The Tory press hopes to shove the Labour party to the Right
Not content with telling people how to vote in the election, the Tory press is now looking to ensure the Labour party chooses a candidate it likes.
Thus we’ve seen positive coverage of so-called Blairite contenders such as Liz Kendall and Chuka Umunna (who has dropped out of the race and endorsed Kendall) and hostile coverage of the supposedly ‘Left’ contenders such as Andy Burnham.
The Times and the Telegraph ran cheerful profiles about the ‘refreshing’ Ms Kendall. Even the Sun gave the ‘bold’ MP for Leicester the sort of warm coverage usually reserved for the Conservatives, as she ‘trashed most of Ed Miliband’s policies’ and backed free schools and more defence spending.
Meanwhile, shadow health secretary Andy Burnham, who has secured the backing of more Labour MPs, is bloodied in the familiar style of the general election coverage.
Today’s Sun is an exaggerated form of the general trope:
“Andy Burnham today makes a desperate bid to prove he is not a union puppet.”
That’s not from an editorial column. It’s the first line of a news story.
Despite the facts being much the same – criticism of Ed Miliband and Labour’s past, pro-business talk – the contrast with the Kendall coverage is striking. The paper pulls Burnham apart for ‘aiming to woo business’ after ‘speculation Mr Burnham is Unite union chief Len McCluskey‘s choice as leader’.
The Sun says column lays it out:
“The hasty U-turn by top Labour MPs since their election disaster is jaw-dropping.
Who knows now what Andy Burnham actually stands for? One minute he’s Ed Miliband’s class-war henchman. The next he claims ‘the entrepreneur will be as much our hero as the nurse’ and admits Labour DID spend too much.
Pull the other one. And let’s see him say it to Red Len McCluskey’s face.”
(The U-turn point is interesting. If MPs had stuck to their previous positions, the same papers would be saying they are ignoring the verdict of the electorate, and had learned nothing from past mistakes.)
The piece goes on to praise Caroline Flint, who is running for deputy leader:
“Caroline Flint was another Miliband front-bencher. But there’s a difference between her and Burnham when she says she wants to appeal to Sun readers. She sounds genuine.”
What has Caroline Flint done to please the Sun? Under the Burnham news story, a piece on Ms Flint begins:
“Labour needs to start attacking benefits scroungers as much as bankers if it wants to regain power, says shadow energy secretary Caroline Flint.
The party’s deputy-leader hopeful said it must speak to Sun readers and aspirational voters once more.
She added the party should be comfortable giving a ‘kick up the backside’ to those choosing to live on benefits.”
Note the contrast here. Flint is praised for sounding ‘genuinely’ more conservative than Burnham.
Meanwhile, I’ve not seen any coverage of another ‘deputy leader hopeful’: the high profile Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy, who received an increased majority on a joint Labour and Co-operative Party ticket in the general election.
Ms Creasy is thought to be on the Left of the party, and is probably best known for taking on payday loan scammers Wonga.
She ‘sounds genuine’ too, though I won’t hold my breath about Sun coverage.
Because what we see is the right-wing press hoping to move the Labour party to the right, and influence the terms not just of the leadership election debate but of future general elections.
Adam Barnett is a staff writer at Left Foot Forward. Follow MediaWatch on Twitter
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62 Responses to “Never mind the unions. What about the Sun’s influence on the Labour leadership contest?”
AlanGiles
The problem is that Blair and his psuedo-Tory hangers on (like Mandelson, Hutton and Milburn) spoilt the Sun by their constant courting and toadying to Rupert Murdoch, and their quasi-Tory policies – which will be repeated should Kendall win the contest.
AlanGiles
For God’s sake – he has only been in Parliament for three weeks, nobody can yet judge how good – or bad – he might be.
AlanGiles
So what will you do if the dreaded (in your eyes) Mr Burnham wins?. Remain a
“pink Tory” or leave and join the real Tories – or – third option – do a Mandy and the toadies and plot against AB?
Labouring Life
I have been a member for about 35 years Alan, I am pleased to say I have never been Tory anything, everything I have only came my way because of Labour policy, or the intervention of Labour comrades. Interestingly my dad was from the Thames Valley and my Mum from Bradford. North and South, left and centre can work together. I ask again. what do you do with people once you improve their lives and some become educated and earn more and expect and aspire to more, how do you continue the appeal to them. I have no dread for AB. He would be a good leader, actually i think they all bring something and will all end up on the front bench anyway. Each of these people putting themselves for leadership is actually part of an elite. They are everyone oxbridge graduates, and professional politicians. Despite the ee by ‘eck roughed up accents or I am a woman of the people, they have a level of wealth and power that none of us can even vaguely aspire to. Andy was fast off the mark to dispel the idea he was a millionaire when Farage accused him. But he owns 2 homes one in Kensington and one in his constituency. It can’t be helped they say, but it makes him richer than me. I once rented in notting hill a few miles from the posh bit Andy lives in. He like me could have rented of course.
Ultimately what I am willing to do is make a compromise, if as wikipedia suggests Social democracy is a political ideology that officially has as its goal the establishment of democratic socialism through reformist and gradualist methods, to make those reforms gradually via the labour party we have to win, if we do not win there is no gradual and certainly no reform. If we want to win and win we must to reform the country and bring about social change and a transparent and more equitable access to resources we must be willing to reform ourselves. it will no longer be enough to vote for a leader and if its the one you want sit back and let them get on with it. We must vote and then whoever wins be willing to fight for the direction of the party, the policy of the party and and that direction must be toward winning.
damon
While I agree that the Sun sucks, maybe they’re doing Labour a favour.
This analysis from David Goodhart was pretty good in the Guardian today.
”Labour has lost its cultural connection with the people it claims to represent
David Goodhart”
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/may/29/labour-party-equality