Nigel Farage was right to condemn the statements of a Reform volunteer filmed by an undercover Channel 4 team. He was also right Ā to ask about who the man was and why he volunteered for that particular canvass.
The media is very selective about where it goes for under cover reporting and what facts it is keen to check. It is right to condemn racist and homophobic language. I do not recall undercover reports into anti Semitism in the Labour Party though that has been a worrying problem. There has not been much undercover reporting of extremist Middle Eastern terrorist groups operating in the U.K.
The BBC and mainstream commercial media have been keen to fact check Brexit and Trump supporters. They are far less keen to fact check net zero Ā campaigners or campaigners for more money for public administration and Councils. When Labour and Lib Demās say we can decarbonise more quickly what checks do they apply to these unlikely claims? When they say renewable power is cheaper why donāt they point out this usually excludes grid, back up and green tax costs? Why do they allow people to go unchallenged who tell us closing our oil and gas cuts CO 2 when importing LNG instead increases it?
Nor will the mainstream media allow a rational debate on the disastrous run of Bank of England, Treasury and OBR forecasts. Their wrong inflation forecasts gave us an unnecessary high inflation followed by a small recession. Their wrong deficit forecasts stifled a growth policy and fuelled austerity.
When Councils are pleading poverty why do the media never give the actual large total cash sums paid to each Council along with the substantial up lift each year?
July 1, 2024
Good morning.
All very true, Sir John. And we can add to the list of them not reporting on child grooming gangs and the things one of their own, Jimmy Savile was getting up to whilst on their payroll.
But the other question we have to ask is – Why ? Why do they not report on certain issues but are happy to go after non-Establishment parties ? Who is controlling the narrative ?
It seems 2024, much like 2016 is turning out to be a point of great change, not just here and the USA, but in France, Germany and elsewhere. It seems people have decided on the Blue Pill and are waking up.
July 1, 2024
Selective reporting is the norm in the media. Much of it is in clear view or can be discovered with some investigation. Undercover reporting, as often as not, is used to discredit alternative views or to smear an opponent and/or their views. In this environment it is not surprising that so many switch off when it comes to what passes for political debate.
July 1, 2024
JR,
Have you seen Sunakās comments about you from 1997 in Guido Fawkes? It demonstrates Sunakās pro EU views! No wonder there was an EU one nation Govt you blogged about. Another reason to believe a coup of Johnson and Truss by this treacherous bunch of EU socialists.
Reject Tory and Labour Uni Party. Vote Reform Party.
July 1, 2024
ā The media is very selective about where it goes for under cover reporting and what facts it is keen to checkā
John Redwood is selective in posts about the Labour Party and their methods of removing MPs by rival internal factions.
It works both ways.
Reply I do not post allegations about named individuals that I cannot prove
July 1, 2024
Well said. Here’s a slightly more useful ‘special investigation’ idea; from where will we get our natural gas this winter, how many days storage do we have in this country, and do we have any fixed price supply contracts? Or are we just going to wing it on a hope and a prayer?
July 1, 2024
Indeed and the vast council salaries and pension bills when they deliver so very little of any real value to the public whole pissing vast sums down the drain.
An excellent speech by Farage. The BBC licence tax should have been removed years ago and channel 4 sold off, but once again the Tories failed completely. The BBC bias on Net Zero, Brexit, Farage, Migration levels, the size of the state and their attacks of landlord, mad energy agendaā¦ are all mad & overwhelming.
July 1, 2024
Good to see Farage has promised to kill the BBC licence tax. Do we not have a fair competition regulator anyway. Let have real and fair competition in transport, TV, energy, schools, healthcareā¦ between state and private.
It seems there are grounds for a legal challenge to Labours evil attacks on private schools so maybe they will scrap this? It clearly will cost more than it raises and is totally evil driven by spite. If there are legal grounds for this them surely there should be legal grounds for people using private schools also getting a refund on what they pay for the state schools they do not use too?
July 1, 2024
Farageās performance at Reformās Rally in Birmingham NEC on Sunday was brilliant. He was virtually word-perfect throughout with powerful delivery generating immense enthusiasm and support.
Had people of any party seen it in full, very many more would be convinced to place their X alongside Reform UK on 4 July.
Even the Reform Arrow on the ballot paper points precisely where to stop and put it!
