Anyone watch Newsnight? Paxman interviewed Labour apologist Liam Byrne on the matter of the Conservatives £6bn savings vs Labour £15bn. Byrne just bluffed it and castigated the Tories. Probably as one would expect. But then, by way of “balance”, a businessman was in the studio to respond, It was suave Dragon’s Den star James Caan, and yes, he agreed with Labour and suggested that the Labour NIC hike next year … Continue reading
It seems to me that like Labour, the BBC does not understand why an increase in NIC is a tax on jobs.Perhaps Statism erodes the capacity for clear economic thinking but I listened in amazement to the BBC “Today” interview with Sir Stuart Rose, he of M&S fame. When Rose pointed out that the NIC increase with Brown and Clegg think so virtuous is a direct impediment to business growth, … Continue reading
Question Time this week comes from Woking, which is the town where the Martians first land in The War of the Worlds and also features in Douglas Adams’ book The Meaning of Liff as the word for when you go to the kitchen but forget why. Woking constituency is represented for the Conservatives by Humfrey Malins with a majority of 6,612. He supported Ken Clarke’s leadership bid in 2001 and … Continue reading
Please put the pressing issue of UK politics to one side for a moment to read the latest post on Robin Shepherd’s blog. It’s aimed at the BBC because of something they’re currently ignoring.Robin says he has reason to believe that BBC editors sometimes read his blog, and I sincerely hope they do. Whether they still read this one I know not. In case they do, I’ll reiterate here that … Continue reading
The pretence of impartiality has been scrapped in the last-minute scramble to change minds before Labour faces the electorate next month.Well, actually that’s a paraphrase of the introduction to this article. No mention of the fact that Labour has a large majority and that it has no need, based on this, to scrap anything. The correct reading of events must be that they are trying to disrupt Conservative campaigning by … Continue reading
Based on BBC GE coverage, two things strike me. 1. It’s going to be a hung Parliament.2. Most people are bored with it. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
It may be a general election, and we may be emerging from the coldest winter in thirty years. But hey ho, this is the BBC, and there’s always a global warming scare story around somewhere. Today, it’s that old canard, “early spring”. The fanatics at the Woodland Trust have done a bit of cod research to back up their prejudices, and Richard Black has swallowed it hook, line and sinker, … Continue reading
A post-chocolate egg open thread- updated to an entry-to-election thread. Best comments will be threaded into a main post. Click through to read and contribute comments on this post.
According to the BBC, Ed Balls “received a standing ovation – unusual for a minister at a teachers’ conference – as he outlined the increased investments in education since 1997.” Wow. Good to know. Those investments wouldn’t have included massive pay increases for teachers, would they? I believe they would (not that the BBC would ever spell it out). And who wouldn’t give an ovation when the pay concerned was … Continue reading
It seems some people DO have success when it comes to having their complaints upheld by the BBC. As long as they belong to the anti-Israel brigade. Should a report that shows anti Israel campaigners in a poor light accidentally slip through the net, the BBC Editorial department will leap into action. Nobody can interrupt a meeting or performance and come out smelling of roses.Certainly Tony Greenstein and Deborah Fink’s … Continue reading
