Newsnight presenter Maitlis has often taken anti-Labour stance but has scale of crisis forced a re-think?
BBC presenter Emily Maitlis has often been accused of a dismissive, ‘eye-rolling’ response to left-wing policies and viewpoints. But a short segment on last night’s Newsnight programme has people wondering whether she has had a ‘road to Damascus’ moment.
Maitlis flagged what was to come by deriding the Tories’ language of ‘fortitude and strength of character’ as a factor in surviving COVID-19 – has she lost someone to the virus?
She then went on to attack the idea that the pandemic affects rich and poor alike, listing low-paid front-line workers and the far greater risk they face – and pointed out that ‘lock-down’ is far harder for poor people.
And she even went as far as to call inequality ‘stark’ and to raise the need for a new ‘social settlement’ to prevent it becoming even worse:
If Emily Maitlis is calling for change in such terms, then the situation must be dire indeed.
And if her awakening – if that’s what it is – spreads around the BBC, the Tories might just be held to account for their abysmal handling of the crisis and their weakening of our society’s structures that has made us so vulnerable.
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Highly optimistic S’box! Pigs will fly first. I notice she’s back to making urgent notes when she’s interviewing people, like a demented policeman making a contemporaneous note of a confession. It’s usually a number that sets her off and often a number everyone already knows.
She’s quite incapable of analysis. She rushes forward with unqualified highly contentious ideas as though they are indisputable facts. She epitomises modern media superficiality.
One of the questions we should be asking is:
If we had PR in our voting instead of the pathetic FPTP system, would this atrocity never have happened?
Because atrocity it is, given that the UK government knew back in 2016, it now transpires, that we had insufficient ventilators, beds and staff. They also knew that a pandemic was and still is the biggest risk flagged up by scientists repeatedly.
Remember that the biggest minority voted for this malicious self-serving government, and those before it. With a house elected on PR principles, alongside a ban on corporate lobbyists, would it have been harder for any government to butcher the NHS as was done from 2010-2019?
I’m not saying it’s the answer, or even part of the answer, but it should be part of the debate.
Starmer’s new policy indeed……Gov’t decided on 2nd or 3rd choices & taking the ‘New’ ‘New Labour Party’ even closer to the Lib Dems. Corbynista dead & buried.
”And if her awakening – if that’s what it is – spreads around the BBC, the Tories might just be held to account for their abysmal handling of the crisis and their weakening of our society’s structures that has made us so vulnerable.”
Her ‘awakening’ will last as long as a toerag promise.
More chance of them being held to account (for anything) as there is any of them losing money out of this pandemic’s effect on the economy.
The BBC can now relax because Keir Starmer is running the Labour Party. That’s where the change comes from, no threat to the Tories and as always 5 years away from the election the BBC can afford to regain some credibility. Leopards can never change their spots, what now needs highlighting is complete change in attitudes towards the capitalist media, and how we should democratise it.
Yep, while starmer’s there, the bbc will ‘hedge their bets’ and be a bit more scrupulous and critical of the toerag govt.
After all, they’ll only be getting ‘more of the same’ from either slimeball’s labour or the toerags.
agree entirely rotz , the establishment now has it’s pet poodle Starmer in charge and thus the BBC has it’s kid gloves on again , but woe betide him if per chance he steps out of line !
they can now pretend to be interested in poor people
That’s it – maitlis’ awakening’s ended in the time it took between my two posts..
And the rest of the bbc immediately self-isolated while maitlis had her ‘damascene moment’
” But a short segment on last night’s Newsnight programme has people wondering whether she has had a ‘road to Damascus’ moment.”
I very much doubt it… there will be an agenda especially if she continues making such comments. I am cynical enough to ponder if it could even be a BBC nod to ‘balance’ and ‘holding Gov to account’. It can be referred to in future if needed.
British establishment foreign policy road to Damascus is inflicting bombs, sanctions, disgusting war propaganda and armed terror and mercenary hordes on Syria. Oh yes, to ‘save the people’ from the “evil regime”.
Where did that saying originate?
