Plans for Nigel

 As expected, Reform UK has set out to exploit the Immigration issue. I thought that Reform would use this issue as a stick to beat the Tory government, and that has happened. Our old friend, Nigel Farage (NF), seen above in full rhetorical flight, has set out to put Rishi Sunak on the spot regarding this issue. The Express, which seems to have become a Reform UK propaganda sheet,  trumpeted the news on Tuesday: 

"Nigel Farage has challenged Rishi Sunak to a live TV debate on immigration. The Reform UK honorary president accused the Prime Minister of calling the surprise general election because he knows his Rwanda plan "simply would not work”. The former UKIP leader insisted that if Mr Sunak refuses to debate him it will "confirm the fact that Sunak can’t stop the boats"."

Well, there's nothing like having big ideas about yourself, is there? Remember that NF has never won an election to become an MP. We can only wonder at NF's effrontery in demanding a debate with our most senior politician. The other right-wing rag, The Sun, reported that Sunak's spokespeople said, in response to the "invitation":

" They told The Sun: "We respect Nigel but there’s only two people who can be Prime Minister at the end of this campaign, Rishi or Starmer, and that's who should be up on stage debating each other".

I would find it next to impossible to respect NF, but approve Sunak's refusal to debate with him. I was pleased to see that Keir Starmer has turned down the idea of a debate with NF as well. Holding such debates would only lend legitimacy to an unelected provocateur who has tried and failed seven times to be elected to parliament. He is not standing for Reform UK in the present election. In fact, he has previously said that he was tired of having doors slammed in his face when out canvassing. He is also on record as saying that he will never travel on public transport again, as he faces widespread hatred. As his campaigns for Brexit and against asylum seekers have led to hostility against EU migrants and refugees, he does not seem to appreciate the irony.

But I digress. Despite his impolite request for a debate with Sunak, and out of the goodness of his heart, he has hinted that he would, given certain provisos, be willing to work with the Conservatives. The Telegraph reports: 

"The honorary Reform UK president said he would be open to “a conversation” if the Conservatives gave him “something back” for the “huge favours” he had done over the years. There have been suggestions that Rishi Sunak should bring Mr Farage into the fold to prevent the Tories from haemorrhaging votes to Reform at the election".

Well, isn't that nice? NF was supposed to have been talking of going over to the USA to work for Donald Trump's campaign. Now, that would have been fun to watch.

 Instead, NF has made a conditional offer to the Conservatives. He believes that the Tories owe him a favour. Again: 

" He claimed to have helped the Conservatives on several occasions, having “got rid of” Theresa May with the launch of the Brexit Party and stood aside in hundreds of seats to pave the way for a Boris Johnson victory in 2019, adding: “What are they going to do back for me?”

It remains to be seen whether the Conservatives will accept NF's gracious offer of a "conversation". After all, as has been noted, the Tory Party has become more like UKIP over time and there are many in the Tory Party who admire Farage, as was seen at last year's Conservative party conference. 

Personally. I don't take these "initiatives" too seriously. Not only this, but I don't believe that Farage takes them too seriously, either. I believe that Farage was doing what he does best: promoting himself. He must know that the Conservatives are well aware that giving him status and credibility by debating with him would rebound on them. Instead, he will use the Tory/Starmer refusals as "evidence" that the  two main parties lack the will to stop unwanted immigration. Expect more on this theme from him and Reform UK - who have been surprisingly quiet about NF's approaches to the Conservative government. 

Hope not Hate, who have tangled in the courts with Farage, have produced a chapter on their website that asks the question "Who is Nigel Farage?". I recommend this as a resource for all of us who oppose, and seek to understand, the phenomenon that NF is. As Hope not Hate states:

"Farage has used racism, xenophobia, sexism and Islamophobia to stir up division, has toxic connections to extreme and far-right figures across the world, and Thatcherite beliefs that he has tried to hide from communities in former industrial towns".

 XTC were wrong - Nigel has plans of his own.

A July Election - Things Can Only Get Nasty

 Well, it's on. Rishi Sunak, giving a creditable impersonation of a drowned rat, has decided that US Independence day will be a good day for our next general election. We have six weeks before the election date of July 4th, and I am happy to contribute to the frenetic political discussions and media fuss that is to come. I make no apology for saying that I am looking forward to seeing the Conservatives lose - heavily.

There has been a good deal of speculation about why Sunak has decided to call an election now. The Guardian says: 

"The prime minister has been saying for some weeks that there was evidence that the economy was improving. In his speech outside No 10, Sunak said the government had “reached two major milestones” of reducing inflation and growing the economy faster than other G7 countries".

