The Today programme had a look at the Freud affair this morning but there was an essential element missing….Wallace himself
.
John Humphrys at around 06:50 began by telling us what Freud had done ‘wrong’ and then we had a comedy sketch of Miliband ‘ambushing’ Cameron at PMQs.
This didn’t enlighten us at all and could, if that was the sum total of the Today programme’s coverage, be seen as feeding us Labour’s narrative as that was that, once the PMQ quotes were done with the ‘exploration’ ended and we moved on to Owen Paterson I believe.
There was no ‘Later we’ll be examining if Freud had a point.’ You could have finished up your cornflakes and left the house thinking what a bastard that Freud is, the Tories really are the nasty party….whilst on Newsnight Laura Kuenssberg admitted that ‘context was important’ and that ‘it might be a discussion worth having’ …and yet she kept defaulting to the position that Freud was wrong despite admitting that this attack was Labour ‘skulduggery’ and that the story fits well into Labour’s mantra of the nasty Tory party and was ‘perfect fodder for Ed Miliband’.…so where is Miliband on the BBC considering the controversial and incendiary nature of his claims?
Then at 07:12 on the Today programme we had another look and someone called Penny Pepper (also on Newsnight) told us that Freud’s words were symptomatic of this government’s attitude towards disabled people and the words were offensive and alarming. She asks how can you say one set of people are worth paying less than another? Hmmm…well..I don’t earn what Wayne Rooney earns….or what a brain surgeon earns….I am, surely, offended and alarmed by society’s discrimination towards me….surely, as Kirsty Wark points out on Newsnight, I am worth more to a business than the number of rivets I can productively insert in an hour! I am not just a number.
Remarkably Penny Pepper on Newsnight admits that there is already such a policy in place that employs disabled people for lower wages..but she dissembles and waffles on…clearly determined to be offended and alarmed.
We then heard Christian May from the Institute of Directors defend Freud and explain the issues as we’ve looked at before.
But the thing that is missing from all this discussion, considering that Labour’s attack is widely seen as a shameful exploitation of the issue and a deliberate misreading of what Freud said, is any challenge to Miliband and his narrative…whwere is Miliband?
When Guido (H/t Mark II and David) reveals that Freud’s thoughts were in fact a policy that Labour adopted and was supported by charities for the disabled (H/T Sir Arthur Strebe-Grebling) you may have reasonably have expected the BBC to drag in Miliband who is making so much political capital out of this, and challenge him on his claims.
The Spectator tells us that ‘This is a stain on Miliband’s character. ‘
Trouble is, it is only a stain if it is brought to light and the Public can view it for what it is.
So far the BBC has dodged actually questioning Miliband’s integrity and motivations for this opportunistic, highly political and underhand attack on Lord Freud which feeds so conveniently into Labour’s desire to paint the Tories as the ‘nasty party’ again….a poisonous narrative for the Tories which the BBC is allowing to fester by default in not tackling Miliband….which may be considered ironic in light of Nick Robinson’s headline….
Ed Miliband facing sustained glare of scrutiny
Well not so far.
I do note that the BBC is making a lot of noise about this, it being one of their top stories …..
First-time buyers will get priority, Labour promises
Curiously there is no link to the election and the thought that this is of course a Labour ‘vote catcher’ policy, more politics than substance. The BBC religiously makes such a link to any policy or budget announcement from Cameron or Osborne and have done so for the past year ensuring the audience get the idea that any such moves are merely political tricks for short term political gain, designed to win votes rather than for genuine economic or social needs.
The Independent has noticed the probable Labour motivation and says…[The Labour] Party denies policy is designed to look tougher on immigration and head off Ukip
The BBC’s report is one long Labour love-in.
On Daily Politics yesterday, Toenails (for once) was trying to show the context of the comment and was being largely neutral (although pandering a little to the Labour line) and Andrew Neil was also trying to be quite fair on it.
However, Tristram Posh-Boy Hunt was an utter and complete disgrace! He twisted the comment out of all meaning leading with the “Nasty Party” charge. Esther McVey however wouldn’t let him get away with it and twisted Milliband’s amnesiac conference speech into the Labour Party not caring about the deficit. Hunt really is a nasty piece of work and he ranks with Flint as the worst shits I’ve seen on DP.
It’s bloody annoying but utterly predictable. I am beginning to think that if the public are so gullible as to swallow this rank propaganda by the Labour party’s PR arm then quite frankly we deserve all the socialism we get.
‘reasonably have expected the BBC to drag in Miliband who is making so much political capital out of this, and challenge him on his claims’
I think the first word rather sets all context to what actually happened.
‘propaganda by the Labour party’s PR arm’
I’m still trying to get my head round the timings, especially significant delays, which it appeared the BBC were well aware of but happy to work with Labour upon to maximise impact.
Again though, what went down initially vs. what is oozing out is reflecting as badly on Labour’s PR arm again as their inept client.
