Welcome To Zelo Street!

This is a blog of liberal stance and independent mind

Thursday 17 January 2019

May Screws Up - Press Blames Corbyn

We are no nearer to seeing the end of the farce that is Brexit. The clock ticks down, the deal offered up by Theresa May is rejected, the craven cowards of the Tory Party and the slippery naysayers of the DUP back her in a confidence vote, she claims to be reaching out to other parties but won’t budge one millimetre, and all the while the country is derided abroad as a laughing stock. So, press people, who is to blame?
Ah, but in the looking glass world that is the Westminster bubble and the equally hermetically sealed environment of the press and pundit establishment, the usual rules do not apply. For the right-leaning part of our free and fearless press, the Empress Treeza can do no wrong, despite having royally fouled up Brexit.
So they blame Jeremy Corbyn instead - because he does not want to see a No-Deal Brexit. Jezza does not want to see hundreds of thousands of jobs vanish overseas, along with the trashing of agriculture and the fishing industry. He doesn’t want to see living standards nosedive. He doesn’t want to see poverty worsen. He doesn’t want to see more people sleeping on the streets. He doesn’t want the NHS fouled up. So it’s all his fault.
And while the Labour-supporting Mirror is broadly accurate with “Corbyn’s Ultimatum … Ditch No Deal … and then we’ll talk Brexit … He insists May blocks UK crashing out”, the alliance of Murdoch and Rothermere titles has decided to kick Jezza. Hard.
Thus the Mail thunders “May wins confidence vote, invites Labour leader for talks at No 10, then … WRECKER CORBYN SLAMS DOOR ON THERESA”. This comedy front page is completed by the side-splitting idiocy of “JEREMY Corbyn was last night accused of playing politics after he rejected talks to break the Brexit deadlock”. And Theresa May isn’t playing politics? They’re politicians, Mail people.
The dishonest tone continues at the Murdoch Times, where readers are told “Corbyn snubs Brexit talks … Labour shuns negotiation as May wins confidence vote by 19”. There was no negotiation on offer, and no snub. Corbyn was, and is, willing to talk - all she has to do it so take No Deal off the table. Why won’t she? Why isn’t that question being asked?
Ah, but this detail is beyond those who scrabble around the dunghill that is Grubstreet. That is made crystal clear by the Murdoch Sun, which proclaims “PM Wins Vote, Now It’s … COME OVER TO MAY PLACE … But Corbyn ducks No 10 Brexit invite”. In the parallel press universe, the Brexit screw-up is down only to the one bloke who can’t influence it.
Britain’s politics is screwed. And what has screwed it is the tribalism of the Tories, the sectarian myopia of the DUP, and the sheer venality of the press. For any of those groups to try blaming anyone else, and especially Labour, for their own shortcomings is beyond disgraceful. It is beyond irresponsible. It is totally out of order.

And, press people, that’s who is playing politics. I’ll just leave that one there.
Enjoy your visit to Zelo Street? You can help this truly independent blog carry on talking truth to power, while retaining its sense of humour, by adding to its Just Giving page at

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

You seem to be drinking a lot of that Kool-Aid you deride others for in this post, Tim.

Utter nonsense.

O O O'Hanraha'hanrahan said...

"... drinking the Kool-Aid usually refers to people who blindly accept the "truths" of charismatic charlatans that have alternate agendas, which can lead their followers to physical, emotional, or financial harm and even death." - Urban Dictionary.

Unknown said...

To the previous anonymous: if Corbyn doesn't insist that no deal be taken off the table, in the event of a no deal who would the press blame? Just asking

Mark said...

So true Tim. Fortunately it seems that only the press swallow the facade of Theresa's increasingly common addresses to the nation, the general public (or most of them at least) can see how hollow her words are.

Corbyn is absolutely right to ignore discussions until a no deal is off the table, though I'm surprised that the SNP met with her after similarly voicing provisos that a people's vote must be on the table. I just wish that Corbyn would reconsider his position on this same vote and include that as a deal breaker for negotiation because it's clear to me that the EU won't budge on extending Article 50 or the deal, but they will be relieved to see us revoke Article 50, as will much of the country itself.

It's ludicrous that May condemned Corbyn's no confidence motion as an unnecessary delay in the run up to March, given that she herself decided to delay a vote she had no chance of winning by a month herself.

Flood said...

Kool-Aid, Anon? Just carry on bleating with the rest of the sheep.

Andy McDonald said...

Walk into number ten.

Listen.

Walk out.

Say she wouldn't budge.

Not that difficult.

Anonymous said...

So the Vicar of Wibbly can have red lines......but Corbyn can't.

Odd, that.

The wretched Vicar knows full well - as does monopoly far right media - what the Labour position is. It's in their manifesto and has been restated time and time again.