Maitlis did her damage, as did all of the BBC mouthpieces, to make sure Corbyn wasn’t elected. She can now let up a little to give the gullible the impression she is not a shill for the BBC and can muster an independent thought when she knows there will be no serious come back on her.
Oh yes, this is the non partisan Emily Maitlis who annouced the Tory election victory grinning from ear to ear. So obvious who she voted for. Can you imagine her grinning if she had to announce a Labour Corbyn victory?
Of course she voted Tory , she is earning megabucks compared to the ordinary worker , so is not even in the same universe , never mind the same planet .
A time comes when you have to loosen your vicious, venomous, ideological bite on the hand that feeds you or you might not be as lavishly fed in the way you have become accustomed to.
You don’t get to be that high in the liberal media hierarchy unless someone has asked the question: “Are you, or have you ever been…?” and found the answer to be no.
Today’s Starmerite/neoliberal house rag or the Guardian as it prefers to be called has a plug for Donovan for those of you can remember the days when BBCTV thought that Val Doonican, Andy Stewart and the Black & White Minstrels were mainstream music and Rolf Harris and Jimmy Saville were suitable entertainment for kids.
The piece is headlined: “Can you believe, the Beatles and I were paying 96% tax?”
I found Donovan nauseating even when I was a kid: clearly the intervening years have only made him more obnoxious. Here, after waffling through his life via Buddhism, astrology and bullshit, all the while demonstrating his narcissism remains undiminished, he gives the game away: “…can you believe that in 1969 the government were taxing the Beatles and I and others 96%?…But still, we were rich.”
So he moves abroad.
“As long as I didn’t put my foot on UK soil, I didn’t have to pay any income tax. It wasn’t the money, it was the principle.”
I beg you, please don’t read this article – and if you must, have a sick-bag handy.
Surely if you are paying 96% tax and still you are rich, everything is as it should be and you are paying your fair share according to your means. The new normal will have to include tax rates for the super-rich similar to that of 1969.
I wont be reading it and even if I had come across the heading I would guessed it entailed a propaganda plea to not tax the super wealthy.
Things are different now… tax havens,tax avoidance/reducing advice, ‘non profit’ systems such as foundations and other ways to hide your wealth have been lovingly constructed by the super wealthy, banksters and financial and legal classes though covert changes and lobbying to make and change laws to suit their agenda.
Prof. Michael Hudson is good on this subject.
I have been searching for a podcast on Philanthro-Capitalism for a couple of days and finally found it. It was my first introduction into how the uper wealthy, Plutocrats and Oligarchs use their huge wealth to influence Gov and global policies through foundations and ‘charity’ status enterprises and arms of mega corps, banks etc. It’s from 2017.
https://www.democracyatwork.info/leftout_philanthro_capitalism
Whatever your feelings about modern philanthropists campaigns I think we should be resisting the influence of individual and small cliques of unelected ideologues having such far reaching influence on fundamental and important aspects of our lives.
Why single out Donovan?
I knew him way back when & have been amazed at how ‘drugs’ have turned him into a space cadet. Donovan has little or no memory of the past & has problems focusing on anything; but why pick on him?
P.S. My gran liked Val Doonican & The Black & White Minstrels, but more importantly, why do you read the Guardian?
It’s damage control. Unlikely that her circle has been financially affected by this, so this is the beginning of neutering the plebs anguish.
Something like 16 million unemployed in the last three weeks in the US. It’s not quite so mercenary here, but it will come.
Police are protecting supermarkets in Southern Italy, because people are stealing on account of having no money.
The chancellor has already said that he cannot save everyone…(you’ll note that the big corporations are not subjected to fears of fraud with their money…)
It’s going to get tough for many of us. Stay safe.
Excellent. Just the type of comment that we should expect from our National Broadcaster.
The difference in opinion springs from the fact that Keir Starmer is now leader of the opposition. He is another establishment safe pair of hands.
Please…..heed Keir’s call for unity in the Labour Party! You do realise that Dan Carden can represent Socialists & Jess Phillips can stab anyone who disagrees in the front. What a shadow cabinet!!! All boxes ticked & quotas fulfilled.