As the moves to cause Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to do what is sometimes called considering his position ramped up over the weekend, it was clear that some pundits had a measure of advance warning that a shadow cabinet revolt was imminent. One of those was the not at all celebrated blues artiste Whinging Dan Hodges, who has recently joined the inmates of the Northcliffe House bunker to write for the Mail On Sunday.
Subtlety that the subs should have stopped
So far, so beneficial for the MoS, but, as has happened across the Fourth Estate recently, he got rather carried away and the dwindling ranks of sub-editors failed to exercise control and impose a little more, shall we say, discretion on Hodges’ resulting article, which told readers “Labour MUST kill vampire Jezza: If MPs don't vote for 'Jexit' now their party is doomed”. This was accompanied by a photoshop of Corbyn in a coffin.
Have a think about that: less than two weeks after Jo Cox, a serving Labour MP, was murdered outside her constituency surgery, a supposedly mainstream pundit is telling that same party that they MUST “kill” their own leader. Yes, the content of the article was right on the money, down to the series of staged resignations that have been going on since Corbyn sacked Hilary Benn on Saturday night. But that doesn’t excuse the “MUST kill”.
The Twitter condemnation was swift and extensive, not that Hodges or his paper gave a rat’s arse about such trivialities. “A truly disgusting article by @DPJHodges, especially after the murder of Jo Cox. But there we go, the vile mentality of the @DailyMailUK” commented one Tweeter. Another responded to Hodges prediction of the ferocious defence Corbyn’s supporters might mount with “what, worse than Jo Cox getting shot? Is that why you called for Corbyn to be murdered?”
One Tweeter among many not to get a response from The Great Man asked simply “Given what happened to Jo Cox barely a week ago, do you consider the picture to be acceptable?” Another disappointed observer simply responded “Dear oh dear @DPJHodges I'm no Corbyn fan but this is inconsiderate in light of what happened to Jo Cox”. And, as the man said, there was more.
After Hodges talked of “honourable men”, he was asked “talking about honourable men, how's this headline appropriate barely a week after #joCox was killed?” The response to the graphic image of “Vampire Jezza” was uniformly hostile, as were the reminders of Jo Cox’s murder. No response from Hodges. No response from his paper.
And, d’you know what? There is unlikely to be a response, or any kind of apology, or even regret. No admission that the bounds of good taste and decency have been broken. Not unless Corbyn himself makes a complaint to IPSO. Why is that? Because, as the good people at Hacked Off have been telling us for some time, third party complaints can just be dismissed. IPSO will do nothing to stop this kind of behaviour from over-zealous pundits.
Dan Hodges is going to get away with an act of incitement. And that’s not good enough.
12 comments:
A very good read on the orchestrated 'Corbyn coup' by Richard Seymoour
http://www.versobooks.com/blogs/2728-they-want-their-party-back
It's hilarious, this excuse to attack Corbyn and try to restore New Labour poison. It was all soooo predictable.
This is just a taste of what would happen to anybody who tries to restore Labour Party principles. Imagine the reaction if the target was someone with what pr bullshitters call "charisma" (read: media friendly bullshitter) but radically opposed to British capitalism........Well, we know, actually. He/she would be attacked as "a demagogue" and "a fanatic."
Whereas, of course, it is neocon demagogues and fanatics in control of government, society and mainstream media.
Jeremy Corbyn's problem is that he badly underestimated the enemies of democracy. Not a mistake that Aneurin Bevan made - he knew what gobshites they are and always will be. And the Labour Party has always had more than its fair share of them.
Here's what to do...dont buy it.
Also a very good read on the orchestrated coup... only problem is its from 13/6/2016 before the coup happened, and now we know its happened exactly this way down to the letter; the hourly timing of resignations to drip/drip; when it was going to happen; and the resulting media shit storm.
