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Politics Today

RedPaul

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She rarely even bothered to disguise her political leaning. Once memorably on prime time News reporting on Labour's costed spending plans pre-2019 GE as "Labour's plan to spend taxpayers money".
Bit like Jim Naughtie and "when we win the election" (when interviewing Ed Balls)
 

angelic upstart

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The accusation I would make is that there is at times, and admittedly quite rarely I feel a bias toward a metropolitan liberal left/anti-Tory emphasis in the way stories are reported by the U.K. MSM
I think this is a fair assessment of the BBC, I would say it was anti Tory, but it's definitely metropolitan liberal in a way, that a more rural Englishman wouldn't necessarily appreciate.
My major gripe with the BBC is their absolute lack of investigative journalism, their regular cosying up to those in positions of power rather than asking the awkward questions. They miss the big hitters of old in that respect in a big way.
 

angelic upstart

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No, but I have to live in a society with people who do and who are at risk of believing whatever rubbish these news channels put out. I'm looking forward to lots of people believing that Labour stole the election in 2025 and Johnson has every right to remain as Prime Minister

BTW can you give me a recent example of BBC left wing bias?
The red tops have done this since day dot on both sides of the coin. What's different? No one under 40 watches TV anymore so unless someone is giving money away the channel is doomed to failure.
 

Grecian2K

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My major gripe with the BBC is their absolute lack of investigative journalism, their regular cosying up to those in positions of power rather than asking the awkward questions. They miss the big hitters of old in that respect in a big way.
Yes, but obedient well-trained dogs learn not to bite the political hand that feeds them!

One thing that would amuse me, were it not for the rampant hypocrisy, is the way that so (on here as well as generally) get into such a flap about the "dreaded MSM". They conveniently forget that the vast majority of the printed press is vigorously pro tory and, specifically, anti Labour. Witness the inevitable vilification of ANY Labour leader or prominent figure (save perhaps Tory Blair) that invariably rises to a crescendo as election time nears. In more recent times, whether it be the "Foot Duffel Coat", "Welsh Windbag", the "Miliband Bacon Sandwich" - and also particularly the vile and untrue vilification of his father - or the organised demonisation of Corbyn/McDonnell/Abbot etc. Our rightward leaning correspondents always conveniently forget all this i9n their lust for confirmation bias!
 

Mr Jinx

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Witness the inevitable vilification of ANY Labour leader or prominent figure (save perhaps Tory Blair) that invariably rises to a crescendo as election time nears. In more recent times, whether it be the "Foot Duffel Coat", "Welsh Windbag", the "Miliband Bacon Sandwich" - and also particularly the vile and untrue vilification of his father - or the organised demonisation of Corbyn/McDonnell/Abbot etc. Our rightward leaning correspondents always conveniently forget all this i9n their lust for confirmation bias!
But let's face it, none of those you list did themselves any favours really did they. The only one where nothing stuck, like you say, was Blair and that's why basically why he became PM and for so long. That's also why Labour have a habit of choosing the wrong horse. Ed instead of his brother, Corbyn instead of pretty much anyone else. The same goes for Gordon Brown. At least with Starmer you'd think he'd be less of a target, especially now as he's basically trying to be like Boris.
 

Grecian2K

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But let's face it, none of those you list did themselves any favours really did they. The only one where nothing stuck, like you say, was Blair and that's why basically why he became PM and for so long. That's also why Labour have a habit of choosing the wrong horse. Ed instead of his brother, Corbyn instead of pretty much anyone else. The same goes for Gordon Brown. At least with Starmer you'd think he'd be less of a target, especially now as he's basically trying to be like Boris.
None ever got the chance of power to prove themselves, did they?
But Kinnock made huge strides in "modernising" the Labour party, preparing the way for Blairism.
Milliband didn't really put his feet too wrong (but was perhaps a bit too much of a "nice guy" for the cut and thrust of politics)
And as for Corbyn...is that a different Corbyn that even you (claim to have*) voted for in 2017?
*Thanks to the merciful sanctity of the ballot box our actual voting can never be conclusively proved or disproved
 

Mr Jinx

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None ever got the chance of power to prove themselves, did they?
But Kinnock made huge strides in "modernising" the Labour party, preparing the way for Blairism.
Milliband didn't really put his feet too wrong (but was perhaps a bit too much of a "nice guy" for the cut and thrust of politics)
And as for Corbyn...is that a different Corbyn that even you (claim to have*) voted for in 2017?
*Thanks to the merciful sanctity of the ballot box our actual voting can never be conclusively proved or disproved
To pick up on few points there:

With Ed Milliband - I must've dreamt the Edstone.

Given what you know about me, me voting for Corbyn's Labour in 2017 probably says more about how I feel (felt) about Theresa May doesn't it?

I guess with hindsight it's all fairly evident now, but I knew at the time that the Tories had backed the wrong horse back in 2016 and was probably still a bit píssed that they'd overlooked a Brexiteer come the GE in 2017. I might not have voted Labour had UKIP or TBP been on my ballot paper. But they weren't.
 

Alistair20000

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To pick up on few points there:

With Ed Milliband - I must've dreamt the Edstone.

Given what you know about me, me voting for Corbyn's Labour in 2017 probably says more about how I feel (felt) about Theresa May doesn't it?

I guess with hindsight it's all fairly evident now, but I knew at the time that the Tories had backed the wrong horse back in 2016 and was probably still a bit píssed that they'd overlooked a Brexiteer come the GE in 2017. I might not have voted Labour had UKIP or TBP been on my ballot paper. But they weren't.
Correct me if I am wrong Jinxy but I thought you had voted Labour in 2017 for the non Brexit parts of its manifesto.
 

Mr Jinx

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Correct me if I am wrong Jinxy but I thought you had voted Labour in 2017 for the non Brexit parts of its manifesto.
Not sure if you remember at the time, but I was really torn. There was no UKIP on my ballot paper but they were a bit of a lame duck at the time anyway with their headline policy achieved (or so we thought). I didn't like the way they were heading either with Nuttall at the helm (ie morphing into the BNP), but I digress.

I was never a fan of Theresa May. She kind of said the right things about Brexit, but I sensed from the off that her heart wasn't entirely in it. Besides, once Corbyn parked a tank on her lawn by promising to honour the 2016 Referendum that kind of snuffed the whole thing out (I also knew Corbyn was a Brexiteer at heart).

I think what finally swayed it for me were the debates. May was a complete no show which I thought was in keeping with her timid hide-behind-the-back-of-a-sofa personna. I was disappointed that Corbyn was going to follow suit. But once he changed his mind, made an appearance and made a decentish fist of it, that was me sold.

I don't recall anything in the Labour party manifesto that particularly appealed other than promising to re-nationalise Water (I'd had a big run in with Thames Water the year before). I don't pay too much attention to manifestos I'll be honest. I just pick up on the odd thing or two that appeals.
 

Mr Jinx

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And so, we're in our second week of full Brexit and I'm still waiting for the pound to collapse.

I'm currently looking to buy an expensive piece of musical equipment and the best price I could find is coming from Germany. Well, it suddenly got £50 cheaper overnight. I'll now be putting its procurement off by a month or two as I'm expecting it to come down by another hundred, at least.

Project Fear debunked yet again.
 
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