The Murdoch-owned Times yesterday published an article indicating that a number of worn-out ‘moderates’ may be planning a mass resignation in the misguided belief that their replacement by a more envisioned candidate aligned with the Labour vision that inspired 13 million voters (and rising rapidly, according to the latest polls) to support it.
However, in spite of claiming that the potential group of quitters consisted primarily of older MPs who had been considering retirement before Theresa May called a snap General Election, the paper opted for a picture of Wavertree MP Luciana Berger, who is distinctly not near-retirement age and has no intention of stepping down.
Presumably the Times was hoping to tie its article in readers’ minds to the manufactured controversy of the election of a mostly left ‘slate’ of candidates to the executive of Ms Berger’s local Labour party last week. Here are snapshots of their article header and their tweet publicising it:
Ms B was not at all impressed and tweeted to The Times to get her face off their article. Which they did.
The tweet was removed:
And this is how the Times article now looks:
What Tristram Hunt thinks about his image being used is not currently known.
Bravo Ms Berger. Her view of Labour politics and that of this blog may not be entirely aligned, but a win against the Murdoch press by a Labour MP is always to be welcomed and applauded.
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Skwaky, berger mightn’t be going anywhere – but I very much doubt there’ll be ANY of them willing to give up their cushy westminster numbers ‘for the good of the party’ (as they see it).
I had a look at the marginals last night – And going off what that times article reckons, I couldn’t really discern who they were alluding to. Maybe that joan ryan & john woodcock (And he’s only been an MP since 2010, so hardly a ‘veteran’), but that was it.
Frank Field won’t be happy. He’s held Mr Murdoch and his S*n rag in high regard in the past, even to the extent of joining forces to “tackle poverty”.
That’s Birkenhead for you, Paul.
If field WAS one of those thinking to spew the party & run as an independent, they’d probly still elect him. 🙁
By the way – What do the times mean by ‘moderate’ ?
Nothing that would be defined in a dictionary
With or without swearing? 🙂
WHAT WAS HUNT DOING WHEN HE SIGNED UP TO BE A LABOUR CANDIDATE?
OR WAS HE PLANTED!
THE LATTER I PRESUME!
MUCH LIKE ALL THE SO CALLED MODERATES?
INFILTRATORS?