Therein lies the problem my friend, a large percentage of English voters are utter morons, just look at the 11,000+ who still voted for labour in the recent Midd/Heywood election despite the Rochdale grooming scandal, despite the fact that compared to Rochdale Heywood and Midd are turning into dumps! You couldn’t make it up, these people are so thick that it defies belief, they still believe that the bedroom tax would be the end of the world even though if you ask them about it they have never met anyone affected by the ‘nasty’ tax??
Sadly I was at a meeting of voluntary groups yesterday and the majority of these ostensibly educated and informed folk have swallowed this distorted bile hook line and sinker.
And then of course Gameshow was at it again this morning.
Of course the BBC have only fed the audiences, on all of their platforms the package (recording) that Miliband’s people issued them with, so most people’s response would only be on the basis of what the evil Freud had said (including, no doubt, the Paralympic athlete, Bethy Woodward, whose condemnation, Five Live had been playing all morning).
This lack of context and awareness of the full transcript and intentions of Freud, was evident in the fact that all but a handful of callers to Gameshow missed the point. All except a couple of callers who wanted the opportunity for their severely disabled children to socialise and feel valued in a work setting, irrespective of pay…and one excellent caller who arrived from the real world and bemoaned the lack of thought and consideration given to the subject and inability of people to listen to the views of others…..He could have gone and bemoaned the lack of integrity on the part of Ed Miliband and the BBC.
BTW: Labour’s hypocrisy has been well documented here and that Newsnight might have mentioned this. When they get hold of Miliband the BBC might also ask him about Labour MP’s belittling the speech of Cerebral Palsy sufferer Tory MP Paul Maynard…and ask him about the Fabian’s ‘Final Solution’ for those disabled people that they considered a burden on society.
The BBC won’t of course.
“you may have reasonably have expected the BBC to drag in Miliband who is making so much political capital out of this, and challenge him on his claims.”
Could you please explain how on earth the BBC is supposed to ‘drag in’ the leader of the opposition when he obviously doesn’t want to be?
He’s playing a game of light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance, and it’s probably the right strategy.
We all know Millipede is a crap leader, and to be honest he’s also probably been told ” better to keep quiet and left people think you’re a fool than open your mouth and confirm it!”
“We invited Mr Milliband onto the show to express his views, but he declined to be interviewed. Nor would any member of the Shadow Cabinet”
Of course, Auntie would never ambush a Labour leader like that
Points taken, but a powerful person has questions to answer and needs holding to account. Heads of all BBC news departments have forged careers on intoning this.
The BBC is not incapable of allowing the public to grasp their role and and apparent reluctance to explain it.
If they so choose.
The Minimum Wage is the problem not Lord Freud.
It was thought that a Minimum Wage enshrined in law would ensure that employers do not exploit those with few skills or abilities and it would give them a living wage. That was as far as the thinking went however.
The Minimum Wage is in fact just a throw away offering to the politically correct Labour Party dumb nuts. It has completely the opposite effect than the one intended.
What happens is that the Minimum Wage is the benchmark for employers to get away with paying only the MINIMUM. Once in place it is virtually impossible to get employers to pay any more than the Minimum Wage. This is good for employers as their prices are adjusted to suit the new minimum and they then have stability of wages.
Bear in mind that if employers colluded to do this with the prices of the goods they sell they would be in trouble with the law for price fixing. So, the government has created a price fixing law that has if fact set wages at a MAXIMUM for those at the bottom of the wage hierarchy.
As for the thinking that disabled people should perhaps be allowed to accept less than the Minimum Wage in order? It is against the law. Employers do not then give the disabled a chance. Maybe they should but try letting a disabled person go if it doesn’t work out. It is very difficult and all hell is let loose by the politically correct Labour Party dumb nuts.
What is better for a disabled person £50 per week Disability Living Allowance and staying at home, shut in their room alone feeling worthless and very depressed. Or perhaps a light job to suit their abilities at say £4.00 per hour for 25 hours a week. That’s £100 per week, TWICE AS MUCH!
Also they are meeting people, getting out of the house and feeling worthwhile and the employer is happy as he is also benefiting from the arrangement. And who knows what may happen when if arrangement succeeds. The employee is worth paying more.
If it doesn’t work out then benefits should start again IMMEDIATELY, which of course they do not at the moment. That is once again a restriction that dissuades the disabled or unemployed for taking a job unless they are certain it will work out. Stupid or what?
Anyway, ask a disabled person or ask a potential employer what they think.
The problem with this is that the despicable Esther McVey said the disabled would not have their wages made up with any benefits and would be expected to live on £2 an hour if they earned that (£80pw), explaining that additional costs would need to be met by helpers on the job.
When did she say that? She clearly, and repeatedly, said the opposite on Daily Politics yesterday.
Sorry Demon I was trying as you were posting
When did she say that?
Yesterday, on the DP she was quite clear that disabled employees would be paid no less than the minimum wage.
Referring to Freud’s ‘thoughts out of the box’, she was equally clear; ‘Categorically, on – the – record, that is not our policy’. Those were the words she used.
Keep it up Thoughtful, Dez will be along soon to offer you a job up in Salford. The BBC might think that you show promise.
She said it on the PM program on radio 4 yesterday evening soon after the story broke, and before the spin doctors had had a chance to make sure everyone was ‘on message’.
