Sunak Pledge Rehash NOT JOURNALISM

The right-leaning nature of most of our free and fearless press is well-known, along with the increasingly desperate shilling by hacks and pundits in support of whoever occupies 10 Downing Street, providing he or she is a Tory. This was true of Young Dave, Treeza, the now-disgraced occasional PM Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, and even the comedy interlude of Liz Truss.

So it should surprise no-one that the craven and slavish coverage continues with Rishi Sunak. What is not good enough is that titles which claim to spend good money bringing their readerships allegedly quality journalism have descended to the level where they are merely transcribing Downing Street press releases, as no more than uncritical and unquestioning cheerleaders.

One look at today’s miserable offerings demonstrates this superbly: the Murdoch Times, marking another downward step from the heights of the title that Don Rupioni and his gang acquired all those years ago, has told readers “Sunak: My five pledges to restore British pride … I will halve inflation, grow economy, reduce debt, cut NHS waits and stop migrant boats, vows PM”.

Anything verging on analysis? Pointing out the flaws in Sunak’s glossy PR? You jest. “Rishi Sunak promised yesterday to halve inflation and return the economy to growth this year with policies that would restore ‘optimism, hope and pride in Britain’ … [he] told an audience in east London that his objectives represented both the ‘people’s priorities’ and the ‘Government’s priorities’”. I’m sorry, but this is crap. This is not journalism.

And sadly, the same has to be said for those labouring within the Northcliffe House bunker under the less than benign gaze of the Mail’s editor-in-chief, the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre. “RISHI: JUDGE ME ON MY FIVE-POINT PLAN TO FIX BRITAIN” is the Daily Mail’s take. There was more.

“RISHI Sunak yesterday staked his premiership on delivering a five-point plan to fix Britain … He also vowed to slash NHS waiting lists, stop small boats crossing the Channel illegally and get on top of the National Debt before the General Election expected next year”. This “report” is no different from what has been run by the Times. Because this, too, is not journalism.

It could not be any more pro-Tory if the front page had had the Mail or Times masthead removed and replaced by the Tory party logo. This is the nadir of what Peter Oborne characterised as “just shovelling it on”. No questioning, no critique, no analysis, and with the racing certainty that, should Sunak not deliver on any or all of his pledges, no reminder to the PM that he failed.

Worse is the mildly creepy suggestion of an emerging personality cult: recent Tory leaders getting the first-name treatment, a habit that emerged with “Theresa” and really took off with “Boris”, continuing with “Liz” and now firmly embedded in right-leaning press speak with “Rishi”. The leaderships of many totalitarian dictatorships of the past would have loved it.

There are good reasons for supporters of the current Government to talk up the Sunak pledges: mildly inconvenient facts like the Tories having inherited an NHS in half-decent shape and almost run it into the ground, the small boats arriving because there are no safe migrant routes, no mention of all the industrial unrest, and don’t even think of mentioning Brexit, for instance.

Where, for instance, is the faintest hint of detail as to how NHS waiting lists are to be “slashed”, other than perhaps hoping for a mild winter? There will be no “slashing” of waiting lists without some money being ponied up, perhaps to offload yet more treatments to the private sector. Inflation is already forecast to fall, so Sunak should not be allowed to claim that as an achievement.

How is he going to grow the economy at any significant rate without resolving the relationship between the UK and EU? His own party won’t let him move a millimetre in that direction. We are being fed the 1929 mood of Vision And Boundless Hope And Optimism without the good times actually being present, and with little prospect of them returning any time soon.

Nor are we seeing half-decent journalism. I’ll just leave that one there.

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