July 1, 2024
Agreed Mark. Media selectivity is nothing new and bias is hard to prove – how often does the BBC travel the world to find a climate disaster that fits the net zero narrative but ignores stories that conflict with this? Regrowth of the great barrier reef is a fine example.
We are heading for a period of unusual upheaval. Read “The Forth Turning” by Strauss & Howe to see what this means for us.
July 1, 2024
Mark B
Jimmy Savile. They never talk about who was in charge of the CPS when evidence was put in front of them of his crimes.
Why, and who is controlling the narrative? You do not have to look very far to see which billionaire(s) is funding our media to the tune of Ā£hundreds of millions, including the BBC. He who pays the piper calls the tune!
July 1, 2024
Even when they do cover a topic it is usually framed in an absurdly biased way before discussion is even allowed.
So what is the best way to get to hit our net zero target by 2030? Never the sensible question āwhy on earth would we even want to strive to hit net zero when it costs Ā£Trillions, is virtually impossible with current technology and it delivers hugely negative benefit anyway?ā
July 1, 2024
BBC verify should perhaps look at the absurd CO2 accounting that the government use for wood burning at Drax, the government lie/claim that walking and cycling produce no CO2 direct or indirect and their exporting of whole industries then ignoring the CO2 caused by importing such product?
But then this is probably rather beyond Marianaās skill set.
July 1, 2024
The more they slag off Farage the more support he gets
Everyone knows the deep state headed by the BBC is frightened to death of a WEF challenger. The public ate not as stupid or gullible as politicians believe.
July 1, 2024
The same sort of rubbish is being hurled at Le Pen and she’s picked up 33% of the vote yesterday.
The times they are a changing as someone once wrote.
July 1, 2024
“The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” sang the late Gil Scott-Heron in the ’60s.
Oh,yes it will be!………..Just not on the mainstream media!
July 1, 2024
@Mark B +1
Those in charge, those we pay and empower have allowed the corrosion to permeate the whole of society by their own refusal to manage.
Society for the most part reflects the leadership, until they wake up and see the manipulation based on jargon not fact, ideology not logic.
July 1, 2024
I daresay that whoever it is that is benefitting from the status quo but would be harmed by a ānon Establishmentā takeover makes sure that certain issues go unreported and/or manipulated.
Look at the hatchet job the media has done on political views slightly right of Stalin.
And look at who is now rioting ( presumably breaking the law) in France now.
July 1, 2024
In The Matrix the red pill is the one that can change life! The blue is the one letting you in a satisfying ignorance.
July 1, 2024
Many thanks. I stand corrected. š
July 1, 2024
Worth noting that in the US blue is the party colour for Democrats and red for Republicans. Hollywood doesn’t always get European ideas.
July 1, 2024
Sir John,
I believe that, BBC verify and other so called fact checker pieces by main stream media are little more than an opinion rather than facts in the normal sense of the word.
They remind me of the editorial pieces, so often present, in the old daily newspapers.
July 1, 2024
Indeed.
Mariana Spring of BBC of the BBC verify propaganda unity studied French and Russian at Pembroke College, Oxford. So not really in a position to judge much that is remotely technical.
Some topics for them to look at. Is the BBC licence fee unfair competition for other broadcasters, is it a tax and not a fee, should people have to pay it when they do not watch the BBC, are the BBC hugely biased and deluded on Net Zero, renewables, energy, Europe and an anti reform/Farage agemdaā¦
July 1, 2024
If a media outlet has a view, which it is entitled to have, it is a problem when challenged. Fact checking takes time and effort. The media knows most people might go through one or two logical steps of a critique but would rarely go further. It is like a game of chess in which one player can see only two, perhaps three moves ahead. The player who can go four or five moves ahead is more likely to win. So to gain market share the media calculate that their appeal by promoting some view will not be seriously challenged by their target audience so they don’t need to go to any great lengths to check the factual baisis of their editorial line or some other view they publish. Added to this is the psychology of bias, reinforcement and so on. People tend not to choose media whose editorial line opposes their own views. So why would they analyse an opinion piece more than superficially?
So media which holds a view strongly will ensure it is a few moves ahead of its audience, but only far enough ahead to win.
July 1, 2024
There is one reason, and one reason only. For some reason, they are desperate for a Labour government.
