Fawkes’ Sick Reeves Obsession

The greatest efforts of the perpetually thirsty Paul Staines and his rabble at the Guido Fawkes blog churned out post after post of knocking copy aimed at Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner. They would get her; she was going to be yet another scalp for The Great Guido. And little good it did them. Ms Rayner is still deputy leader; their smear campaign got them nowhere.

It is the kind of abject failure that the Fawkes massive is unable, or unwilling, to consider as it goes after yet another senior Labour politician who just happens to be a woman. This time, the target is Rachel Reeves, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and indeed the first female to hold that job. The pretext for this latest smear job is that Ms Reeves claims to be an economist.

In this she has some of those inconvenient things called facts in her favour: she has a Master’s degree in economics from the LSE. She is therefore correct in calling herself an economist. Much of the Fawkes moan about her is over her job titles since graduating. Big deal. As any fule kno, job title and what skills are actually required and used are very different things.

But that thought has not been allowed to enter chez Fawkes, as a succession of bad faith sneers has brought forth “Reeves Pushed ‘Economist’ Myth To Win Seat” (she won it as the Labour candidate, Fawkes folks), then “Pressure Piling On Reeves Over CV Farce” (it wasn’t), and then “Starmer Keeps Schtum On Reeves LinkedIn Fiddling”. Which got them precisely nowhere.

But they had to pretend that their obsession was justified, and so we got “Guardian Gets Excuses In Early For Reeves”, telling readers “The press is piling pressure on Reeves”, with a link that cites Themselves. And on it went, the next effort titled “Tories Target Chancellor Over Career Edits”. Except that her career had not been edited. So was that the end of it? You wish.

Later the same morning came “Labour Veteran: CV Edits Are A Good Thing”. That afternoon bought an alleged “Exclusive”, with “Retail Banking Reeves Signed Legal Documents Claiming To Be Economist”. Which she was, and is. On it went, the following morning bringing “Reeves Reeling From Economist Claim Fallout”. Which she wasn’t. Yet the obsession continued.

The next day brought “Latest Desperate Reeves Defence Line Deployed”, with The Great Guido still calming “Pressure is still piling on Rachel Reeves”, which it wasn’t. One day later, it was “Reeves’ Real Customer Relations Role Revealed”, then later the same day “Reeves’ Economist Myth In Labour Candidate Contest”, the Fawkes rabble now recycling old attacks.

But enough; you get the picture. And to make it worse, in the very next breath, the Fawkes blog is extolling the virtues, such as they be, of Reform UK Oberscheissenführer Nigel “Thirsty” Farage. A congenital liar, racist bigot, and con man. But this should surprise no-one: they were cheerleaders for disgraced former alleged PM Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.

Rachel Reeves can still legitimately call herself an economist. Which is more than a whole succession of former Tory Chancellors could do. Like Winshton, who conceded that he did not know much about economics, but that shooting Montagu Norman would have been a good thing. There were others.

Long-serving Chancellor Neville Chamberlain was not an economist. Nor was Harold Macmillan. Nor were Selwyn Lloyd, Reggie Maudling, Tony Barber, Geoffrey Howe, John Major, Ken Clarke, George Osborne, or, indeed, Kwasi Kwarteng. And nor is Farage, the latest to be championed by The Great Guido. But that’s not the point: this is the kind of creepy obsession that would earn lesser mortals a visit from the Police and a suggestion to desist.

I am not Rachel Reeves’ greatest fan, and have passed adverse comment upon a variety of her decision making since Labour won this year’s General Election. But what the Fawkes rabble, whether encouraged by Staines, or by his successor Ross Kempsell, sorry, “Lord” Ross Kempsell, is doing, this sick and creepy obsession is bang out of order. But it should surprise no-one.

Because Guido Fawkes is part of the press establishment. This is how that establishment moves against its hate figures. I’ll just leave that one there.

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