Tory Press - Don’t Mention Carillion

It was Paul Mason who noticed recently that when something reflects badly on the Tories, their backers in our free and fearless press have a habit of taking that something off the front page. Yes, they’ll discuss the something on inside pages, maybe even have a moan about it in editorials, but the name of the game is keeping embarrassing somethings off the front page. So it has been with the collapse of Carillion.

Carillion leads in the Guardian ...

There are tens of thousands of jobs at risk - that’s as in, at risk of vanishing without those affected getting paid - amid the scandal of top management enriching themselves, shareholder bonuses being doled out year-on-year despite the increasingly parlous state of the company, and a gaping chasm of a pensions shortfall, but for loyal Tory-backing papers, is has to be kept off the front page. You think I jest? Just take a look.

... and at the Mirror ...

While the now tabloid Guardian makes the Carillion collapse its lead story, telling that as many as 30,000 small firms - sub-contractors, suppliers - may lose out with some having to close as a result, and the Mirror makes sure its readers know the identity of the winners (bosses) and losers (workers), the story is different in Tory backing territory.

... but relegated to very minor status at the Telegraph ...

The closest the True Blue brigade gets to even admitting there has been a scandal is when the increasingly desperate and downmarket Telegraph adds a small item to its front page - “Carillion left without Whitehall oversight”, so it’s the useless bureaucrats’ fault, and not the party the paper supports - buried at bottom left. Don’t worry yourselves, Tel readers, it’s not really important. Bashing the French gets more prominence.

... and missing completely from the Sun ...

What of the Murdoch Sun? Not a peep, although the paper whines about Carillion in its editorial. Like the Tel, they concentrate on the story of toddler Poppi Worthington, about whom they pretend to care despite dedicating themselves to slagging off social workers and cheering spending cuts that deplete Police numbers. Oh, and there’s more Meghan, because Royals sell papers and distract readers from reality.

... same at the Mail ...

No Carillion at the Mail either, where the fate of tens of thousands of those hard-working Brits the Dacre doggies claim to champion was unimportant compared to recycling a press release from Iceland stores and reinventing it as a triumph of the now environmentally responsible Mail. That’s the same paper that whines about renewable energy and does not have a problem with fracking. Just keep the bad news off the front page.

... and nowhere to be seen at the Express

Likewise at the Express, which has room to tell readers that there is cold and wet weather in January (who knew?), frighten its ageing readership over Alzheimers’, and thunder triumphantly that we’re going to cut off aid for all those ghastly foreigners. And they too want justice for Poppi, although somehow they missed the story until everyone else picked up on it (which was after the BBC covered it extensively).

So, as Paul Mason warned us, only to be sneered at by those out there on the right, when the news is really embarrassing for the Tories, their press pals make sure it’s kept off the front page. That means little or no Carillion - unless and until The Blue Team has something positive it can say about the débâcle.

And the press establishment wonders why trust in its product is shot. Hey ho.