All the Vicar has to do is say she will reconsider and invite Corbyn in to talk it through. But she hasn't and she won't.

Like everything else the Maybot does the stunt has backfired on her. She ought to stick to jangling her Ratner jewellry. The useless meff.

Ceiliog said...

Andy McDonald 12:51
If Corbyn did that, The Sun and Daily Mail would invent something else to criticise him.

rob said...

Well I blame both May and Corbyn.

May for abject negotiation skills and Corbyn for sitting on too many fences. Both playing up to the ldeologues on either side while trying to keep the moderates onside.

The whole process has been chaotic due to lack of leadership on both sides. Lack of flexibility now means the process ends with no deal which most policians are saying they don't want.

Of course we know that what is said and what they actually want can be totally different. That is basically what Brexit has taught us all in bucketfuls.

Anonymous said...

Needs an extraordinary stretch of "logic" to blame Corbyn for the Maybot's lousy deal - which took her two years to STILL fuck up.

Some people are mugs enough to fall for far right corporate propaganda.

rob said...

But nothing has changed in those TWO years. The deal was the only possible one due to the red lines the Maybot took. She did not at least revoke Art 50 straight way, even though she was still precipitate, as Corbyn wanted.

But what has Jezza Braveheart done in all that time? Just played for time to court his morthern leave voters while leaving Starmer just enough room to keep his London and the remain southern voters feel they were in withn a chance. If he wants to leave he hasn't spelt out what it would mean and he certainly hasn't given any impression he wants to remain.

Please inform us Anon what the majority of Labour members want. According to media most of them want a people's vote and Corbyn doesn't. Is this the right wing media getting it wrong? Your chance to right the wrong right wing media.

If Labour had a leader they would have been well ahead in the polls by now with the abject May in charge like the Democrats blue wave against the abject Trump in the US.






ed said...

I'm a Labour member. I joined to back Corbyn during the 'Chicken Coup'and leadership contest and I voted Remain in the last 'People's Vote'. Having learned a lot in the intervening 2 years, I would now vote to Leave in the event of another PV. I should state that I emphatically DO NOT want another PV - and as I understand it, THAT is the view of approx 70% of the membership.

Incidentally rob, we ARE ahead in the polls. Currently 3pts in front of the Toerags - not too shabby from 20pts behind in the runup to9 the 2017 election!

rob said...

@ ed

And which version of leave do you want?

There doesn't appear to be a consensus view on that. As to polls it depends on which ones you look at. The overall trend seems to be neck and neck but as they are skewed by the Brexit issue the more relevant polling figures could be the difference between the leaders ratings. Which are?

If you want to leave I suggest you be more honest with the electorate and inform them of what they are about to lose in the quest for more control. My own thought is that both the main parties are controlled by foreign influences. The silence from both on election fraud the main giveaway.

Anonymous said...

Rob 20:18.

Read the Labour manifesto, website and Corbyn's speeches. That might help you, but I doubt it given your choice of words.

You might note too that it's the Vicar of Wibbly government that's had two years to cobble together this mess. Even her party has (rightly) turned on her. While Juncker (rightly) called her "nebulous". The wretched woman is history's bad joke on Britain.

Labour isn't the government.

ed said...

Rob 12:26

For clarity, I should say that I am right behind the Party's actions on Brexit. It's the Government's mess and they must clean it up or go. Apart from a few traitorous exceptions (whose time will come) Labour are playing a blinder!

But to your question. You're not going to like my answer, but here goes: If I HAD to choose, I would back Labour's version of Leave but really I don't give a toss about Brexit. There you go. My focus is on getting the Tories out - and what could be better than to watch their rotten party die from a self-inflicted wound?

rob said...

@ ed

Playing a blinder? Good luck with that! So if Brexit harms the economy so that Corbyn's "reforms" won't be achievable and safety nets for the present disadvantaged can't be maintained let alone improved you don't care! Good luck with that too!

@ Anon

Labour are the official opposition. Granted they cannot effect policy until in power. But if they had proved an effective opposition their, and their leader's, ratings should surely be much higher given the "weak and wobbly" worst and most chaotic government in my lifetime. That is what is so frustrating to many in my circle of acquaintances. I read that Labour membership are declining. Perhaps you know different,but if that is the case do you know why?



ed said...

Here's your so-called safety net:

https://voxpoliticalonline.com/2019/01/20/universal-credit-is-increasing-victorian-diseases-while-worsening-the-nurse-shortage/

This is not accidental. It's the intended effect of Tory austerity. They must go. Nothing matters more. It's not 'luck' that we need. It's Govt with at least some shred of human decency. And you won't get any from the vermin currently in charge.