To me, this is astounding, as I'm sure it is for so many other people. I can only put Sunak's statement down to being born of desperation. Let's be honest: who would want the job of running the Conservative election campaign? As Keir Starmer said, quoted by Sky News: 

"Sir Keir pointed to sewage in rivers, people "waiting on trolleys in A&E", crime going "virtually unpunished" and mortgages and food prices "through the roof". On 4 July you have a choice, and together we can stop the chaos, we can turn the page, we can start to rebuild Britain and change our country," he said".

We can all identify with those issues mentioned and, to a large extent, I share Sir Keir's optimism - with reservations, which I shall mention later. But only an amnesiac could fail to remember what a series of disasters and scandals have been visited upon us by this Conservative administration. My list starts with the Brexit campaign, which led to massive social division and post-Brexit economic chaos. There was the imposition of Austerity Economics by George Osborne. The Guardian comments here:

 

"Gerard Lyons, economic adviser to Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London and now chief economic strategist at Net Wealth says: “The whole period after 2010 was one of major fiscal mistakes. Austerity was wrong and badly executed. The ability to borrow cheaply was staring at us as a huge opportunity but was never taken.”

Then there was the blow to the economy from Liz Truss and her cronies. Despite being our shortest-serving prime minister, her deeds lingered on. Politico commented: 

"Truss' £45 billion package of unfunded tax cuts — with the promise of more to come — instead sunk the pound, sent interest rates soaring, caused chaos on the bond markets and forced the Bank of England to prop up failing pension funds".

And - of course - we had the unedifying spectacle of a proven liar becoming PM - Boris Johnson, during whose tenure in office, British politics descended into the gutter. Have we forgotten? Among many other scandals, there was the unlawful prorogation of Parliament in September 2019; the channelling of public funds to Jennifer Arcuri in the same year;  the Downing Street flat refurbishment of April 2021: his fine for breaking lockdown laws  in April 2022. Matters were so bad that both Johnson's ethics advisers resigned in June of 2022. All ending in disgrace with the Chris Pincher scandal, here summarised by The Independent: 

"Chris Pincher MP dramatically resigned as deputy chief whip on 30 June following allegations he assaulted two fellow guests the evening before at the Carlton Club, a Tory private members’ club in London.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson was not aware of any “specific allegations” about Mr Pincher when he appointed him to the whips office. It emerged over the following days that he was told about allegations against him as far back as 2019".

Hopefully, this will refresh any failing memories of the Tory record over the past 14 years. I apologise if I have left out any scandals of significance. However, I think this explains why I personally would not like the job of Tory campaign manager.

Unfortunately, there is an option that the Conservatives have that, as they would see it, could pay electoral dividends and that option is scapegoating. During the Brexit referendum campaign, EU migrants were targeted as the enemies within . There is every possibility that the Conservatives will make an issue out of migration and refugees who cross the English Channel in small boats. I believe that they will be forced into this because Reform UK certainly will make an issue of this topic, and could capture Tory votes. This was exhibited today by Anne Widdecombe at the launch of Reform UK's manifesto. The BBC quotes Widdecombe:

"The former Tory minister turned Reform UK member said immigration is the "crucial issue" at the election. She pointed to the latest net migration figures, which stood at a provisional 685,000 in the year to December 2023. She said this this was "nowhere near the 200,000 that we had been previously promised. Widdecombe said that having once been immigration minister, "I know very well that immigration has a tremendous impact on the country. There is no such thing as an economic movement which doesn't impact right across the scale."

The Conservatives will not want to lose votes to Widdecombe, Tice and the others. They will undoubtedly try to prove themselves as the party that is tough on immigration and seek to demonise "foreigners" of any convenient target group, whether it be asylum seekers or foreign-born workers who have lived here for decades and can thus be scapegoated for taking British jobs. 

I hope I'm wrong, but, like I said, things can only get nasty. The Tories have no choice. We are in for a fraught six week electoral campaign.

Rishi Sunak looks a little shaky - he has good reason to feel that way.

GB News - Slapped on the Wrist

 

If, like me, you never watch GB News, you could be forgiven for paying no attention to the reports last month that GB News had been criticised by Ofcom for employing three Conservative MPs to act as newsreaders. To date, GB News has been found to have broken Ofcom rules no less than 11 times, with another eight investigations to be resolved. What has not been widely commented upon is the fact that GB News has not paid any significant or substantial penalty for its breaches. It is a mistake to ignore this, as GB News are unlikely to be deterred by mere written criticism.

