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Showing posts with label Jane Garvey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jane Garvey. Show all posts

Monday, 8 April 2013

Baroness Thatcher has died

Baroness Thatcher one of the great British Prime Ministers has died and I am waiting for the British left to rise to the occasion. Before long the nasty face of the British left will be much in evidence. In the meantime I am going to monitor the BBC. At the moment their lead article runs thus:
'Former Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher has died at 87 following a stroke, her spokesman has said. Lord Bell said: "It is with great sadness that Mark and Carol Thatcher announced that their mother Baroness Thatcher died peacefully following a stroke this morning." Baroness Thatcher was Conservative prime minister from 1979 to 1990. She was the first woman to hold the post. Her family is expected to make a further statement later. Baroness Thatcher, born Margaret Roberts, became the Conservative MP for Finchley, north London in 1959, retiring from the Commons in 1992. Having been education secretary, she successfully challenged former prime minister Edward Heath for her party's leadership in 1975. She won general elections in 1979, 1983 and 1987. Baroness Thatcher's government privatised several state-owned industries. She was also in power when the UK went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in 1982.'
Such small accomplishments: privatised several state-owned industries and was in power when the UK went to war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. How about rescued the UK economy from the despair of the Wilson/Callaghan Labour governments? How about turned the UK from 'the sick man of Europe' into one of the world's leading powers? How about went to the defence of the Falklands despite the opposition of the Labour party?

I suppose that a news organisation that the BBC's Jane Garvey recalled celebrated the 1997 Labour victory:
“I do remember… the corridors of Broadcasting House were strewn with empty champagne bottles. I’ll always remember that”
is unlikely to stay neutral on the death of the hated 'Thatch'


UPDATE:I see that the BBC's Political Editor, Nick Robinson, has stooped this low:
tweets: The dominant figure of post-war British politics is dead. Love her or loathe her, Margaret Thatcher shaped this country as few others did.

Evan Davis has tweeted this pearler:

I see Ken Livingstone has been unable to show any grace today, I suppose breaking the habits of a lifetime would be hard. Sky News quote him thus:
'Ex-London mayor Ken Livingstone tells Sky News Baroness Thatcher's policies were "fundamentally wrong". "She created today's housing crisis, she produced the banking crisis, she created the benefits crisis. It was her government that started putting people on incapacity benefits rather than register them as unemployed because the Britain she inherited was broadly at full employment," he says.
Full employment? Unemployment began to rise from the 4% level in early 1975 and by the time of the 1979 general election was at nearly 6%. The inefficiencies hidden by this employment level took some time to iron out.

Here's another of the BBC's favourites, 'comedian' Mark Steel

Monday, 15 March 2010

Jane Garvey to interview Gordon Brown

10:00 Radio 4 Woman's Hour and Jane Garvey will be interviewing Gordon Brown. I wonder if Jane Garvey take the opportunity to reminisce about election night 1997:
"Jane Garvey: I do remember I walked back in - we were broadcasting then from Broadcasting House in the centre of London, all very upmarket in those days - and the corridors of Broadcasting House were strewn with empty champagne bottles. [Hearty laugh from Peter Allen] I'll always remember that. Er... not that the BBC were celebrating in any way, shape or form…

Peter Allen: No not all...

Jane Garvey: ...and actually I think it's fair to say that in the intervening years... er... the BBC, if it ever was in love with Labour has probably fallen out of love with Labour, or learnt to fall back in, or basically just learnt to be in the middle somewhere which is how it should be. Um, but there was always the suggestion that the BBC was full of pinkos who couldn't wait for Labour to get back into power. That may have been the case - who knows - but as I say there have been a few problems along the way over the last ten years. Wish I hadn't started this now. "

The audo is here if Jane and Gordon want to wallow in pro-Labour nostalgia.

Friday, 23 May 2008

"hard to argue with them"

John Humphry's on the Toady programme this morning just after the 7 o'clock news referred to Conservative claims with the phrase "hard to argue with them". That contrasts starkly with James "If we win the election" Naughtie's remarks in 2005.


The tone off the Today programme is very "down", I doubt that much champagne was drunk at the BBC last night.

Friday, 2 May 2008

Not quite 1997 at the BBC tonight

Chris Evans on his Radio 2 show this evening said something along the lines of:

"It's strange seeing everyone walking around with their heads hanging down... I mean... what's happened... not that we don't like Boris, of course, but just that..."



Somewhat different from 1997 if you remember Jane Garvey's recollections:

"Jane Garvey: I do remember I walked back in - we were broadcasting then from Broadcasting House in the centre of London, all very upmarket in those days - and the corridors of Broadcasting House were strewn with empty champagne bottles. [Hearty laugh from Peter Allen] I'll always remember that. Er... not that the BBC were celebrating in any way, shape or form…

Peter Allen: No not all...

