The BBC’s Silent Service

 

 

The Submarine Service used to be called the ‘Silent Service’ using stealth and skill to evade detection and sink the enemy.

Seems that the BBC might well take on that nickname for its ‘silent’ support for Labour in its effort to sink the Tories….its silent support being its bias by omission as it avoids reporting or highlighting unpleasant news for Miliband.

Miliband yesterday launched his bid for election glory based upon his 10 year NHS plan…listening to the Today programme and it was hard to tell if I was listening to a BBC journalist (Hugh Pym) or a Labour politician giving us his spiel.

Pym has followed up with a piece on the web which follows the same route painting a wonderful picture of Labour’s plans with minimal criticism of them…

Labour, the NHS and social care integration

 

Pym opens with an admission that the NHS is important in the election race…

The NHS always has been a totemic issue for Labour and, in recent decades, has often been seen as a key election issue.

But this time there seems even more determination by Labour to make the state of the NHS the defining issue of the campaign.

 

The BBC admits this…

NHS ‘most important issue’ suggests BBC/Populus poll

 

 

So you might wonder, considering how important the NHS is to Labour’s election strategy, where are the headlines on the BBC such as this from the Telegraph?….

Labour election chaos over NHS as Ed Miliband accused of running ‘comfort zone campaign’

Ed Miliband’s attempts to make the NHS his key election weapon have descended into chaos after he was accused of running a “comfort zone campaign” and refused to endorse the shadow health secretary.

 

Or this from the Guardian, prominent on its front page:

Ed Miliband’s NHS plans risk losing the election, say Blair supporters

Ed Miliband is facing a backlash by Tony Blair supporters who have warned that his plans for the NHS risk playing into Tory hands and could lead to repeating the campaign mistakes of 1992 when Labour lost the general election.

In a sign of unease about Labour’s prospects, the former health secretary Alan Milburn said the party was running a pale imitation of its losing 1992 general election campaign, as it retreated to its comfort zone over the NHS.

 

Or this from the Huffington Post?

Alan Milburn Slams Ed Miliband’s NHS ‘Comfort Zone’ Campaign

 

 

It seems they all think this is a major story worth putting on the front page in bold…the NHS being ‘totemic’ and the ‘most important issue’…and yet the BBC has hidden a major criticism of Miliband and his policies almost at the bottom of this long report with barely a comment:

Ed Miliband and David Cameron step up election battle

And former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn has questioned the opposition’s focus on the NHS as a “comfort zone campaign” and warned the party is ill-prepared to carry out the necessary reforms to the NHS if elected.

 

 

Loose lips sink ships but the BBC’s tight lipped reporting is doing its best to keep the rickety old hulk of Labour’s election on course and afloat.

 

 

 

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16 Responses to The BBC’s Silent Service

  1. Guest Who says:

    By all accounts things did not go well on Newsnight, so balance of sorts there.

    That said, when things do go off piste for political hubris on one media outlet, usually the resulting domino effect elsewhere is spectacular.

    Usually.

    The cartoons in other media have not been kind. There’s a great one with a weaponised RPG doing a Four Lions on the BBC’s Dear Leader.

       23 likes

  2. Doublethinker says:

    On PM I noted that the Prime Minister’s sound bite was about 20 seconds long whilst Mr Miliband got well over a minute. Also the so called independent analysis was biased in favour of Labour as usual. Any negative point for the Tories welfare cap was seized upon by the beetroot red Ms Quinn , whilst the exaggerations of Labour on the NHS passed without comment. If the Tories do form the next government surely they must rid us of the BBC.

       61 likes

  3. EnglandExpects says:

    The BBC’s weaponising of the NHS has continued into today. It has ‘seen’ evidence that NHS West Midlands has redefined a ‘ major incident’ . In another assist to Labour it has produced a cost of care calculator. Nice support for the agenda of milliband and his shadow health secretary.

       37 likes

  4. Old Geezer says:

    Have you noticed that the BBC’s coverage of the NHS always gives the inference that it was a Labour idea. They have never heard of Lord Beveridge, or the Beveridge report. Just a hint, Lord Beveridge published his report on a post war health service in 1942.

       34 likes

  5. Umbongo says:

    The main headline in today’s Telegraph read “Labour election chaos over NHS”. The Times main headline read “Labour NHS strategy will bring ‘poll catastrophe'”. Then both stories outlined Milburn’s criticism of Miliband & Co. On Today‘s review of the papers this morning neither of these headlines nor the stories were mentioned. OTOH we did get the usual over-generous lefty helpings from the Independent and Guardian. This follows on from the less than coincidental (in light of the Labour weaponisation of the NHS) examination of the NHS in London on “news where you are” on BB1 in London at 10:30 pm last night (and every night this week).
    The bias has become so blatant that, in a reversal of reality, since it is so unbelievable, you think for a disconcerting moment that it can’t be happening. Unfortunately it is happening and, worse, is becoming more palpable every day.

       55 likes

  6. John Alexander says:

    They also serve who spread endless lies to further the noble cause.

       21 likes

  7. starfish says:

    On a lighter note

    http://order-order.com/2015/01/27/white-dee-im-voting-labour/

    With such celebrity endorsement how can they fail?

       32 likes

  8. Arnav says:

    Has anyone besides myself noticed the subtle bias at the opening of the 24 hour news tv?
    It features the inimitable Lyse Doucet stridently pontificating about Gaza with a picture in the background of bombed out buildings. Talk about beating a dead horse hour after hour after hour…!

       19 likes

    • I Can See Clearly Now says:

      They took time out to do ‘Jews are OK’ yesterday. Normal service was resumed as soon as possible.

         10 likes

  9. Englands Dreaming says:

    We got a good dose of Labour’s NHS policy on the 6 o’clock News yesterday, but quite how it was news I didn’t understand.

    Also was told that despite the high quarterly economic growth number it was actually bad news because yoy it was much slower.

       10 likes

    • chrisH says:

      I watched Burnham live.
      Wark was as pliant and off piste as ever, knew zippo and banged on about hernias..cliched patsy points that even a Blunkett could have coped with.
      Burnham seemed to have PMT or was menopausal-extraordinary aimless anger at nothing and nobody…just venting crap.
      Seemed contrived, personal bitchslap to no purpose.
      Therefore classic BBC coverage…we`re now used to this standard.

         11 likes

  10. Jersey fans says:

    Cheers Brianto get a wonderful tip, even non-developers similar to me will be able to pull this kind of away: )This is really essential for some sort of multi-international internet site on the subject of SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION.

       0 likes

  11. George R says:

    ‘Daily Mail,’ MAC cartoon, today-

    “Ambulance please – but tell them not to be too quick. I’m trying to prove a point”

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2930709/Mac-Labour-big-beasts-daggers-Ed-Miliband.html

       3 likes

  12. Llareggub says:

    Hush hush. Must not report this on the BBC. Labour and the ROP have interests in Rotherham.
    http://news.sky.com/story/1416946/rotherham-victim-says-abusers-untouchable

       2 likes