Granada Reports own Hannah Miller met with Boris Johnson in Cheadle this weekend to ask him what the Conservatives plan to do about children's services being at breaking point. As you can see, Johnson began his usual waffling response, pulling out impressive sounding sums of money which are nowhere near the sums his government has cut in the last nine years, talking about the economy, before finally pulling out the inevitable, it's all the fault of the last Labour government line.
But Miller, who has proved herself a tenacious and highly skilled political correspondent on Granada Reports in recent moths, refused to let him off the hook. Like any good journalist, she challenged him, held him to account and kept him on topic, and she did it all in a polite, yet firm manner.
This is the type of journalism we need right now. We need to put an end to these fawning enablers who are blatantly impartial, middle-class, right wing snobs, who consider themselves above reproach as they hide behind corrupt BBC editorial guidelines drafted up by former staffers of David Cameron, and who love the sense of privilege they get because they're in the same atmosphere as politicians, all in return for giving them an easy ride at the next round of interviews.
Johnson flails under such scrutiny. All he can do is bluster, smirk, lie, make excuses and dominate her personal space. And ultimately, he cannot promise anything. Like all the pledges he has made in this election campaign, this funding cannot make up for what has been slashed already from such integral public services. Vulnerable children will still be in dire straits, needing help and resources that simply are not there because of Tory cuts.
Do you really want this man to still be the PM at the end of the week?
If not, then vote Labour.
Vote Labour to say enough of this uncaring, selfish government.
As a former newspaper reporter, I'm disgusted at the state of reporting in the British media today. Right wing think tanks are legitimised by the BBC, Sky and others who allow their representatives to present political statements as facts. Politicians are allowed to tell lies straight to camera without any challenge from the interviewer. Every sound bite is treated as if it's a major speech.
ReplyDeleteMore power to Hannah Miller and other journalists who try to maintain proper standards amid all the hype and PR handouts for lazy journos.
The game's rigged nowadays, which only tells me one thing; the establishment are scared.
ReplyDeleteThe BBC are the worst culprits and it's all because almost every journo and editor has a background in the Tory party. I've lost count of the number of complaints I have made to them during thisn eleection.