They have confected a āscandal. āoutrageā, every day – and we have another 3/4 days to go! They are trying to āinfluence the voteā. I thought that was a criminal offence, but maybe Iām wrong.
July 1, 2024
You ask why the media is very selective in what it investigates and how it reports such investigations.
Most elements of the media are polarised politically and have their own agenda. The two greatest offenders are Channel 4 and the BBC. Both are the “Guardian” of radio and TV. The body that is supposed to watch over their “Impartiality” , the so called Ofcom is equally captured and guardianista infected. The two main political parties do nothing about it beause neither have a moral compass. They adopt the attitude that the enemy of my enemy, ie., any organisation or individual that exposes the truth, is my friend. I suspect that they are on the cusp of discovering where this leads.
It is why GBNews is so popular with the listening and viewing public, and why I am a great supporter of it. It is where I go for as near to the truth as it is possible to get. As it is, in this process, I have to endure some of the most bigoted, way out opinions, in the media to achieve balance. I do so with equanimity, knowing it is the fair process of hearing it all and coming to my own conclusions. Broadcasting awards voted for by the general public prove my point.
Look at the way this election is playing out. Nigel is getting near causing a bit of political upset if the polls are to be believed. Result, out come the political attack dogs of the extreme left, those that ignore the acts of the rabid left, and attack with bloodlust any statement that can be nuanced to their advantage. They are even prepared to interfere in the election process, as is the case with Channel 4, knowing that Ofcom through inaction are complicit. This should be an event for open judicial enquiry , but I am not holding my breath. All part of the swamp that needs draining.
July 1, 2024
Well, the MSM have an agenda and itās not the same agenda as that of the people. More and more people refuse to pay for this nonsense.
People can legally not pay the BBC license if they donāt watch live TV, so two birds with one stone, save money and dodge the ātruth ministryā propaganda, which is bad for your blood pressure.
We donāt need politicians to cancel the BBC license fee and apply it to a tax we canāt dodge. We are cancelling the BBC ourselves. We have already cancelled The Guardian and much more will soon follow.
July 1, 2024
The reason why they don’t do journalism any more is because the MSM is a bought and paid for service to the left/woke movement.
The Long March Through the Institutions is complete.
The road back to rational realism is going to be equally long. Many of us will not live to see the days when common sense and common law once again reign supreme here in Great Britain.
We will know the tide is turning however, when the BBC stops pushing faux ‘settled’ climate science and debate is allowed once again that involves real science and real scientists.
July 1, 2024
Nigel Farage was also factually correct that NATO’s eastwards expansion provoked Russia and Putin. He was also right to say this did not justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That is a perfectly respectable opinion. It is not appeasement. Had he said concessions now need to be made because of the West’s failures it would have been. But he did not. The condemnation of Farage as a Putin appeaser or stooge is wholly unjustified. There may be sound reasons to protest that although correct it is imprudent to voice this opinion now but that is not what was done. The aim was solely to denigrate him and assassinate his character, the behaviour of last resort of a party that has lost the argument and is desperate to cling to office. It is sad to see the Conservative Party, which always used to or claim to stand on principle and civil behaviour, sink to such a low level of political exchange. It is gutter politics.
I am very glad that Sir John Redwood has not followed suit.
July 1, 2024
OK to be an EU appeaser though! Totalitarianism, warmongering and unelected.
July 2, 2024
what a load of unsubstantiated nonsense
July 1, 2024
MSM are vital tools of the globalist authoritarian blob. For this reason they are protected through a variety of mechanisms such as:
– captive “fact checkers” (that only criticise those publishing a non-MSM narrative)
– captive Web giants configuring search algorithms
so the non-MSM competitors are hard difficult to find
– financial support (BBC licence fee, advertising revenue from government and industries that expect good coverage in return)
– “lawfare” (pursuing and shutting down those not towing the line, either attacking their output or those involved in person).
The list goes on…
Nothing is more damaging to our liberty and way of life than this erosion and hollowing-out of the media. As Orwell and others indicated, you end up controlling what people think. Resistance becomes not just futile, but an impossibility.
I’m sick of our rapid slide into Totalitarianism. Who would have thought the UK could fall so far, so quickly?
