Now had a quick look at the book, not much more than in the newspapers, see previous post.
The claims that Corbyn was "on holiday" etc have been countered many times ( though repeated by Polly Toynbee recently ) . Probably to be repeated depending on views of Corbyn.
But the Labour activity during referendum was more complex. Some of the people are assumed possibly to be supporters of a new deal if Johnson tries to get MP support. The newspapers offer some support, space for opinions etc. So surprising no comment so far I can find on what Cameron is missing.
Page 638 Stronger in " would beheaded by Labour (predominantly New Labour) figures such as Peter Mandelson and Jack Straw's son Will. because we knew victory would rest on Labour votes. But it would be steered by Conservatives.
Cannot find any other ref to Mandelson, his opinions on the campaign, during or since.
Page 671
Our cross partyclout relied mostly on Labour but they were AWOL. Corbyn .......criticised Georges "fear agenda" . The Remain campaign cleared whole daysfor Labour in advance, but often they would do nothing.
thing is, who was Cameron talking to? Who in the media knew what the plan was? the Observer reported a clearing in the media plan very close to the end as the polls seemed to move. But the Labour space turned out to be Gordon Brown, and also Lord Darling.
page 673
Looking back, I accept that this "punishment budget"did seem over the top
No mention of shared platform with Lord Darling. so far I have just checked the index and skipped through the pages. Maybe there is more somewhere else.
But so far seems missing in any sort of detail a reader might expect. Blame Labour much too simple.
Also Corbyn comes out as sensible when you think about it. Critique of "fear agenda" could have been considered. "punishment budget" now seen as a mistake. Corbyn spoke about worker rights, consumer protection, environmental standards.
Anyway, main question at the moment is will we find out any more from the reviews and comments, interviews even? The journalists must know something.
Friday 20 September 2019
Sunday 15 September 2019
Cameron story on Corbyn in referendum, needs a bit of development.
Extract from the Sunday Times-
"Our cross-party clout relied mostly on Labour, but it was Awol. Jeremy Corbyn delivered a handful of desultory speeches about remain and then went on holiday. Perhaps Corbyn wanted remain to lose."
Sunday times today , page 11 second column.
This is very misleading. Corbyn did not really control much of the Labour media scene. Referendum campaign was set up before he became leader. Lord Mandelson was very active. Straw had some contacts. Alan Johnson had an official role. Maybe there will be more on this in the book. But the para above is all I can find so far.
When in doubt blame Corbyn, But Cameron could consider how the Remain case would have gained if Corbyn arguments had been better reported. Worker rights, environment standards, appeal to a non Cameron audience but might have shifted the result.
In the discussion around the book worth asking again how the decisions were made as to who appeared on which show. Corbyn ended up on late night chat Channel 4. I thought effective in reaching a youth audience. 70% enthusiasm higher than came over from Cameron in his mode when negotiating with EU. Why did Channel 4 block Corbyn from uploading the complete clip to YouTube ? The myth that Corbyn was "on holiday" can only be claimed in the absence of such evidence.
Towards the end of the referendum Cameron noticed bad polls. The Observer reported that space was to be cleared on the media schedule for Labour to reach a wider audience. This turned out to be Gordon Brown and Lord Darling on a platform shared with George Osborne. Their joint presentation was described by Leave as a "punishment budget". Who decided on this approach who was somehow connected to Labour? I don't think it was Corbyn. "I am not a catastrophist" was a mild remark to show some reservation on most of the Remain case.
There may well be more in the book. But meanwhile clues welcome on what happened.
"Our cross-party clout relied mostly on Labour, but it was Awol. Jeremy Corbyn delivered a handful of desultory speeches about remain and then went on holiday. Perhaps Corbyn wanted remain to lose."
Sunday times today , page 11 second column.
This is very misleading. Corbyn did not really control much of the Labour media scene. Referendum campaign was set up before he became leader. Lord Mandelson was very active. Straw had some contacts. Alan Johnson had an official role. Maybe there will be more on this in the book. But the para above is all I can find so far.
When in doubt blame Corbyn, But Cameron could consider how the Remain case would have gained if Corbyn arguments had been better reported. Worker rights, environment standards, appeal to a non Cameron audience but might have shifted the result.
In the discussion around the book worth asking again how the decisions were made as to who appeared on which show. Corbyn ended up on late night chat Channel 4. I thought effective in reaching a youth audience. 70% enthusiasm higher than came over from Cameron in his mode when negotiating with EU. Why did Channel 4 block Corbyn from uploading the complete clip to YouTube ? The myth that Corbyn was "on holiday" can only be claimed in the absence of such evidence.