Hillary-fucking-Benn the man that destroyed the Labour party. Take a bow you spunkflute.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/13/labour-rebels-hope-to-topple-jeremy-corbyn-in-24-hour-blitz-afte/
To be fair to Hodges the headline (and accompanying picture) might not have been his doing. I've seen more than one columnist complain about their articles being given misleading and or inflammatory headlines in the past...
It's Hodges style. He also hates criticism so prepare to be blocked on Twitter just for calling him out on it. He's a whiney little poophead.
Hedges jumped in the cesspit of slavering bullies years ago. If we ever get back to responsible journalism he's excluded himself. He's now trapped in a place where he can only earn a living from writing the stupid stuff.
But Hodges hasn't complained
SO story is title Hodges in trouble but in truth he isn't? DH seems a really vindictive man
If you think DAN Hodges is bad......wait until you see a rerun of MARGARET Hodges on Victoria Derbyshire this morning.
I don't think I've ever seen a more dishonest, disloyal, traitorous piece of bad work in action, not even by New Labour standards. Whatever else this episode demonstrates, it shows just how horrible and dysfunctional they are, how they'll do anything to perpetrate their red tory ways and betray everything the Labour Party is supposed to stand for. All in pursuit of "a strong leader"......you know, a sort of "fuhrer."
But the party membership - the grass roots, the ones who really matter - don't want New Labour and showed it by electing Jeremy Corbyn in a landslide. And they won't take kindly, to put it mildly, to a bunch of scoundrel opportunists hijacking the party for their own narrow and principles-free ambitions. The very idea of disgusting two-faced traitors like Hilary Benn, Alan Johnson, Stephen Kinnock(!) or either of the Eagles or Harriet "Share A Platform With Cameron" Harman leading the party is enough to signal the end of the party as a useful political force - of social democratic let alone socialist.
If those who howled hate at Jeremy Corbyn last night would now like to fuck off and form their own party - great, just do it, do the honourable thing and take your arses further to the right, you've been lingering there too long as it is. Just don't poison what once a true representative party of working class citizens. Take Blair and his gang of retired war criminals with you. One day we'll see you in front of the International Court in the Hague. And good riddance to the whole bunch of you.
Let us not forget it is New Labour who intensified the divisions in this country, who brought low so many people and continued the usual work of the Bullingdon Pig's Head public schoolboys. It is THEY who should get out of public life or join the tories. It is they who have helped turn the Commons into a tenth rate imitation of the Reichstag circa 1934.
Jeremy Corbyn might well go. But if he does, he will have at least signalled that someone in the Labour Party had the decency to take on the traitors and betrayers. He will have marked a line in the sand. He at least will have demonstrated courage in the face of a cowardly neofascist media and its oligarch owners. He at least fought for decency. And that's why I support him and not the assorted spivs who now seek to unseat him.
The overall view is of a PLP that not only long ago abandoned any semblance of decency but which is now almost completely alienated from the grass roots. But if they win it will be their very last chance to demonstrate they have the guts and the policies to openly take on the scum who own and run this country. When they fail - and they WILL FAIL - the grass roots reaction will sweep them into the gutter of history, which is where they belong. Gawd knows they've got it coming.
Well sayed Anonymous 10.15!
I don't why Zealot Street is complaining about Hodges when you have done your own little bit in undermining Corbyn just as you did with Ken Livingstone because I think you are under some delusion like the Blairites that the Tory Media (which is all of them including The Mirror) will go soft on the alternative to Corbyn.
It seems to me Labour have now ensured they will be in the wilderness for another ten years no matter who runs Labour having now demonstrated they can unite behind a leader who was popularly elected under the correct rules.
Moreover you have defended the odious snake Tom Watson despite his vile false accusations against some old Tories and who has sat there beside Corbyn posing as his deputy knowing the Putsch would come at some stage and then waiting until the very last minute to fire the killer shot.
It's not Jeremy Corbyn who lost the last election and millions of Labour votes, it's the very mob demanding to take charge again seeming happy to repeat the process. Why anyone thinks the electorate will not notice is a mystery.
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