July 1, 2024
It isn’t just selective undercover reporting Sir John, it is blatant bias with both the BBC and C4 attempting to affect the result of the General Election by attacking, smearing and carrying out “gotcha” reporting against the Reform Party and Farage in particular.
The so-called Fact Checkers don’t check FACTS. First they selectively choose the subject they want to influence the public on. Then they selectively choose the “facts” they want to rebut or promote. Then they publish or broadcast at best a warped claim or at worst regurgitate the lies already perpetrated by an Official Body or Quango which is promoting one particular policy.
The BBC is the worst of the lot, but Channel 4 does a particularly nasty line in manufactured “gotcha stunts.”
And above both sits OFCOM, which does SFA to make either of them broadcast and report impartially.
July 1, 2024
It is not “Selective undercover reporting”, but a deniable “Black Op” with a pre ordained outcome.
July 1, 2024
Indeed it would be interesting to know whether C4 had been tipped off about the person in question – otherwise it looks suspicious that they just “chanced” upon him? As for who did the tipping off…
July 1, 2024
Problem is the establishment parties are controlled by the Lobby – so the Lobby is pulling the strings here and in America – with some 50,000 killed in Gaza mostly women and children and hardly a word of condemnation from government – something is very wrong considering we were responsible for starting all of this in the first place – then Afghanistan then Iraq then Libya – it goes on and now some are complaining about the media being too one sided they better grow up.
July 1, 2024
Cameron wanted to bomb Syria too (for whose benefit?)but lost a vote when Labour failed to deliver the backing he expected in parliament.
Lesson learnt.No more votes on wars;strictly extra-parliamentary from then on!
July 1, 2024
A new career opportunity SJR, political and media sleeze investiagations inc. The targets are not the heros of John Buccan, more the shadowy operatives of John le Carre.
Who set up the Ch 4 sting operation, who fronted it, who runs the desk, and who writes with green ink at the top of Ch4. All ideal prey for a Vulcan.
July 1, 2024
Most of the fact checking is done by the Biased Broadcasting Company.
July 1, 2024
All good points today Sir John which points to unbalanced reporting. Newspapers can indeed take a side but the national broadcaster, BBC, cannot. Cancel the BBC licence fee.
As for the setup, where is Ofcom?
July 1, 2024
Assuming Rachel Reeves enters Number 11 this week, the UK’s first female chancellor will face a tough task in balancing the books and achieving Starmer’s desire to grow the economy
To successfully grow our economy Labour must find a way to stop successful exporting firms from being sold off to foreign buyers. This has been going on since Thatcher’s regime and inflicts a massive whammy on the country. Firstly, we lose the export income, secondly, the employees and management lose their jobs and lastly, we lose their skills and technical expertise
Recently, I built a list of famous British companies that had been sold off, asset stripped and broken up by predatory buyers in the last 50 years. It came to over 100 firms – too many to name here on Sir Johns blog.
If Labour really intend to grow the economy and start to pay down the national debt, this issue must be addressed. Along with persuading the 9.5 million economically inactive folk, whom the rest of us are supporting by paying the highest taxes since the war
July 1, 2024
persuading the 9.5 million economically inactive folk, whom the rest of us are supporting by paying the highest taxes since the war
Why would Labour want to end up with 9.5 million fewer Labour voters? š
July 1, 2024
Let me get this straight, SG: you want Reeves to legislate that a private business owner in the UK cannot sell their company to the highest offer if the buyer doesn’t live and commit to staying incorporated in the UK? Even if that company has worldwide trade, the UK isn’t its biggest market, and they don’t manufacture the goods in the UK?
Which G7 Countries do this, and do you have a link to the restrictive legislation?
July 1, 2024
You forget the huge investments by UK companies in overseas businesses SG.
Would you ban this too?
July 1, 2024
Labour’s plans to shut our industry and import wind turbines and EVs and promise subsidies to foreign wind and solar farm owners will only hasten the trend until we run out of companies to sell, and we get a sterling collapse and economic mayhem.
July 1, 2024
Some good questions, which can be explained by the left wing or liberal bias often displayed by the media.
July 1, 2024
All very true Sir John, I suggest you vote Reform UK as they are the only Party proposing to work to stop illegal migration and make people go back to where they come from and leave the ECHR!
