Labour's Disturbing Proposal
Starmer's premiership gets even worse.
Keir Starmer won’t be Prime Minister for much longer, with Andy Burnham set to take over.
But Starmer’s shocking legacy is ending on a pretty disturbing note.
It has been reported that Burnham, set to become Prime Minister in a Labour coronation, won’t be taking questions after his speech today.
As GB News Political Editor, Christopher Hope, has pointed out today:
“Yes - we are told there no media questions today for Andy Burnham, just as there were none when he last spoke at Ashton Town FC, the morning after his by-election victory.
“In fact he ran away then as journalists asked questions. But it is not a ‘good move’.
“I don't think that avoiding scrutiny like this is a good look for a MP who looks set to be PM three weeks today.”
And it seems the Labour Government overall are not keen on scrutiny. Certainly not from new media.
They are now pushing an agenda that involves insisting that social media companies should give greater prominence to media organisations that the Government considers ‘trusted’.
Let’s set the context here. Mainstream media news has never been less trusted than it is today.
Hilariously, as even the BBC report:
“Trust in the news has fallen to an all-time low globally - the lowest since annual reports by the Reuters Institute began more than a decade ago (2015).
“The research published on Tuesday, external suggests that public trust worldwide is at 37%, three points down on this time last year.
“In the UK, it has fallen by five points to 30% - 20 points lower than 10 years ago.”
And yet the mainstream media now deemed as ‘trusted’ by the Government would be given greater prominence, under an incredibly authoritarian Labour proposal.
As stated on the Government’s website:
“Today (23 June) the government has published a Green Paper, Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media, to consult on options to require social media companies and video sharing platforms to make sure that news content from public service media (PSM), which includes the BBC, ITV, STV, Channel 4, S4C and 5, and other trustworthy providers, is prominent and easy to find on their platforms.
“It could include, for example, a range of national and local news publishers all being more likely to be at the top of people’s social media feeds when they search for news.
“This will be key for helping to tackle mis- and disinformation, particularly during times of social unrest or crisis.”
And the interference continues:
“The Government is also looking at options to ensure PSM content - the beloved shows and valued services that the nation’s trusted and regulated broadcasters provide - is prominent, discoverable and promoted wherever audiences are watching TV, including on third-party platforms, such as video sharing sites.
“These measures are being considered as part of a wider package of reforms aimed at reforming the UK’s PSM system to give the sector more flexibility and allow public service broadcasters to lean into the opportunities of new technologies and better align with the ways audiences are viewing video content online.”
Ultimately, as alternative media explodes in popularity, this is about control.
The manipulation of prominence for handpicked media being forced by the Government once again shows a Labour agenda that seems very keen on a two tier approach.
It serves as yet another example of the pretty disturbing agenda being pushed by the Labour Government.
Perhaps in the spirit of free speech, the media will be allowed to ask the likely new Prime Minister and Labour Leader about it today?
Or perhaps not.