Category Archives: Blair

It’s the rose-tinted spectacles of the BBC that give the Left a relatively easy task, a user-friendly task, in presenting themselves to the British public.

Currently on the BBC website is a goofy sort of article about Mrs Blair and Mr Blair’s proposal to her, many years ago. It’s actually a kind of advert, too, as there is a documentary coming out this week about the “first couple” as they might like to be styled (hat-tip to Iain Dale for pointing this out). So, instead of a sober reflection on a momentous period (for good or ill, depending on POV), we get a soppy take on the “human angle”.

This comes just as Gordon Brown is presenting he and his government as the defenders of the nation in the face of the fizzes and bangs of Islamic extremism (article here– defiance is easy when threats evaporate). Brown had the softest of soft interviews with the BBC’s Andrew Marr, who is something of a specialist in these, on Sunday morning. There could have been two lines of attack which dealt with the news agenda- one that the Government has never sold the war on terror to the public effectively (I would not expect this line from the BBC, though it might add a touch of impartiality), the other that the UK’s Iraq venture was the cause of strife at home. Neither emerged- the BBC incapable of making the former criticism (because they do not believe it) and unwilling to make the latter (mindful, no doubt, of Brown’s importance to their darling projects). What we had instead was a kind of sloppy drawing room chat, Brown intoning reassurance with every word, his accent a little softened, his hair short and dapper. Marr made a few wry remarks about Brown’s non-spin, Parliament-centered pitch- he knew it so well, he could barely bring himself to point out this, let alone give vent to what many viewers may think about Blair’s Presidential style or point out that Brown has many a crony in the wings of his new “administration”, ahem.

I remember the old days- the Thatcher hate- when “that woman” was routinely villified. Today no-one, especially not the BBC, speaks for those who loathe Blair. Much as I dislike hatred, the real feelings of many are utterly ignored by the BBC. Just put a lid on it, they seem to say.

The Blairs’ valedictory documentary brought to mind a rather more remarkable spouse, Dennis Thatcher, whose only interview was broadcast four years ago on Channel 4. Channel 4 vs BBC1. One week versus 13 years after the events. There is no balance to the BBC.