Where on this programme?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04l10jp
The only contribution that I can find from McVeigh is a recording from the DP Programme, re-iterating that Freud’s comment were not Government policy
The BBC can no longer claim that the content of its news programmes are unbiased and impartial. This whole exercise is nothing more than an attempt to bury bad news for the Labour Party i.e. the recent fall in unemployment below 2 million. Radio Five Live was engaged in a similar exercise this morning, when its nine o’ clock debate, hosted by Nicky “Gameshow” Campbell, dealt with the same isssue. That channel made little reference to the fall in unemployment in its news coverage. The organisation is now nothing more than the media arm of the Labour Party. When will the “great” British public wake up to this fact. If a sufficiently large number of people refused to pay their licence fee, then the BBC would have to reform itself.
All blatantly the case, and the Conservatives will not use it ! What sort of idiots direct their campaigning ? They will just let the BBC continue to support Labour and deceive the electorate.
http://order-order.com/2014/10/16/charity-condemning-freud-packed-with-labour-supporters/
BBC Show Producer Guest lists sorted for a few days, then.
As a commenter says:
‘I’d trust ISIL to ensure my well being before I’d let a Labour front charity look out for me.’
Doesn’t seem to trouble the BBC vox pop bookers or those super-smart, well-researched show hosts too often.
Did anyone seriously expect anything other than that the BBC would start to pull out all the stops to try and get Labour elected? Stand by for 6 months of brazen boosting of Labour and muck raking for anything that can damage the Tories. Also ,we will know how seriously Labour fear UKIP by the ferocity of the attacks on them by the BBC.
It is all so predictable.
It does seem possible that the Tories with the DUP and UKIP could have a majority after the election. If so I hope that they have on their list of agreed top priorities dealing once and for all with the BBC. All three of these parties have good reason to want to deal with the BBC bias against them. They should realise how damaging the BBC is to British democracy and make sure that, if they have the chance, they break the BBC up, preferably into tiny little pieces that can never be reconstituted by the left. There is no point messing about with reform because, firstly, the BBC is way beyond reform and, secondly, it would just slip back into its leftist agenda at the first opportunity. No the only answer is to abolish it and make sure it can never be put back together again.
Every effing report I’ve been subjected to has been banging on about this for the last two days. I’ve been away so didn’t pick up the initial story and so can only go on what the BBC and Sky (equally as biased) are sending out via their indoctrination signals; never mind unemployment falling and the economy gaining strength, the lefty media get hung up on some Tory pillock saying a silly comment. And they take the comment out of context. I’m sick to death of the BBC amounting to a broadcasting arm of Liebour. The corporation is saturated with gays, feminists, Muslims and ethnic minorities, and this translates into a totally imbalanced institution whose main interest is to do all it can to damage the Tories. Disgraceful that we have to fund such left-wing drivel.
was not lord freud a former minister in blairs goverment who jumped ship, but the nightmare scenario is that as bad as ed milliband is the labour party are predicted according to the polls to have a overrall majority at the next election,i cant stand cameron and his liberal conservatism,but better the devil you know i say,but the thought of being ruled by millband and his lunatics might just be a bit to much to take,
Smash it to pieces! No I say we privatise it (like Sid in BT) and each BBC TV License holder gets a ‘stakeholder’ shares worth £145 and that multiplied by the number of license holders should, equal £4.8 Billion precisely. We simply sell the BBC to the ‘desperate’ Labour party who are entitled to a 97% stake (by way of a compulsory Charter and the £145 ‘dividend’ is payable each year back to each shareholder who still holds a TV license (which is now free). The BBC either reforms itself or goes bankrupt. Simple!
Isn’t ‘Local people to have first crack at new homes’ racist?
I’m sure red Ed is referring to recent local people. Its a great plan to concrete over the South East to build homes for people who didnt even live in the UK 10 years ago. He will also boost bloated NHS staffing through even more immigration. He knows where his votes are coming from.
Get used to the dirty tricks, QT will be on over drive later, no doubt starting with how the tories poke disabled people with shitty sticks and let the tyres down on their wheel chairs, all witnessed by an ‘impartial’ audience of course, the beeb wouldn’t have it any other way.
The Labour vermin have drawn the line early in their quest to carry on destroying the UK, they will lie, lie and lie again, they will promise you everything that UKIP or the tories can on immigration, they will fix the deficit even though milipede can’t even say the word, they will deny ever knowing anything about grooming, they will be the only party to save the NHS, of course, maybe even without killing anyone this time, etc,etc! All ably supported by the bbc.
The only problem is that the have got milipede fronting it up, anybody who is convinced by him has had a lobotomy.
Yes.
Awfully sorry Milliband wasn’t around to get on his favourite propaganda broadcaster to stick the boot into Freud today but he was here in Milton Keynes touring some new build social housing estate for all the new immigrant labour voters he plans on importing when he gets the keys to no 10.
Photos of his walkabout were posted on a local radio stations Facebook page. You know all those photos doing the rounds of Kim Jong Un pointing at things? Well that’s exactly what all the photos of Milliband wandering about today look like.
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