Not long ago we suggested that the BBC’s use of the modest descriptive term of ‘leftwing’ to describe Jeremy Corbyn was doing him a favour as he is to the left, far to the left, of most in the Labour Party. If there were a Tory MP in a similar position with similarly extreme views he would be described as Far Right….and of course UKIP are usually dismissed as the Far Right and as Nazis by the BBC. Look at how Enoch Powell, based on one speech, is vilified even now decades after he made that speech and yet Corbyn’s associates, his comments, and indeed some of those whom he has chosen as shadow ministers, should put him in a category of contempt way above that of Enoch Powell.
However others beg, scream and shout, to differ.
Over 50,000 people sign petition saying that the BBC is biased against Jeremy Corbyn
They are asking the BBC to refer to David Cameron as the ‘right-wing Prime Minister’, because they often refer to the leader of the Opposition as ‘left-wing’
The change.org petition was set up by Amanda Drury from Lincoln, and it says in the description:
“Every time Jeremy Corbyn is mentioned in a news report on the BBC he is referred to as ‘the left wing Labour Party leader’. In the interest of fairness and un-biased reporting, David Cameron should also be referred to in terms of his place on the political spectrum – ‘the right-wing Prime Minister’.
“Please sign the petition so that this small but significant change can be made, thank you.”
The Labour Party is leftwing so someone to the left of that must by definition be ‘Far Left’. Corbyn was not being traduced by the BBC, he was being given favoured status and a makeover by them. The BBC was presenting him as less extreme than he really is.
It does seem extraordinary that the ‘Left’ are now up in arms about being called ‘left’…what do they have to hide? Do they now think that the nation recognises the ‘left’ as something not to tread in? Being on the ‘left’ was supposed to be the ‘Red Badge of Courage’ showing you were proudly fighting oppression and inequailty and all that, something to be loudly proclaimed, trumpeted by the believers…. now they’re embarrassed by it?
Perhaps rightly so…Nick Cohen is more than embarrassed by the right-on far left comrades....Why I’ve finally given up on the left. He says that ‘Left-wing thought has shifted towards movements it would once have denounced as racist, imperialist and fascistic. It is insupportable.’
He could be describing Corbyn couldn’t he?
And, in the run up to the election and subsequent election of Corbyn as leader the fact he was ‘leftwing’ was relevant to the debate….people needed to know where was he on the spectrum of Labour politics compared to the other candidates…who presumably weren’t ‘leftwing’ in the BBC’s eyes. Now the leadership election is over the BBC will use such a term sparingly, even in its moderate form of ‘leftwing’ rather than the more accurate ‘Far Left’….or perhaps ‘Loony Left’…..the BBC defence?…’The BBC defended their journalists choice of words, commenting choice phrases were employed as a matter of “specific editorial justification” to enhance its audience’s understanding.’
I might suggest describing Corbyn as merely ‘leftwing’ hardly enhances the audience’s understanding as the term is clearly not reflective of his actual beliefs and position on the lefty spectrum. Left of Yvette Cooper et al maybe, but that would put him to the ‘far left’ of most normal people….the voters.
The BBC however seems to be giving Corbyn a good write up elsewhere, after peviously having studiously ignored his unsavoury connections to terrorist groups et al ….asking if he is the new Attlee and uncritically bringing us suggestions that Miliband didn’t lose because he was too left wing…which of course plays into Corbyn’s own narrative of moving ever more leftward. Perhaps the BBC should ask a few people instead of possibly academics with vested interests, why they didn’t like Miliband…one, he was clearly not a ‘statesman-like’ leader, two, his party wrecked the economy and looked like they’d continue down the same path and three, he was too far left….intent on imposing state controls on anything that moved with policies that any fule could see would fail spectacularly.
Perhaps the BBC should stick to ‘beige’ in describing Corbyn….A parliamentary revolution in beige, Jeremy Corbyn’s new leader’s navy suit, nowhere to be seen.
