God Bless You Clare Short

Very soon after Rupert Murdoch got his hands on what we now know as the Super Soaraway Currant Bun, and by mere coincidence you understand, the paper began to do what one of Murdoch’s Australian titles had been indulging in for a while: publishing topless photos of young women. Yes, back in 1970, the Dirty Digger brought us Page 3, and remember it was only a bit of fun, right?

That's what I think of youse bladdy anti-Page 3 campaigners, ya bladdy Pommie drongoes!

But nothing is forever, and the paper that Private Eye regularly referred to as “The Dirty Digger’s tit and bum daily” (someone must have had an attack of subtlety that day) has now decided, at long last, to bow to those who have campaigned tirelessly, and in the face of constant harassment from the Murdoch press, to have the feature dropped. Yes, Page 3 is no more, well, it won’t have topless models, anyway.

Many groups can claim some credit for the decision, which, to show that no Murdoch journalist is of perfect courage, was reported not in the Sun, but the supposedly upmarket Times. The No More Page 3 campaign undoubtedly played its part. But the organised opposition to Murdoch turning his flagship title into little more than a soft porn offering was started, and inadvertently at first, by Labour MP Clare Short.

Ms Short had been in the Commons for around three years when she spoke in a debate on a proposed Bill to change the law on obscene publications. This she opposed, and said in a largely ex tempore speech “that if the House of Commons really wished to respond to women’s anger, we should introduce a Bill to remove Page 3 pornography from the press”. Moreover, she would introduce such a Bill herself.

Ms Short won the debate as to whether her 10 minute rule Bill could proceed. And then came the blowback: the Murdoch press does not take kindly to anyone proposing any limit on its ability to publish what it damn well likes. The response was as it is today: mockery, abuse, taunting, the full monstering nine yards. Ms Short was subjected to a barrage of threatening letters. After all, it was only a bit of fun, right?

Except it wasn’t only a bit of fun: while the Sun pursued its twin-track approach of, on the one hand, monstering Ms Short, while on the other telling readers how tasteful Page 3 was, and that the models appeared of their own accord, the Birmingham Ladywood MP received literally sackfulls of letters from women who were otherwise afraid to speak out, but who supported her campaign wholeheartedly.

Creepy Uncle Rupe, of course, didn’t care about them then, and doesn’t care about them now. His commitment is, ultimately, to Himself Personally Now. If Murdoch gave a crap, he wouldn’t have re-employed Kelvin McFilth. No, his judgment is, as always, made on the basis of how readers will react. There will still be lots of models in their underwear. Because there is still money to throw at them.

But Kudos to Clare Short, a sound person whom politics is the poorer without.