Towards the end of the referendum Cameron noticed bad polls. The Observer reported that space was to be cleared on the media schedule for Labour to reach a wider audience. This turned out to be Gordon Brown and Lord Darling on a platform shared with George Osborne. Their joint presentation was described by Leave as a "punishment budget". Who decided on this approach who was somehow connected to Labour? I don't think it was Corbyn. "I am not a catastrophist" was a mild remark to show some reservation on most of the Remain case.
There may well be more in the book. But meanwhile clues welcome on what happened.
Latest evidence of how Reach newspapers treat Corbyn
Following remarks by Lord Heseltine on how very rich people , happens to be men , control the newspapers - Mail, Sun, Telegraph - I have been thinking about the express and policy of Reach. This is getting to be a news event as intense debate inside Conservatives. Most election phases I guess Lord Heseltine has had fewer concerns with the papers. Reach bought Express to fill the press space left by declining sales. Probably not an option to buy much more but could happen, Will stock market be ok with an Express that moves more to a Brexit Party viewpoint? Maybe not an issue now but could be if City gets upset with NoDeal.
Anyway, look at today. Sunday Express page One -Britain Has Lost Faith In MPs - headline over most of it, thought to be thye main line from No10 at this time. Continues page 4 with Commentary from Arron Banks / Leave.eu and weekly wisdom from Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Sunday Mirror has got a story about Jeremy Corbyn, exclusive from Political Editor Nigel Nelson. But given the news value it is strange to my mind that this is at the bottom of page 11. It details plans for a referendum, election, and presentation to other parties. Top of the double pages are stories about new Cameron book and the LibDems. Then an opinion slot for Tony Blair, Former Labour Prime Minister - white type reversed out of red. There is a small photo of Corbyn and the word "Corbyn" same font size as Nigel Nelson but not in bold.
I heard about this Sunday Mirror story on the BBC Radio 4 news paper review. It was not mentioned on #Marr. ( They did cover Mirror story on Gareth Thomas ) but #Marr did mention Mail on Sunday story about Sir Keir Starmer plot to challenge Corbyn. Polly Toynbee questioned the credibility of this speculation. But you only have to look at the Mail page layout compared to the Mirror to realise why the #BBC would miss this Corbyn news.
The news is not only that Corbyn has a policy about the next few months and is ready to talk about it. Blair is supporting Corbyn to some extent. This is very different to what happened during the referendum. Lord Mandelson and some close to him had major influence on how Labour MPs and Lords spoke. Media contacts tended to report this rather than Corbyn. See previous posts on this blog. I will return to make this case. But for evidence just look at how the Mirror is presented, compared to Express.
To be fair some readers may prefer reporting to churned opinion. The Mirror is right to have reporters. Gareth Thomas story worth seeking out.
( next post comment on Cameron )
Anyway, look at today. Sunday Express page One -Britain Has Lost Faith In MPs - headline over most of it, thought to be thye main line from No10 at this time. Continues page 4 with Commentary from Arron Banks / Leave.eu and weekly wisdom from Jacob Rees-Mogg.
Sunday Mirror has got a story about Jeremy Corbyn, exclusive from Political Editor Nigel Nelson. But given the news value it is strange to my mind that this is at the bottom of page 11. It details plans for a referendum, election, and presentation to other parties. Top of the double pages are stories about new Cameron book and the LibDems. Then an opinion slot for Tony Blair, Former Labour Prime Minister - white type reversed out of red. There is a small photo of Corbyn and the word "Corbyn" same font size as Nigel Nelson but not in bold.
I heard about this Sunday Mirror story on the BBC Radio 4 news paper review. It was not mentioned on #Marr. ( They did cover Mirror story on Gareth Thomas ) but #Marr did mention Mail on Sunday story about Sir Keir Starmer plot to challenge Corbyn. Polly Toynbee questioned the credibility of this speculation. But you only have to look at the Mail page layout compared to the Mirror to realise why the #BBC would miss this Corbyn news.
The news is not only that Corbyn has a policy about the next few months and is ready to talk about it. Blair is supporting Corbyn to some extent. This is very different to what happened during the referendum. Lord Mandelson and some close to him had major influence on how Labour MPs and Lords spoke. Media contacts tended to report this rather than Corbyn. See previous posts on this blog. I will return to make this case. But for evidence just look at how the Mirror is presented, compared to Express.
To be fair some readers may prefer reporting to churned opinion. The Mirror is right to have reporters. Gareth Thomas story worth seeking out.
( next post comment on Cameron )
Tuesday 10 September 2019
Lord Heseltine moment for newspapers / Guardian
Just posted a clip of remarks on Sky by Lord Heseltine about ownership of newspapers.
Others have made similar claims but this is interesting as the papers may become an issue as such. Open to broadcast media to report newspapers as a story - what is the policy they promote, how long can print survive, do they have a means to go online??? Not much sign of this yet but others in the Remain camp may be ready to continue this line of investigation.