Jane Garvey: ...and actually I think it's fair to say that in the intervening years... er... the BBC, if it ever was in love with Labour has probably fallen out of love with Labour, or learnt to fall back in, or basically just learnt to be in the middle somewhere which is how it should be. Um, but there was always the suggestion that the BBC was full of pinkos who couldn't wait for Labour to get back into power. That may have been the case - who knows - but as I say there have been a few problems along the way over the last ten years. Wish I hadn't started this now. "

Sunday, 18 November 2007

An end to the era of celebrity?

I have blogged before about Gordon Brown's promise to end the era of celebrity politics. It appears that Gordon Brown offered GMTV's Fiona Phillips a place in cabinet and a peerage. "Mr Brown told the breakfast sofa chat queen she was "a great communicator" and offered to fast-track her into government. Fiona, 46, would have been given a seat in the House of Lords, becoming BARONESS PHILLIPS." Now why would Gordon Brown offer an impartial television presenter a job as a minister in his government? Maybe this section in the news report may give you a clue - "Fiona has never made a secret of her ardent support for the Labour Party. A guest of the Blairs at the PM's country retreat, Chequers, she has since become a close confidant of Gordon Brown. She has been derided for several gushing interviews with key Downing Street and Labour Party characters, including Cherie Blair, of whom she said on screen "Oh, you are lovely," and "You've got so much soul.""

Another impartial "news" broadcaster who seems to support the Labour party, I wonder who else Gordon might select from? Simon Mayo from BBC Radio 5 Live perhaps, James Naughtie from BBC Radio 4's Toady programme almost certainly, Jane Garvey formerly from BBC Radio 5 Live and now Womans Hour on BBC Radio 4 might be persuaded.

Saturday, 29 September 2007

Goodbye Jane

Jane Garvey is leaving BBC 5 Live and the BBC are asking for our fond reminiscences of her broadcasting genius. I did enter my suggestion yesterday on the relevant BBC suggestion page but oddly the BBC have decided not to use it. My suggestion was of course the subject of this post back in May. It concerned Jane's reminiscences about the 1997 election night party atmosphere at Broadcasting House as the BBC celebrated Labour winning the election. Here's the transcript of the broadcast -
"Jane Garvey: I do remember I walked back in - we were broadcasting then from Broadcasting House in the centre of London, all very upmarket in those days - and the corridors of Broadcasting House were strewn with empty champagne bottles. [Hearty laugh from Peter Allen] I'll always remember that. Er... not that the BBC were celebrating in any way, shape or form…

Peter Allen: No not all...

Jane Garvey: ...and actually I think it's fair to say that in the intervening years... er... the BBC, if it ever was in love with Labour has probably fallen out of love with Labour, or learnt to fall back in, or basically just learnt to be in the middle somewhere which is how it should be. Um, but there was always the suggestion that the BBC was full of pinkos who couldn't wait for Labour to get back into power. That may have been the case - who knows - but as I say there have been a few problems along the way over the last ten years. Wish I hadn't started this now. "

Ah, broadcasting genius...

Take a look at Biased-BBC for their coverage of this matter.

Monday, 14 May 2007

Biased BBC (pt2) - The Jane Garvey transcript

Back to an earlier post; in case you didn't play the audio, here's a transcript:

"Jane Garvey: I do remember I walked back in - we were broadcasting then from Broadcasting House in the centre of London, all very upmarket in those days - and the corridors of Broadcasting House were strewn with empty champagne bottles. [Hearty laugh from Peter Allen] I'll always remember that. Er... not that the BBC were celebrating in any way, shape or form…

Peter Allen: No not all...

Jane Garvey: ...and actually I think it's fair to say that in the intervening years... er... the BBC, if it ever was in love with Labour has probably fallen out of love with Labour, or learnt to fall back in, or basically just learnt to be in the middle somewhere which is how it should be. Um, but there was always the suggestion that the BBC was full of pinkos who couldn't wait for Labour to get back into power. That may have been the case - who knows - but as I say there have been a few problems along the way over the last ten years. Wish I hadn't started this now. "


The BBC impartial under their charter but not in real life.

Of course it was all different after 1997 wasn't it? Well there was the BBC Chairman of the Bord of Governors from 2001 to 2004 (previously Vice-Chairman) Gavyn Davies. He was (and still is) married to Sue Nye; the former assistant to Neil Kinnock and Gordon Brown's "gatekeeper" since 1992. Apparently she is renowned for her loyalty to GB, but I am sure she had no influence over her husband.

Friday, 11 May 2007

Biased BBC

One of my pet peeves is the bias of the BBC, hence my daily visits to Biased BBC. I used to listen to Radio 5's non sport coverage a lot but gave up because of the ridiculous pro-Labour bias amongst other issues. This admission by Jane Garvey regarding the atmosphere at the BBC during the 1997 election has been brought to my attention Impartial?

UPDATE: Audio now here. Apologies for the advertising text.