Regardless of our views of the next PM, I hope we can all unite in delight at this moment of history:
Update 8.30pm. I knew Mandy was powerful, but I didn’t realise he’d taken on the role of confirming the next Prime Minister:
Another update:
(OK, I’ll stop now)
Sorry – one more update. Is Mishal Husain a secret Tory?
Immediately following Gordon Brown’s announcement that Labour and the Lib Dems have decided to screw the Tories and fuck the country up the arse with red hot pokers wrapped in barbed wire, BBC News had a panel ready and waiting – two Labour guys (Lord Adonis, Alastair Campbell) and one Lib Dem (David Steel) all spinning the message that a LibLab coalition was the best way forward. Hilariously, at one point Huw Edwards – lacking an opposing viewpoint – even turned to Adonis and asked if he agreed with what Alastair Campbell had just said. Like he was going to say no!
Next up was another Labour rep (Douglas Alexander) – parroting the same message. Then, two more supporters of an anti-Tory coalition – Labour MP John Mann and someone from the SNP, rubbing his hands at the prospect of screwing the English for more and more taxes. And finally – 45 minutes after Brown had spoken – BBC News gave us the first opposing view in the person of Tory MP Nigel Evans.
And I see Nick Robinson is already speaking as if it’s all now a done deal – “historic realignment of politics”.
Update. I don’t think the voters in my constituency of Thirsk and Malton (we haven’t had our say yet – May 27) will take too kindly to the prospect of a progressive coalition of the losers and yet another unelected Labour leader. I predict a massive majority for Tory candidate Ann McIntosh. (Update 2 Unless of course the Cameroons turn up and start canvassing with a message about the Big Society and similar toss like that.)
Update 8.20pm. BBC News just had Prof Simon Lee on from a studio in Hull and he went at it from the word go, savaging Gordon Brown’s record as PM and Chancellor. Unsurprisingly the BBC decided to cut him short after a few brief seconds.
Further to Robin Horbury’s comments about the BBC’s joy over Caroline Lucas winning her seat – here’s a wishful exchange from Friday morning’s post-election Today programme:
Evan Davis: I love the idea that the first Green MP is possibly going to hold the balance of power in the House of Commons…
John Humphrys: Wonderful thought. Wonderful thought.
Evan Davis: … control the entire operation.
Let these recent observations from some BBC regulars guide you.
Mr Hardy also thinks it’s OK to “lie about Tories because there is a higher truth: they’re cunts.” Such wit – I bet the BBC has already drawn up the contract for a new series of “Jeremy Hardy Speaks To The Nation”.
I wasn’t going to vote Conservative but the outside chance of making Jeremy Hardy’s life a misery is too good to miss. Join me. Piss off a BBC luvvie – Vote Tory.
…that the UK’s tweet-happy left-wing comedy establishment (see BBC and Channel 4 listings for details) appears to have opted for a Twitter silence on the subject of South Park’s censorship?
Update. From The Simpsons episode broadcast in America last night:
From hippiepooter in the comments comes a timely reminder, ahead of the BBC leaders’ debate, that Sue Inglish, the BBC’s Head of Political Programmes, is married to former Labour Party Director of Communications John Underwood. He was the man behind Progressive Policies Forum, the don’t-think tank which channelled funds to Peter Hain’s failed deputy leadership bid.
As hippepooter points out, the declaration of personal and family interests section of Inglish’s BBC profile appears to be in a permanent state of “will be published shortly”.
I wonder if it was Ms Inglish who gave the go-ahead to broadcast this week’s edition of Any Questions from a school with close ties to another former Labour Director of Communications.
Here are the signatories to the letter defending the BBC in today’s Observer mentioned by David in an earlier post. It’s the stuff of nightmares – cloned luvvies:
I bet the first Richard Eyre is really pissed off knowing that the second one has a knighthood.
(Hat tip Winston Smith in the comments.)
Thanks to Ryan for emailing me about this week’s Newswatch, and apologies to Ryan for not reading his email until now. Fortunately it’s all for the best as James Delingpole has already covered it.
Re David’s earlier post about the scandalously biased audience on this week’s Any Questions.
According to the programme’s website the distribution of audience tickets is down to the hosts:
1. THE AUDIENCE
One of the chief responsibilities for you, the local organiser, is the distribution of tickets . We very much hope that, in general, the audience will be reasonably balanced and properly representative of the local community in terms of age, class, gender, colour, creed and political affiliation.
This week’s programme came from the William Ellis school in Camden. From that school’s website:
Yup, the same Fiona Millar who just happens to be Alastair Campbell’s partner.
The Any Questions website also includes this:
We do from time to time encounter problems surrounding the issue of ‘balance,’ and the BBC, being committed to fairness, therefore reserves the right to allocate a number of seats ourselves if necessary. We may also give out a number of tickets to BBC guests (If space is particularly tight at your venue please talk to the producer about how many additional seats have been allocated by us).
I think I can guess at the BBC’s idea of providing audience balance – more lefties, just in case.
Update 8.30pm. One of Fiona Millar’s vice chairs on the board of governors at William Ellis is Professor Conor Gearty, former human rights adviser to Tony Blair and founder member (along with Mrs Tony Blair) of Matrix Chambers.
The leaders’ debate opinions of Radio Five Live’s Interactive Editor Brett Spencer this evening (click on image to enlarge):
Clearly Mr Spencer fears no repercussions for his anti-Cameron opinions. After all, inside the BBC bubble he’s not saying anything contentious.
Update April 23, 11 am. He’s now removed the oh-so-witty remarks about Cameron’s forehead, as well as a tweet which said “Brown seems well ahead to me, and is now playing his joker” (Beeb Bias Craig quoted that one before its removal, and one person retweeted it). Spencer’s still angry that YouGov called it for Cameron – he’s banging on about it again this morning. I doubt the pollsters will be too concerned by the opinions of someone who thought Brown won the debate.
Update 2, 4pm. Brett Spencer has now removed all tweets relating to the leaders’ debate and the YouGov poll.
Update 3, 5.20pm. And now…