To offset this, I refer the readers of this blog to the current issue of "Searchlight" magazine, in which can be found an excellent critique of the Ofcom verdict by Dorothy Byrne, who was head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4 for 17 years. Her article, to which I shall be referring, is online, is excellent and can be read in full by clicking HERE.  

Ms Byrne points out that, had  she presided over 11 breaches of Ofcom rules, she would have been sacked. Not only this, but 17 years ago, Channel 4 was fined £1.5 million for breaking the rules of a live TV phone-in. GB News, please note, has incurred no financial penalty.

Until I read this article, I had no idea how powerful Ofcom was. Byrne has enlightened me:

"The powers of the regulator are mighty. Ofcom revoked the licence to broadcast of the Iranian Government news channel Press TV in 2012 for flagrant breaches. Two years ago, it revoked Russia Today’s right to broadcast. Yet the regulator has taken no action whatsoever against GB News for 11 breaches other than a ticking off".

I do applaud Ofcom for ridding us of Press TV and RT. They are both deranged propaganda outlets for dictatorial regimes, but what is GB News but a propaganda outlet for the Farage wing of the Tory Party and assorted conspiracy "theorists"? Why is it getting off so lightly? The bias of its "news presenters" is astoundingly blatant. Byrne deserves to be quoted at length here:

"...the channel allowed former House of Commons Leader Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Secretary of State Esther McVey and backbencher Philip Davies – all Conservative MPs – to present news. Rees-Mogg talked about a verdict in one of Donald Trump’s court cases, McVey and Davies presented news about a number of matters including train strikes, the UK economy, an anti-Ulez protest rally and the doctors’ strike. These are all clearly matters of significant public policy and all controversial matters".

These are flagrant breaches of the impartiality rule of broadcasting. As the Ofcom ruling says: 

"Politicians have an inherently partial role in society and news content presented by them is likely to be viewed by audiences in light of that perceived bias. In our view, the use of politicians to present the news risks undermining the integrity and credibility of regulated broadcast news".’

The LibDems would certainly agree with that. Back in January, they asked Ofcom to investigate alleged bias in GB News' coverage of the Post Office scandal, including attacks on Sir Ed Davey. They claimed that Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage (hello again), both GB News "presenters", targeted opposition politicians, but not Tory ministers for their role in the scandal. The BBC says here: 

"Daisy Cooper, the Lib Dem deputy leader, wrote to Ofcom claiming Mr Farage launched "a fictitious monologue" about Sir Ed which contained "a number of factual inaccuracies" in his show on Tuesday.
"The Liberal Democrats were offered no right of reply. This therefore breaches both the accuracy and impartiality elements of the Ofcom code," Ms Cooper said".

Nor should we forget the Laurence Fox debacle, which was an utter disgrace in terms of broadcasting.

Dorothy Byrne asks (and surely speaks for all of us): Is Ofcom cowed by the Conservative government? A very apt question, to which we can add: how far does the Conservative government favour GB News? After all, in another breach of Ofcom impartiality rules, the husband and wife team of Tory MPs and GB news presenters, Philip Davies and Esther McVey, interviewed Jeremy Hunt about the Budget. As Dorothy Byrne comments here: 

"Common sense would tell you that two Tories interviewing a Tory was not likely to result in a duly impartial interview".

Indeed not, but to further attempt to answer my own question, it was interesting to learn that Rishi Sunak has appointed McVey to a ministerial post and has awarded Davies a knighthood since the rules were breached.

I conclude in the first part by quoting Dorothy Byrne again, as indeed I should. She rightly says:

"Television regulation is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. If this government wants to protect us against extremists who threaten democracy, it should be asking the regulator why it is being so weak about GB News breaking the rules".

For my part, I would like to quote Liz Truss's words to the Tory conference last year:

“In my view, we need more economic journalism and we need more GB News,” Ms Truss said. “Challenging the orthodoxy, broadcasting common sense and transforming our media landscape. So long may it continue."

In case you missed it, that is a warning to all of us who value democracy and free speech. Additional to the fact that GB News is regarded so favourably by Liz Truss and her ilk is the imminent arrival of Boris Johnson as a GB News presenter in the build-up to the next general election. Dorothy Byrne again:

 "Boris Johnson joins GB News in the run-up to the next General Election. We will then have Johnson, a known liar, as the most important presenter on a right-wing television channel which has flagrantly breached regulations that protect the fairness, accuracy and due impartiality of political coverage".

The warning could not be clearer. While, hopefully, most us will ignore GB News, there are many who won't. Let's hope Ofcom finds some courage - enough to deal with GB News and the other right-wing TV channels.