Jeremy Corbyn and his team are often attacked for a supposed ‘failure’ to communicate. It’s one of the chief lines of attack by right-wing Labour figures, along with the pundits and media that support them.
But is it really a failure – or a blackout?
Yesterday morning, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell issued a press release outlined enormous tax-cuts for the wealthy that came into force on Saturday. Here’s what it says:
If it looks unfamiliar, there’s a reason for that.
£20 billion in tax cuts by 2022. Two billion pounds just next year to major corporations. All while cutting benefits massively to working people struggling to make ends meet – the so-called ‘JAMS’ (just about managing) that Theresa May talked about when she moved into Downing Street – and promptly forgot.
The tax paid by huge corporations is of massive public interest. The money in our pockets is of huge public interest.
Surely the newspapers would mention it. Ok, you might expect no better from the Mail, Express, Telegraph etc. But some.
The Independent chose to run a huge splash on Labour’s supposed troubles:
The tax cuts don’t even make one of the small panels.
The Guardian? Nope:
.
So-called ‘Labour’ newspaper, the Daily Mirror? No:
And so it goes.
What’s more relevant to the everyday lives of the vast majority of people in this country – speculation about Labour’s electoral prospects or cuts to the income of millions in order to fund huge tax cuts to a few rich people and companies?
As McDonnell said, the priorities of Theresa May and her party are made clear by the tax cuts and benefit cuts.
And the priorities of the media are equally clear today in their decision to hide what’s actually important and focus on what’s not – to black out Labour’s message and either ignore it altogether or replace it with anything, anything negative they can come up with.
And then blame Corbyn and his team for their ‘failure’ to get their message across.
It’s clearer than ever that the media are in concert when it comes to the narrative they want to convey about Labour – and to hell with facts and truth.
It’s up to us – and we have to find the ways to bypass them.
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What annoys me is we have 24 hour news coverage. Why isnt he putting himself in front of a camera. Newsnight, C4news, Sky etc. Why isnt there a promotional tweet/FB being posted by JC morning and night. Its not the 80s where you need a print media to take your story to the public. Its a shocking media stratergy and its one of my real hang ups about JC.
He is the media are blocking his message at every turn, there is something rotten to the core on this country, that wants to keep the Tories in power. Instead of bemoaning lack of media coverage, you could do your own research.
Unless you are happy to see the distruction of the weak and vulnerable in our society. The choice is yours.
Much as I love this publication. The Daily Mirror, Victoria Derbyshire report was well-timed for me, as I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer last Tuesday and am going back to the hospital today to start my treatment, which includes Chemotherapy.
My hair is a big part of being me because I have allowed my wild hippy hair to remain the same since the 1960s, in spite of remarks from insolent people telling me that it was ‘time to do something about my hair.
It is an indisputable fact that the media and a large percentage of the PLP will not report or promote the policies of the Labour Party.
There is a good reason for that. Under Mr Corbyn’s leadership, the Labour Party has the best policy platform offer ever made to the public of the UK and they simply do not want the word to get out because they know it is an excellent platform, an election winning platform that would disrupt the status quo.
The Labour Party offer is simple. Labour offers a strategic plan to upgrade the UK’s infrastructure and to provide the tuition and training for highly skilled and well educated people to earn decent wages working within that infrastructure.
This is the only way we will be able to compete in the modern world.
In addition, Labour will adequately invest in the NHS to prevent the 30,000 avoidable deaths each year which result from the Conservative Party intentionally underfunding the service.
Labour will also build a million new homes in its first term, increase security of tenure and has guaranteed to abolish homelessness in its first term.
We will have to accept that the media doesn’t not want this information to be widely circulated.
We will have to accept that we can only rely on our own efforts to get this platform out to the public.
We will all need to prepare ourselves for the long campaign. The next General Election will be won in the next 18 months.
The campaign starts now.
The Guardian did run a story on Saturday about the tax cuts benefitting the rich and making the poor poorer. I don’t know about the other papers. It would indicate that this press release should have been made on Friday or earlier for publication on Saturday – so it does rather indicate that Labour needs to get its timing better.
I was told back in 2015 by an assistant in John McDonnell’s House of Commons office that they had real difficulties getting anything through the Labour press office and out to national media. It was almost impossible to get positive news out. Seems the press office is still run by Blairites.
Also have you noticed how that just as the Local elections come up… up pop’s Blair to slag off Labour and Corbyn as having been taken over by “the hard left”… its almost as if he knows how damaging he is for Labour now a days and that this is a concerted effort to damage Labour in the Local elections. He, and Meddleson et.al, did exactly the same thing when Stoke and Copeland was coming up by rising from the crypt and putting their ore in. Now they have started on repeating the “labour set to lose upto 150 seats – says an insider” story they did just before the other set of locals. Its almost as if they want Labour to lose by creating a self fulfilling prophecy – basta*ds!
I have stopped buying any papers who are part and parcel of the Tory Media to stone wall Labour every chance they get.
People who can’t see what is going on must be the right-leaning sympathisers in the Labour Party who just don’t care if the party falls! Their interference since our leader Jeremy won two elections for the leadership and the loss of two elections which was down to their politics of the right, not Jeremy Corbin who brought more members in with his left leaning policies and idealism!
As for the Tory polls that are mentioned on a daily basis to discredit the Left in the Party and Jeremy, are fiction and those who believe in them who are the same people above, plus those who are easily lead!
Follow us on the right and spread the lying word about the left in Labour or in general!
Reblogged this on Declaration Of Opinion.
Regretfully Labour may lose seats, some of which will be down to so called Labour Councillors.
As an example I have friends in Durham (should be safe) who are involved in the long running TA dispute. Although Labour voters they are going to abstain as are many families of the TA’s and parents.
I believe the same may be true of Derbyshire.
It seems that some Labour members on becoming Councillors treat theplaces they represent their own personal empire.
I thought the Durham dispute at least had been resolved now?
Hi Skwawkbox
I got a message saying you liked my comment and did I like Skwawkbox too. Well – since a fellow Labour and Momentum member introduced me to your site, I have been reading all your posts – great stuff. Keep it up!
The Council withdrew the threat for now but the dispute is not settled. There is a call for the Labour Councillors to be replaced according to the Durham Teaching Assistants Facebook page.
Marches and protests continue
Reblogged this on MAL's MURMURINGS.