I would suggest ‘Hard Left’
Could we also have a vote on which is the preferred description of Corbyn from the several I’ve seen here and elsewhere?
1. Piss-Stained Tramp
2. Alcoholic Geography Teacher
3. Rat looking Through a Toilet Brush
I don’t know what the issue is, even Labour members and bloggers use the term ‘Hard Left’ to describe Corbyn and his henchmen.
What has become clear however as, the hard left have broken cover, is how many people and supporters from that particular spectrum have, over the years, been regulars on the BBC; Owen Jones (he must have been given a staff number now), that horrible racist hag Alibhai-Brown, Richard Murphy, think of the warm welcome that Gameshow gave Dave Nellist this week, Mary Beard, the BBC’s Jeremy Hardy, Ken Loach, BBC actress Maxine Peake, Diane Abbott…etc…etc…
He actually does look like one of my old Geography teachers.
Either Geography teachers do all look the same, or we went to the same school!
So Cameron is to be regarded as right wing? On issues that matter, Cameron belongs in whatever camp that Islam/EU appeasing Corbyn supports.
The problem those of us on the right always face is that the left are better at organising things like petitions, marches and sheer bloody volume. Which can give the impression they have more support than they do. Witness Question Time and, on this anniversary of the Scottish referendum, I can well remember how the sheer number of Yes posters and rallies became quite dispiriting to us No voters even though we were fairly sure they were a noisy minority.
Yes but that is all they can do. Meanwhile the rest of us get on with life.
More years ago than I care to number the ‘activists’ were constantly campaigning to ban their fellow students from buying what they wanted or banking where they wanted. They would shout themselves hoarse, propose ’emergency’ resolution after resolution.
Finally the studying, exam-passing, getting on with life, rest of the student body would have enough and turn out to vote, overwhelmingly crushing these parasites into the dust.
It’s because they are so hopeless either they do not have jobs to go to, or they “work” in the public sector and have a massive excess of time on their hands for organising such pointless distractions.
The gist of Amanda Drury’s position is, Corbin is referred to as left wing. Corbin was elected because he was on the far left of the labour party (contempt for New Labour etc.), but it doesn’t represent balanced reporting unless Cameron, who is not on the right of the Conservative party is referred to as right wing.
Either Amanda Drury, and whoever signed this petition is somewhat lacking in the logic department (i.e. thick), or simply duplicitous – maybe a bit of both.
Completely agree with you, Roland.
Over 50,000 fellow countrymen and women have signed this petition on the left-wing change dot org website? Well it just demonstrates how extensive is the brain damage in our country.
50,000 out of say 30,000,000 UK adults is something like 0.17%, don’t get too worried.
On the political left-right spectrum:
|Left–Corbyn————————————————-Centre–Cameron—————————————–Right|
I see that Comrade Corbyns new shadow cabinet are beginning to summon their allies…Let the hate fest begin…
The brain dead will be talking to the brain dead !
I think Jeremy looks like Albert Steptoe and Tom Watson looks like Penfold of Danger Mouse
Why don’t we make sure that we always refer to the LEFT-WING MEDIA (by which I mean the B BC,Guardian, New Statesman, and ,on it’s outer wing , the Independent , The Times ,and LBC).
I am sick of hearing LiberalLeftists on the B BC refer disparagingly to the Right-Wing Press/Media -it seems they know that ,if they repeat it enough, people will become dismissive of e. the Daily Mail , Express , and even The Telegraph. Repeat a lie often enough ,and the feeble-minded will accept it as The Truth.
Why don’t we start a campaign that like-minded folk on our side ALWAYS refer to the LEFT-WING MEDIA when interviewed.
That would certainly get up the noses of certain B BC interviewers and presenters.
Or send a petition to the BBC demanding that they refer to themselves as The Left-wing BBC.