July 1, 2024
We shouldn’t be surprised at how selective the media is in what it attacks, after all it works hand in glove with the establishment to portray only those aspects of society that align with globalist plans.
The attacks against decency and honest politics will not stop while our leaders, aligning with globalists, are allowed to continue with their fairy tale activities.
To say that the media, and in particular the BBC, no longer report the news, but make it up to fit the establishment agenda is an under statement. Propaganda is active at all levels, with even so-called documentaries subject to political correctness and woke ideology. TV is a tool the establishment uses widely.
July 1, 2024
Your government full of Remainers happy that Brexit benefits not checked, similarly Trump, far too right wing and finally the āhatedā Farage, serves its purpose to lambast him, indeed Sunak has been parroting the same line.
You had your chance to sort the Beeb and sell Channel 4 and indeed publicly that was your direction of travel, but another example of it speaking āout of the corner of its mouthā and of course it did nothing because your centre/left party supports much of what they are saying.
In terms of the rest your party must have the worst message management in history. Starmers u turns /un trustworthy ness from Corbyn to now should have been plastered on every bill board in the country, bus sides, social media blitz.
Instead it seems you think Sunak is your main weapon when he is your problem. You should have weaponised Badenoch/Jenrick lured Boris etc back in, instead we have the pathetic Dowden and James (not very) Cleverley plus Hunt telling fairy stories.
No doubt your centrists are clinging to hoping for some sort of outcome so are not prepared to cede ground, preferring as they do in politics to go down then blame everyone else. Mordaunt looking both ways as usual keeping quiet in the hope she gets back in and can then take whatever position is needed to attract support for a leadership bid. She was rightly a major ācriticā of governments failure to support the navy, Portsmouth dockyard until Fallon took her as a Minister and then surprise, surprise, total obsequiousness was the order of the day.
I suspect others are doing the same.
Sorry Sir JR the points you have made are good ones but your problem is far closer to āhomeā
Reply I am no longer an MP or Conservative office holder, so your remarks are ill directed
July 1, 2024
The media/establishment is now, in its extremely selective reporting, grading ācrimeāaccording to political persuasion.
So if you are right wing, whoever and whatever you areā¦you lose your former place in the āvictimhoodā ( as previously laid out by the left) hierarchy and are vilified and insulted like any old right winger.
Many of those affected complain of this now.
And of course many crimes now go totally unreported.
July 1, 2024
Totally agree more is needed to be done regarding release of figures. Take Wokingham there is never a mention of business rates and how much they keep. Every new build that is occupied no mention of increase over a 12 month period. So much is not told to residents unless you go down the FOI route
July 1, 2024
Sir John
ākeen to fact checkā who is the arbiter? Who during an election campaign is requiring un biased balance?
It would appear that those in charge are actually Conservative Government controlled Quangoās. The guys that canāt get real jobs and rely on friends of friends (jobs for the boys).
The State has been grown in such a way that all it does is fight the āpeopleā, fight ādemocracyā.
Our Media, needed in a free society, is wishing journalistic freedoms without responsibility as such have become political tools of fringe agitators.
July 1, 2024
I think it would be more accurate to say that quangos controlled the Conservative government.
July 1, 2024
It seems to me there is a certain type of person who is attracted to journalism. They are left wing and anyone sensible middle ground or right of centre gets squeezed out.
Time to abolish the TV license fee, but Labour aren’t going to do that.
July 1, 2024
rational debate would be wonderful, but never happens. Public debate is politicians and the media “framing” all issues, talking amongst themselves and telling us plebs what to think.
The Brexit saga has demonstrated beyond doubt exactly what the media and authorities think of the plebs and democracy.
Your blog, editorial content and commentary was a welcome respite providing a view behind the curtain so to speak but has become a bit mono-speak for some time.
July 1, 2024
It has always been the case that media owners used the messages for their own purposes.
The BBC is publicly owned and the Governance ought to protect us from biased coverage.
It has been clear for years that this is its biggest failing.
The BBC needs to be broken up into separate entities, tight control being possible.
July 1, 2024
Why, simply because they have their own selective agenda they need to promote.
July 1, 2024
The blatant bias of the state-sponsored media is hardly news. The question is what can be done about it. We saw what the Tories in office did about it: nothing. And why? The Remainers, wets, and Green business acolytes running the Conservative party knew the danger to them was being outflanked on their right, by a party with a genuine conservative agenda. So they were happy to see the media target and smear the Brexit Party and now Reform UK. This time, though, there’s someone who’ll stand up to media influencers and call out their election interference for what it is.
