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In terms of the information landscape, it feels as though, far from being a force for good, the BBC News is becoming a big part of the problem.

Please clarify for me; Did I not see a news chanel bust Farage for taking $500k from an American for Reform? On camera. Have I got this wrong? What happened to this? It just like when 🍊 had 300 Capitol One accounts closed for money laundering. WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS STORY? Are we in a simulation?

Treating political reporting like Wagatha Christie.

... press will feel compelled to talk sense if it's as quotes from the Prime Minister. But the Tories? No. It ain't gonna happen under Badenoch, not when she's threatening to expel candidates for office who acknowledge the climate crisis but hires Joshua Bonehill-Paine.

Good point. In Germany the AfD is also funded by fossil fuel interests.

If hundreds of fighting aged masked men all dressed in black blockaded a port in Russia or Iran the BBC would be treating it as a coup.

Sounds like America

Nailed. That really is the problem.

And note: Reform have lost what they had under Starmer: the spotlight of the Prime Minister thinking YOU are the opposition. They have been relegated simply by virtue of being ignored by Burnham and Badenoch.

That's because they think it's good.

There's such a void of leadership from Burnham, and in journalistic ability/integrity/willingness at the BBC, that the front page currently quotes the council leader...

because in this world, there are only two of anything

BBC has been awful for far longer than that. Coverage in the run up to the War on Iraq e.g it was more biased in favour of the government than Sky News, its main rival.

Even viewed cynically, I struggle to see why Burnham and Co won't condemn this. These scumbags will never vote Labour, and neither will their supporters. But I reckon many voters want to see masked bastards vilified, to feel we still have standards. What's the argument to *not* attack them?

You don’t need to denounce this stuff when you are bringing hope to every heart though.

I’m not stupid. I know this is tactical rather than doctrinal. What it does however is that it shows that a stronger reaction for the supposedly left-wing government is possible and it’s a choice not to react more strongly.

Ah yes. bsky.app/profile/andy...

Agree, it's a win,win for Reform because it's changed the narrative from 'Nigel's a crook' to 'Labour are soft', but if there'd been a riot it's 'Nigel condemns 2 tier policing, they would have allowed it if they weren't white' , heads he wins, tails he wins, job done.

Yes, of course. Maybe Burnham should try that too. Mahmood is of course loving it.

and dangerous that supposedly moderate parties like Labour and Conservatives apparently don't want to be seen criticising such "protest". If you don't know what to say, maybe just copy-paste the statement from Grant Shapps from 2021 on a similar occasion?

I think it’s more cynical Labour likes it 1) because they want to attract some of the sympathisers and 2) it scares their core to turn out

Its an admission of guilt. This means their finances are just as dodgy if you scratch the surface a bit.

I couldn't help but pick up on this vignette "Among the software that Palantir supplied to the Met was a system intended to identify misconduct by officers, which the force has said has been highly effective." Apart from highlighting Palantir's interest in bent police, where are the court cases ?

Is Burnham waiting for the results of a dozen focus groups before commenting?

Exactly, the form of words, the labelling of some as legit and others as dodgy terrorists, business as respectable no matter what and unions as rabble rousers. Tone matters.

The Labour strategy of 'don't criticise anything the far right do because we want them to vote for us at the next election' remains unchanged.

It's very hard to imagine we could ever have ended up here if Brian Redhead still ruled the Today studio.

Fortunately for them they didn’t have any life threatening placards!!

Under Starmer it would have been McSvengali. With Burnham I think Hanlon's Razor is more likely to apply - the team of malcontents that propelled him into Number 10 has dissolved because he's rewarded them with proper jobs. Also a lot - too much - is probably being 'saved' for conference?