The correct description for Corbyn is that he is a Marxist Militant Tendency Fellow Traveller who has carefully hidden his real political affiliations in order to remain within the Labour Party. Where most of the Conservative Leadership are best described as politically slightly Right of Centre and, prior to the last two elections. Labour’s Leadership was slightly Left of Centre more recently the last Labour Leader was more to the political Left when it comes to Corbyn he is well to the Extreme Left bordering on the edge of politically falling over into fully committed Marxist Communism. Lenin would have been proud of him.
Yes, it never seems to occur to the BBC that Corbyn shared/shares so many platforms with Sinn Fein/IRA because they have the same Marxist ideological goals. For them a united Ireland is desired outcone of a “liberation struggle” , not patriotic nationalism The British state represents imperialism, colonialism and capitalism and so is the enemy.
I’ve posted this before:
The political spectrum according to the BBC:
Left-leaning—-Centre—Centre-Right—Right—Far-Right*—-Hard-Right*—Extreme-Right*—–Ultra-Right*
*Interchangeable according to the journalist’s personal prejudices.
The Left like to hide in The Long March through the institutions of the powers that be .
Yesterday on the Daily politics Mr Neil had a bit of fun with James Dellingpole and Owen Jones in placing those two along with politicians past and present on a 2×2 grid for their perceived left/rightness and liberal/authoritarian tendencies. The placings were fairly predictable and little Owen played along happily until Mr Corbyn was placed well to his left, in fact far left, and much further left than even the Ms Sturgeon, and well up into the authoritarian box. Owen then became quite agitated and said the whole thing was rubbish. I thought he was going to flounce off but unfortunately he didn’t.
It must have upset him to see the leader of the Labour Party being labelled on the BBC so far to the left. The whole idea of those who are the brains behind the manipulation of Corbyn ( he has so few of his own you see) is that the BBC should collude with the Labour Party to show that in fact Mr Corbyn is quite moderate in the hope that enough idiots will believe it and vote for him. Then once in power they can run the country approved Stalinist Leninist style. The problem of course is that Labour MPs aren’t playing along , at least at present, and the Labour Party members who elected him, actually want him to be demonstrably somewhere to the left of Lenin. And most problematic of all for Owen, is the fact that Corbyn is so useless that he can’t even hide his far left sentiments for the duration of the National Anthem. I wonder if he does turn up at the Cenotaph what coat he will be wearing. Perhaps an anorak and clutching a plastic bag for his sandwiches and copy of Saturdays Morning Star.
Incidently I wonder how much longer the BBC misfit, Mr Neil will be allowed to remain at the corporation. He simply won’t follow the party line will he!
“Incidently I wonder how much longer the BBC misfit, Mr Neil will be allowed to remain at the corporation. He simply won’t follow the party line will he! ”
It appeared to me that he’d turned from neutral to left in his approach when I saw him the other day after Corbyn’s weak first PQT performance. He had Kuenssberg and Labour’s placewoman drooling over Corbyn’s performance, which he and Coburn joined in. He then turned into attack-dog on the Conservative MP, not allowing him to comment on Question Time and the party leaders’ respective performances, but harrangued him for something totally different (I can’t remember what subject but not PQT). He then condescended to allow him to comment on QT by which time, as the tory remarked, the time had gone. The Tory finished off with a lame comment saying something like “He did alright!” I think Neil’s gone native – too long working at the biased sham of a news organisation.
Is Corbyn of even lower intelligence than Neil Kinnock ? It is a close run thing !
Aw the poor love!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-the-papers-34306044
Jeremy Corbyn endures another day of largely negative headlines, courtesy of the Sunday papers. The Sunday Telegraph says the Labour leader stood down as chairman of the Stop the War Coalition, hours after the paper contacted Labour for his views on a poem published on the front page of the group’s website attacking the Queen.
“I have just spent most of the week deep in Leftie territory.. The BBC..where the air of despondency about Corbyn is palpable”
Comment by richardDodd on Politicalbetting.com site
http://www2.politicalbetting.com/index.php/archives/2015/09/20/to-kneel-or-not-to-kneel-that-is-the-question/#vanilla-comments