July 1, 2024
The BBC are keen to do a hatchet job on Reform, whilst ignoring the misdemeanors of the other parties.
Is it cause their frightened !!
July 1, 2024
‘Fact-checking’ is how globalist-infested organisations like the BBC attempt to control the public discourse by giving their biased version of reality a veneer of authority.
July 1, 2024
Fact check, and Carol Vorderman did you’re wonderful, no you’re wonderful Twitter exchange recently, it made me chuckle because we can all read Vordemans current biases. That makes me think they’re not to be trusted; that’s how you kill the appearance of impartiality.
July 1, 2024
Where is the undercover camera footage of Labour’s extremist faction Momentum ? Why is it that only the right wing can have ‘far’ extremism ?
It’s not just here but their reporting on America too. Biden’s dementia has gone almost completely unmentioned whereas Trump’s every slip up is pounced on.
Too right but too late to be calling out the BBC now.
They have been allowed to control British politics and the parameters of debate throughout.
For once one hopes the Blob will be in charge of the next government as much as it was the last.
July 1, 2024
Agree with all your points. Your blog remains as honest and thought provoking as ever. I hope Conservative candidates realise that your economic advice and arguments should have been taken when Conservatives in power. However, even Truss would not allow you in her Cabinet – surely to her regret. I hope Reform continue to follow/copy your suggestions in the future.
July 1, 2024
A bit like a top player on the global political stage who suggested that laws should be ignored.
Except presumably when the laws suited?
We know here in the U.K. that we have laws to tackle just about all crime yet those in charge are constantly adding to the statute book. Confusing everything.
And they know that if referred to some higher court just about anything can be overturned.
Has TBās meddling actually become a great reset of law and order and morality?
Conservative thought = morally bad
Liberal thought = inherently good.
July 1, 2024
Re councils, utter smoke and mirrors. How much beneath inflation over years, cost of services transferred from central budgets etc.
You only have to look at the disgrace of potholes in our roads over many years, ignored by government, then in an election year with noise getting too much, surprise surprise, a lump sum is allocated, enough to politically sound big but as we now read, far more more potholes identified, so once again, budget wonāt be enough.
This from a government that has hosed money to the likes of the NHS with no improvement plan and tens of billions lost through fraud and inefficiency.
Sorry Sir JR, on this one I donāt believe you.
Reply Budgets for maintenance and special funds for potholes increased in recent years
July 1, 2024
Repairing potholes is no longer adequate when roads need resurfacing properly (not just a surface dressing). That means going down to the worn stone course and replacing it, then applying a new surface. Patched potholes soon reappear and come back enlarged. It’s a false economy.
I’d support the ORMLP manifesto item that calls for roads to be inspected to be fit for cars annually, to replace MOT tests.
July 2, 2024
Mark
Much of it down to poor application and workmanship and lack of quality management.
Travelled on the newly opened section of the A30 last week, road surface quite honestly a disgrace (bumpy, lumpy and uneven) this is a brand new road built over 4 years at a cost of over Ā£300 million.
In France they are resurfacing better quality roads than this, with a maintenance programme for main trunk routes which puts our roads to shame.
July 1, 2024
It is a good use of anybodies time to dig into the real issues rather than rely on a political āfact checkerā. Fact checkers are there it disrupt up the act of fact checking and promote their own agenda.
When I dug into the climate āscienceā I found it full of unjustified claims. The science is definitely not settled. Even this month two papers were published. One showing the solar system had drifted through an interstellar gas cloud which meant the suns protective field did not even reach mercury leading to a cooling of our planet. The small temperature rises today are a result of coming out on ice age. Another paper showed algae blooms increased with temperature which lead to the release of sulphur based molecules high into the atmosphere which cooled the planet down.
When I looked into the raw temperature records it turns out they have been taken in deeply urban areas which act as heat islands raising the temperature by 5 or 10 degrees. Given climate scientists are trying to measure a one degree rise in temperature over 50 years this clearly means that measurements are manually adjusted by at least an order of magnitude of what they are trying to measure. Climate change is clearly man made by climate scientists.
