cutting back the public sector hurts somebody else.
Jeremy Paxman did not become a multimillionaire by working for The Guardian – because it is a paper that people choose to buy, and most people would rather not buy it, which is why the BBC will never give you a choice.
Lets wind the tape back a bit to 2008. In the time that Labour was in power Council Tax rose over 100%. During the same period pensioners were actually jailed for failing to pay their Council Tax.
Now during the period did you enjoy enhanced services from your local authority because I certainly didn’t and in fact was in constant conflict with my local councilor over failure to deliver on services that were supposed to be delivered.
What steps did Labour take to rein in this spiraling increases? Where was the accountability of local authority? When looking at their balance sheets the biggest sums were in items that could not be accounted for headed under “sundry” or some such description. Same goes for the Police.
In the period the Police charge rose a 100% we saw decreases in community policing, rising crime rates and less accountability.
The public were being taken for a ride and Labour did……………….nothing. Do the BBC mention the fact that over 10 years Council tax rose 100%? Where did that money go and how have we, the jokers that paid, benefited. Here’s a community TV project for you BBC – run with it please because I would love to know who and how my hard earned money was spent. And, while you’re about please tell me how your increase in Licence fee during the same period benefited me.
Just as a rider, these are not CUTS they are a return to normality which in reality requires some 50% reduction in spending.
Back to normality? Yes. I’m afraid that this government is spending most of its time trying to put Labour’s genies back into bottles. And sadly are getting a good kicking for it.
Hello Eurovison jury.
Good to hear of the usual crap up in the North West….all fell apart after Stuart Hall, as far as I`m concerned…his gopher David Davies managed to get the F.A gig for some reason….useless then as ever.
Maybe the Lefty BBCs excuse for its Labour bias up north is due to their Friends there on Canal St, Manchester and Liverpool 8…and we can now add funky Salford to their leftie heaven.
No such excuse down here in the South….yet the BBC seem to spend all their time outside Southampton Civic Centre “fightin the coots”….or some unfortunately bases place in rural Berkshire that IS being unfairly treated.
The BBCs response to everything is keep on stumpin up…the Government will pass it on, and Balls is on his way, until then.
Shameless bias…but very little ever said from Portsmouth and its naval needs,…unlesss it`s a sob story of one sailors wife against the Toricoots.
So …the North West and the South are solid Labour in the eyes of the BBC….Denham on speed dial, and no questions for Mike Hancock please.
Can`t imagine any other region of the country NOT being Labour red as far as the BBC are concerned-they just don`t know that they are ,right now!
Ah, Stewart Hall, yes, the worst thing I ever did was to write to jim’ll fix it asking him to get me onto it’s a knockout!
Good heavens, you dodged a couple of bullets there!
Did you also write in asking if you could join Mr. Glitter’s gang for the day?
In the 21st March 2012 edition of “The Media Show” on BBC Radio 4, Steve Hewlett (who also writes for the Guardian) was interviewing Claire Enders (who – I’m sure by pure chance – also writes for the Guardian).
About 22 minutes in, Claire opined “There is a no doubt there is right wing Tory view that the BBC should barely exist, or exist as a state broadcaster…” Steve Hewlett seemed to agree with the premise.
It is probably a very widely held view in the BBC too. That is, the BBC itself has a perception of self protection in attacking right-wing views.
This “perception of self protection” (which obviously includes retention of their BBC salaries), is on top of the in-built left-wing biased staff that tax funded organisations seem to attract.
It is wrong that the BBC is corrupting the democratic process by its self-serving propaganda. But, very few right-wing politicians are brave (or care about freedom) enough to try taking the BBC on.
Note: Claire Enders has a media consultancy that is often quoted by the BBC. In 2010, it was Claire that sent the “‘Berlusconi moment’ for the UK” letter to Vince Cable about News Corporation’s bid for the bit of BSkyB it didn’t already own.
Funny how Harriet Harman said the exact same thing in Parliament back when Savile/McAlpine hit the fan. She warned against ceding ground to the BBC’s “enemies”.
Now, why aren’t there any Left-wing people who want to “destroy” the BBC? I thought the BBC was perfectly balanced and impartial because they get complaints from both sides? If the complaints from both sides are equally valid, then surely there must be a load of people on the Left who want it reformed root and branch? Aside from those who think it’s run by the Jews, I mean.
‘Just hope the tribute band in question isn’t ‘Spandeau Ballet’’
Uh-oh… is that a Stuka siren I hear?
In other news….
‘‘we are confident that BBC Local and regional coverage of the economy is impartial, fair and balanced, reflecting a wide range of views’.
Mandy Rice Davies is alive, well, and should be enshrined in a poster over the baord table of the… [cough]… Trust.
Since when does the confidence of the BBC, in itself deserve anything other than derisory laughter and dismissal before demanding a proper response?
Look North certainly takes a negative view on every cut – and for balance instead of the 2 Labour MPs it usually interviews, it interviews Labour councillors from a different part of its area.
Do I detect the hazy appearance of something resembling a spine in the current government re the BBC ? After Mr Pickles had his pop, another government member has had a quick belt at the BBC today, specifically about an issue often raised on BBBC, namely that whilst any think tank even vaguely supportive of anyone but Labour is immediately labelled as a right-wing institution, the BBC even goes so far as to label a think-tank populated by Labour insiders only as “a not-for-profit research and policy organisation”, with no mention of any L-word, Left, Labour, whatever. Wow – now do it every day !
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/shapps-aide-delivers-next-blow-in-bbc-cuts-row/
Last night the BBC were discussing the price of petrol and why it was so high.
Regrettably the OFT has come to the conclusion that there is no anti-competitive behaviour in the market so the disappointed BBC had to go for another angle.
“It’s the Government’s fault” – of course no one mentioned that the current chancellor has repeatedly held back the LABOUR fuel duty escalator.
“In 23 years as a parliamentary reporter, I’ve never felt such disgust for our political class, writes QUENTIN LETTS.”
Letts notes the political lethargy in BBC re- Parliament vote on fairer re-distribution of seats:-
“With the deepest regret I have to say Tuesday’s events in the House of Commons took us back towards rotten boroughs.
“Yet the British body politic, mainly the BBC, the liberal press and the Establishment think-tanks, have swallowed the scandal with nonchalance.
“Hundreds of thousands of people are having their votes cheapened, yet bien pensant London thinks it a trifle. ”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2270995/Ive-felt-disgust-political-class.html
Tweet from Grant Schapps MP:
Jake Berry MP writes to director of @bbcnews Helen Boaden abt ‘independent’ report, that turned out to be political
http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/01/shapps-aide-delivers-next-blow-in-bbc-cuts-row/