Yesterday Jane Martinson in the Guardian wrote about the Telegraph. Rumour that profits are low this year. My guess print sales for news will more or less vanish in 3 - 5 years. Just a guess but I do not notice much reporting on the possibilities.
The Guardian is also part of the move to opinion rather than reporting that Martinson identifies in the Telegraph. They find Labour policy on Brexit much too complicated to explain. The LibDems get most of the space with fairly simple slogans. My worry is that this appeals only to a minority of opinion. Gets votes for LibDems and maybe some newspaper sales in some areas. But not persuading anyone new. When there is a referendum or election around the issues there will be a need for Remain to persuade people who voted Leave. So the conversations inside Labour are worth some space.
Anyway my guess is there are now quite a lot of places the Guardian is no longer in stock for casual sales during the day. Is this a great concern? Possibly not but if they are just putting the price up till it fades away completely I think we should be told.
Meanwhile I find there is a small space on Twitter where I feel able to discuss things. Not exactly a bubble. Wide range of links can turn up.
Print newspapers now much more polarised than social media. Just my impression.
Others have made similar claims but this is interesting as the papers may become an issue as such. Open to broadcast media to report newspapers as a story - what is the policy they promote, how long can print survive, do they have a means to go online??? Not much sign of this yet but others in the Remain camp may be ready to continue this line of investigation.
Yesterday Jane Martinson in the Guardian wrote about the Telegraph. Rumour that profits are low this year. My guess print sales for news will more or less vanish in 3 - 5 years. Just a guess but I do not notice much reporting on the possibilities.
The Guardian is also part of the move to opinion rather than reporting that Martinson identifies in the Telegraph. They find Labour policy on Brexit much too complicated to explain. The LibDems get most of the space with fairly simple slogans. My worry is that this appeals only to a minority of opinion. Gets votes for LibDems and maybe some newspaper sales in some areas. But not persuading anyone new. When there is a referendum or election around the issues there will be a need for Remain to persuade people who voted Leave. So the conversations inside Labour are worth some space.
Anyway my guess is there are now quite a lot of places the Guardian is no longer in stock for casual sales during the day. Is this a great concern? Possibly not but if they are just putting the price up till it fades away completely I think we should be told.
Meanwhile I find there is a small space on Twitter where I feel able to discuss things. Not exactly a bubble. Wide range of links can turn up.
Print newspapers now much more polarised than social media. Just my impression.
Sunday 8 September 2019
Some papers now pushing no deal and maybe breaking law
Just notes as too late in the day. Major week for news so Sundays should have had a lot to say.
I did some tweets and made a joke guess the Observer would promote Ken Clarke as new leader for Labour. Turns out just a big interview with Clarke and a chicken photo for Corbyn. cannot find anything else but will check.
The main conclusion of this blog, a major factor is the media determination not to report Corbyn. there must have been something going on this week.
Mirror a bit more but most news about something else.
Mail / Times / Sun /Telegraph / Express all gone on People versus Parliament. This seems to be the new thing. So not much defence of Johnson point by point as in debate. Just aimed at Leave vote now ok with no deal. Seems quite dangerous as many Conservatives not happy.
But the newspapers are going with it. And telly follows along. Will it work? Newspapers have to survive somehow but the move to opinion cuts the value as news at some point. The Express has gone further towards Brexit Party. Can Reach allow this longterm? Could get more extreme. If there is a chaos exit who to blame then?
Media outside the UK much more sensible I think. CNN recent report on farmers in N Ireland. Prices dropping already. Cannot remember similar on BBC or ITV. Outside UK I guess reputation of UK media dropping.
Twitter just about has a space for Labour discussion. Hard to tell how this compares with actual opinion in UK.
I did some tweets and made a joke guess the Observer would promote Ken Clarke as new leader for Labour. Turns out just a big interview with Clarke and a chicken photo for Corbyn. cannot find anything else but will check.
The main conclusion of this blog, a major factor is the media determination not to report Corbyn. there must have been something going on this week.
Mirror a bit more but most news about something else.
Mail / Times / Sun /Telegraph / Express all gone on People versus Parliament. This seems to be the new thing. So not much defence of Johnson point by point as in debate. Just aimed at Leave vote now ok with no deal. Seems quite dangerous as many Conservatives not happy.
But the newspapers are going with it. And telly follows along. Will it work? Newspapers have to survive somehow but the move to opinion cuts the value as news at some point. The Express has gone further towards Brexit Party. Can Reach allow this longterm? Could get more extreme. If there is a chaos exit who to blame then?
Media outside the UK much more sensible I think. CNN recent report on farmers in N Ireland. Prices dropping already. Cannot remember similar on BBC or ITV. Outside UK I guess reputation of UK media dropping.
Twitter just about has a space for Labour discussion. Hard to tell how this compares with actual opinion in UK.
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