July 1, 2024
The selectivity, harmful in itself, sows damaging divisions in society.
July 1, 2024
Well we donāt yet have actual censorship of right of centre views, though that might be coming. So there is no reason why the right of centre media such as the daily telegraph or GB News couldnāt do some of this kind of undercover work on the left and expose some of the anti-semitism, terrorist support, abysmal administration and waste and mendacious energy and environmental claims on the left, but they donāt seem to have chosen to do so. The reason why the BBC, Channel 4, the leftwing newspapers donāt expose the left is of course that these are in reality all campaigning organisations who want to bring about particular political ends – those of the left. Obviously the left wing media have the huge advantage of state support and subsidy. This will get worse with Labour.
July 2, 2024
There are a few journalists who do attempt to report these things. Most are never published in MSM so you have to find their work on the Internet. Those who do make it are under constant OFCOM and police scrutiny, and are marginalised under threat to the publisher/broadcaster for alleged transgressions. For example Mark Steyn.
July 1, 2024
Starkey concludes āwe need a new restorationā, indeed we need the complete reverse of what the Tories have delivered for 14 years and Starmerās Labour will deliver for 5-20+ years if this is allowed. Let us hope and against hope we get a sensible government as soon as possible. Also see the excellent Lord Matt Ridley article in the Spectator Matt Ridley – Whoever you vote for, the Blob wins.
July 1, 2024
Once again I applaud you for sticking your head above the parapet where the media fear to go
I noticed yesterday watching the French elections that the UK media always referred to the National Rally Party as āfar rightā, all the other parties had no such label
July 1, 2024
Not even Eric Zemmour?
July 1, 2024
Did the media ever report; that for every coal/gas fired power station that weāve closed down in the past decade, weāve imported that same energy via the French interconnectors at a massively higher cost ā¦for that matter did any government/MP explain this policy and added bill costs
July 1, 2024
These dirty tricks are appalling but I think most people see through them. It may backfire on the media as people do not like blatant attacks on underdogs. The bias of our media has gone on too long. I havenāt watched Question Time for years as itās well known that they have plants in the audience who are there to stir up racial hatred. Just look at how they ended Lawrence Foxās acting career.
July 1, 2024
I’ll never forgive the BBC for the hatchet job on David Bellamy OBE
July 1, 2024
Nor me , good old David Bellamy he grasped reality very well for a botanist. Unlike some other BBC botanists, zoologists, biologistsā¦
The BBC have zero interest in the truth about climate alarmism, vaccines harms, real economics, the costs of vast open door low skilled immigration (see the appalling broken down by immigration status crime figures for France). The BBCās only interest is to kill and smother any honest discussions on these topics.
July 1, 2024
Iāll never forgive the BBC for keeping Churchill off the airwaves for 28 consecutive monthsā¦.
July 1, 2024
The media can not be trusted to report in an un-biased manner ; the BBC in particular has never taken a line exposing the inadequacies of the BoE and the role of other non-elected bodies . It is scandalous that we are obliged to pay their licence fee .
July 1, 2024
I actually think that the Conservative Government has been badly treated in Councils not being truthful about how much money they have received from Central Government to balance their books. It would be interesting to see how much has been given to Labour councils, especially Birmingham who are bankrupt but have still voted in a Labour Mayor who has little experience of politics from what he has said. Can’t see them improving unless the new government funds them.
The Bank of England should come back under Government control. Brown was wrong to give it independence as we have had a foreigner in charge who did very little that should have been done and now are left with Bailey who seems to have been useless. I could have told him 5 years ago to start increasing mortgage rates slowly as they were far too low. Now we have the consequences, or will have when we get the next lot in. Perhaps that is why Sunak wants rid?
Net Zero. What can any sane person say about this other than it should be dropped immediately. I cannot understand the mentality of people who know we have the means of keeping ourselves warm and free from foreign prices for energy but just ignore if and go stupidly ahead with closing everything down and ruining our car industry with trying to make people buy expensive electric vehicles whose safety has not been proven adequately in my view. And how do we deal with solar panels and batteries from the cars which we are told cannot be recycled safely. Then we have the wind farms splicing up all our returning birds and anything else that gets in the way. What a mess we have been brought to.
July 1, 2024
Media bias – especially that from the BBC – has badly damaged our society.
