Monday 22 May 2017

Guardian letter on biased media

Jonathan Freedland is probably right when he says that what matters in the UK`s general elections is "credibility", the party`s "ability to deliver" what it promises (Voters are rejecting Santa and embracing Scrooge, Why? 20/05/17). His attempt, however, to explain why this is so particularly relevant now is revealing.
     This election, he says, stands "in the shadow of the 2008-9 crash", but is nevertheless "billed as a Brexit election", with austerity and the deficit "mentioned rarely". This is an understatement, with austerity-amnesia having clearly broken out amongst the British media. Tory failures to balance the books, despite the job losses, continued cruel benefits` cuts, and wage freezes, are spoken about only by Labour politicians, whilst the slightest mistake by them becomes a "car-crash". Where are the headlines in any newspaper, including the Guardian, about Hammond`s failure to get the figures for HS2 correct, about Rudd`s ignorance of police salaries, about Gove`s cluelessness about immigration numbers? Is it any wonder the media`s attention on Abbott`s failure to nail police costings  has made it the "one event" that has "cut through"?
      Freedland`s conclusion is as ill-thought out as the Tories` care policy. The lack of trust in Labour is explained by comparing patients accepting their doctors` advice with voters believing what the Daily Mail et al tell them, whilst voting Labour is like taking advice from an alcoholic. Really, Jonathan? When was the last time you wrote about unnecessary Tory austerity policies, or Labour proposing to raise corporation tax to a level well below that tax`s level in the USA, France, Italy or Germany?

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