The Tories and their media allies are still – in spite of absolutely unequivocal evidence to the contrary – pushing the lie that Corbyn and Labour are ‘rowing back’ on a supposed ‘election promise’ to cancel all student debts.
Some rags are screaming about Corbyn’s ‘humiliation’ over student debt, but in fact are only humiliating themselves in their desperation. Other outlets are simply talking of it as if it’s fact — often without anyone present to put them right, although bravo to Labour front-bencher Sarah Champion for calling out BBC host John Pienaar when he did it, for the second week in a row, on his latest Sunday morning politics show on Radio 5 Live:
John, you’re better than that. You know that that wasn’t a promise.
Clearly he’s not better than that – but he’s just one of a host of TV presenters, politics pundits and others supporting a Tory lie that is as shameful as it is transparent. But journalist Paul Mason thinks he knows one reason why the media might be so eager to play along:
Robbie Gibb was the editor of the BBC’s Sunday Politics and Daily Politics programmes until he rejoined the Tories as Theresa May’s head of communications this month.
The Tories are attempting to justify their lie based on a single interview Corbyn gave to NME, fixing on ‘I’ll deal with it’ as if it’s a manifesto promise. The party issued a press release using that interview as the sole justification for their claim.
But the Independent‘s political correspondent Jon Stone spotted the deliberately-misleading way they had edited their quote from that interview:
The Tories are really scraping some barrel-bottoms – but all they’ve ended up doing is betraying their own terror of Corbyn’s Labour, which now stands far enough them in most polls to win an outright majority if another election were called.
That and their absolute bankruptcy of ideas, with its resulting desperation to cling to any straw, no matter how thin, frayed and faeces-covered, to try to smear their opponent in the minds of the electorate. If they had anything better, they’d be using it. They haven’t, so they’re reduced to this embarrassing nonsense.
But as Mason points out above, we have a thing called the Internet now, to put people right about such deliberate, mainstream fake news and even to allow them to ignore its originators. So let’s use it and get the word out.
Postscript: Mr Gibb now works for the Tory government, which has the inconvenience of being subject to the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act – and of not being able to hide behind the ‘purposes of journalism’ exemption the BBC can misuse to avoid revealing its own discussions of what to (mis)represent and how.
So SKWAWKBOX editor Steve Walker has submitted two FOI requests to the Cabinet Office – this one:
and a corresponding request for all correspondence specifically concerning Corbyn and student debt since 1 June, the date the NME interview was published.
The government has four weeks to respond. Watch this space for updates.
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You would think the discredited MSM would have learned its lesson after Iraq, after Libya, after Yemen and after GE2017.
But no, true to form it insists on doubling down on its fake news, pro-war, pro-neoliberalism agenda.
Orthodoxies rarely die quietly, its zealots fight until their dying breath rather than accept they were wrong.
But judging by May’s tanking ratings and Jeremy’s constantly increasing numbers the public has had enough of their propaganda and are wise to the media’s obvious attempts to inculcate working people to act against their own interests.
That FOI request is interesting. As I’m sure our civil servants will read the request literally, they are required to supply e-mails etc sent by Mr Gibb to himself, and e-mails sent by the government to Mr Gibb.
(The crucial words sent by Mr Gibb to xxx are missing.)
IMHO to all the good folks who are responding to G .Hindson you , I fear , are wasting your time and playing his game . His only intention and purpose is to cover the actions of his Govt paymasters by appearing reasonable on the surface but below is an all out Tory Troll who is as unpleasant as they come .Visit some of the articles surrounding Grenfell tower fire and note his ducking and diving to straight questions and utter lack of sensitivity and compassion , and then note here again on this topic the same pattern of comment .
His reason is to undermine this blog ,make you think it is unworthy of belief and to question its writers honesty. Whilst providing a blanket of cover for the actions of the establishment and his Govt who he defends every time very subtly . There is a very clear pattern of action that he masquerades as ” debate” but successfully in some cases “pushes all the right buttons ” ,that wind up ( me included but no more ) honest decent people with a moral conscience , something he clearly has none of .
No doubt he will respond to this in his usual whining way playing the injured sole who only wants debate , when in fact he wants to shut down and destroy any alternative narrative to the one his puppet masters want you to hear.
I leave you to make the judgement and intend no insult to any who have genuinely tried to engage in meaningful debate with this Troll
I see he is now trying the same tricks over on the Canary pse warn others of this trolls intent .
The evil empire strikes back – the 1% are up to their usual tricks. Fake news abounds on BBC Radio News/Current Affairs programmes right now along with disgusting smears on the “comedy” show “Dead Ringers”.
I do so like your reports and articles
Here’s what’s really going on this is just part of the planets ‘Owners’ plans for us Noam Chomsky tells it how it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIxGFXhYnWM
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Why does anyone imagine that Jeremy Corbyn can do anything to alleviate student debt at this present time? The Conservative Party are in Government and they make Government policy. Until the Tories can be ousted, and the Labour Party elected in their place, there is absolutely nothing that Mr. Corbyn can do to change the present policy on student debt or anything else. We need to get the Tories out of office and a Labour Government elected in their place. Then things will begin to change for the better, and this long misery we have been forced to endure by the Tory Government will be over at last.