The most vulnerable people to this propaganda are those who easily absorb and retain information. For those who take up state education or consume a lot of BBC output, the radicalisation is particularly acute.
Happily, the majority of people are less affected but unfortunatrly many of those who are radicalised are people in influential positions.
July 1, 2024
Yes, the left thinks Laura Kuenssberg is a right-wing supporting fixer on the BBC. She doesn’t come across that way to me. So then she has to do “fiery clashes” with Rishi Sunak. Ms Kuenssberg asked: āSome people believe, including the Independent Climate Change Committee, that the UK has lost its status as a leader. Was it a mistake?ā
Mr Sunak replied: āNo, I fundamentally disagree. You said we lost our standing in the world. That is completely and utterly wrong.ā
āThat is not what I said,ā Ms Kuenssberg interrupted.
July 1, 2024
The UK’s soft power went up since Brexit according to Brand Finance (the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy) Global soft power index 2024. The UK is number 2 after the USA followed by 3. China, 4. Japan, 5 Germany, 6 France.
July 1, 2024
Now we know why C4 was not sold off.
July 1, 2024
That can’t be right, the tories promised to sell CH4
July 2, 2024
They also promised to review the BBC’s funding structure …… no change there either.
July 1, 2024
297 illegal economic /criminals arrived yesterday from the safe country of France
July 1, 2024
So Farage says Le Pen āwould be a disaster for Franceā – mind you he said the same of Trump! When Farage makes up his own words itās a disaster. Always.
But Macron has been just fine – low level warfare, āstrategic ambiguityā which sounds like cognitive dissonance to everyone else in the world – he has brought France to her knees.
If you are a democrat you accept the decision of your own electorate and you do not comment in the decision of Foreign electorates – especially when, as in France, the election is ongoing (what a horrible mess that electoral system is – is everyone who wants to ditch FPTP watching as the political class try to scupper the decision of the electorate halfway through the election? You want that here?
July 2, 2024
So when did Farage declare that Trump would be a disaster to the USA? He was at his side from the start.
And no PR would always prevent a popular party outside of the big two, ever gaining enough seats to make a difference. Is that fair? No matter, the old Blairite ideals are now shared by the main contenders, so it makes little difference who is elected under the FPTP system. We need true Conservative values not neo-socialist dreams.
July 1, 2024
Under cover reporting can now consist of mucho AI. Now how can that be policed?
July 2, 2024
Not sure it’s only “undercover” reporting that’s been selective. For a number of years now the MSM has failed to report anything that doesn’t suit their political aims. E.g. riots in France barely get mentioned, EU economy problems etc etc.
I have stopped reading what they produce since it does not give me an idea of what’s going on in the world. I get news on Ukraine from Ukrainian outlets and free Russian press sites. GB News is a decent source and Guido Fawkes, but it is increasingly difficult to find a news source that is not spinning its own narrative or its own purposes. Trouble ism, you have to be quite experienced to see that, so God help the youngsters who “believe everything they read in the papers” (at least, the “papers” they see, usually on social media these days).
I find Reuters increasingly poor since it is quite woke and has some biases, Al Jazeera tries to gain a reputation for being even-handed but I notice that when it comes to Arab/Muslim matters, they are very partisan. There has to be a better model for news., difficult to see what it might be though.
July 3, 2024
Your valid complaints boil down to the institutions long having been infiltrated.āCan that be fixed by top-down edict or a change in leadership?āI doubt it.āAt the shop-floor level, unflattering photos of disfavoured politicians will still be chosen, unlike the ‘blessed’ ones.āSome bodies should be scrapped, typically those which move ‘responsibility’ outside of Government to make it independent yet the Minister is still to blame and the Civil Service still has a parallel structure to ‘liaise’.āOther bodies can face competition, e.g. GB News and Times Radio, so the disenchanted public can shift away from the ‘consensus’ view; yet still face the licence-fee tax.
July 3, 2024
“The BBC and mainstream commercial media have been keen to fact check Brexit and Trump supporters. They are far less keen to fact check net zero campaigners or campaigners for more money for public administration and Councils.”
The first group is the government and the second group is not. And interesting that you think that the Tory tabloid press, which is far happier to fact check the second group than the first, is not “mainstream commercial media”.