NOT THE LAUNCH THE TORIES HOPED FOR
- Liam John
- Nov 8, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 28, 2019
Sunday
The Prime Minister appeared on Sophy Ridge on Sunday who confronted him repeatedly about his failure to leave the EU on the 31st of October. He blamed parliament and eventually accepted responsibility. Falling short of apologising.
He was then asked the infamous ‘naughtiest thing you’ve ever done’ question. The Prime Minister played this off well, making a joke about how he didn’t want to upset his handlers with another gaffe. It’s a shame some of his colleagues don’t share his foresight.
The pm not responding to the bait
The Prime Minister isn’t normally damaged by poor performances in interviews. However, Nigel Farage appeared on BBC’s Andrew Marr show and said that since the PM won’t scrap his deal, he plans to stand the Brexit party in more than 600 seats across the U.K. This could be a real problem for the government if it was to split the Leave vote.
Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson was also on Sophy Ridge on Sunday, the party have responded to election time freeze-out, which normally favours the ‘big two’, by insisting that it is sexism. Leading Lib Dem figures are demanded they change the format so that it features Swinson.
Monday
On Monday Channel Four aired Dispatches – The Men Who Really Run Britian. This ill-advised right-down-the-middle-athon attempted to draw some vague parallels between No.10 and Vote Leave Chief Dominic Cummings and Labour’s Executive Director of Communications Seamus Milne.
The unbiased coverage crusader leading us into the beating heart of our political climate was Gary Gibbon. He started with some legitimate gripes with Cummings. Describing his bullying behaviour and disregard for authority, one long-term colleague had even described telling the PM “he is unfit to serve in No.10.” The appropriate Tory sources were on hand to corroborate him being a bully, cut with theatrical audio as well as some footstep sounds, I’m convinced I’ve heard on reality tv.
Labour MPs told Channel Four about how you never heard Milne enter a room. When he was present, he was always at the back. Gibbon talked about Milne’s anti-interventionist views on defence, joked he hadn’t supported a war since the Second World War. It was clear they were describing two different people, with different jobs.
Dominic Cummings and Seamus Milne respectively
The major ‘gotcha’ on the Milne leg of this theatrical pseudo- exposé was that when Corbyn was first going to come out in support of Remain, to the press, in a letter. Milne, whose job it is to advise the Labour leader on press-related matters, advised Corbyn not to publish the letter.
The documentary revealed far more about Dominic Cummings, such as his desire to privatise 80% of the civil service, than it did about Milne. And Cummings ‘Really Runs Britain’.
The ‘Puppet Master” rhetoric is, in a sense, more damaging if you have a reputation as a bit of a boogeyman. I accept that this format was probably chosen in good faith for reasons of impartiality due to the looming election. However, I don’t think it’s media bias to point out the sketchy records and opinions of a chief adviser to the government. Without pitting them against their ‘opposite number.’
This thirst for election time drama made it more like a sequel to Four’s award winning drama Brexit: The Uncivil War, than a piece of investigative journalism. Blurring the lines further than we previously thought possible between Thick of It style satire and real life.
That night the No.10 Downing Street spin machine tweeted a letter addressed to Jeremy Corbyn, it asked him to clarify his objection to the governments deal as well as outline more clearly the party’s stance on Brexit.
Tuesday
The bad press bonanza continued to overshadow Boris De Pfeffel’s launch on Tuesday when Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House, said he would ignore the fire service’s advice and leave Grenfell tower. His apology raised more questions when he said he would ignore the firefighter’s advice in hindsight. If you are in a fire, always follow the instructions of the Fire Brigade.
Putting morality aside for the time being, often a necessity when considering political strategy, if Special Adviser Dominic Cummings was half the ‘Malcolm Tucker’ figure Channel Four portray him as, this is the kind of view of the Conservative party he would be shutting down in order to appeal to ‘Workington man’, as is their stated intention.
The situation reached a boiling point when Tory MP Andrew Bridgen defended Rees-Mogg’s comments on BBC Radio Four. implying that the leader of the House is cleverer than those who died in the blaze. “But we want very clever people running the country, don’t we, Evan?”
He expanded by implying Rees-Mogg was, through no fault of his own, inherently superior. “That’s a by-product of what Jacob is, and that’s why he’s in a position of authority.”
The Conservatives maximised their backlash potential backlash throughout this calamitous ordeal by sharing a video which appeared to show Labour’s Keir Starmer stumbling over his party’s Brexit position. The clip, taken from Good Morning Britain, was widely condemned as it was obviously doctored.
Jeremy Corbyn added to the embarrassment by responding to Monday’s letter on Twitter: “Secure a credible deal in three months. Put it to the people for the final say, with the option to remain, in six months. That’s our Brexit policy.”
It’s always easy when the Tories don’t do the editing. pic.twitter.com/PAHYzC2yCD — Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) November 7, 2019
Wednesday
Wednesday the 6th began with yet another inevitable and meaningless apology this time from Bridgen. Needless to say this did not improve the situation.
By Wednesday afternoon, just in time for the launch, all Tory campaign momentum was completely lost. While the Labour party are still ten per cent behind, the gap seems to be closing.
Isaac Levido is the man really tasked with organising this motley crew of Brexit bandits from Conservative Campaign HQ. His job, in between coordinating the doctoring of ITV clips, will be to try and moderate Rees-Mogg’s ludicrous and old-timey elitism or at least cushion the blow on the campaign he’s trying to run. Probably more of a ‘puppet master’ than Milne or Cummings. And although Cummings is in charge in peacetime, this is Levido’s election.
Levido, on the right, is the protege of election Guru Sir Lynton Crosby
We can see the leaders of the two big parties debate on the 18th of November. Still over a week away and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson will be suing ITV, saying they are: “sexist, scared or both.”
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