Final proof that my colleague Mehdi Hasan is right to deny that the BBC is “left-wing” (and that instead, as I have been saying, groupthink has made it fall in love with the Conservative Party) came with an item on Tuesday night’s News at Ten, which was advertised as an explanation of the “battle lines” at the next general election.
Both David Cameron and Alistair Darling gave major speeches today about public spending. The Tory leader focused on the issue of curbing subsidised food in parliament, a genuine disgrace, but one he bizarrely blamed on “Labour”. The Chancellor outlined the government’s approach to public spending in future years. Arguably more important. But for some reason, the flagship bulletin decided to lead instead with the Cameron charm offensive — which admittedly allowed the political editor, Nick Robinson, to film Cameron putting away a box of cereal at the start of the day.
I have had some experience of the vast BBC, having worked ons Question Time for a year (read my opinion on the BNP invitation in the next issue of the NS). I know that the truth that dare not speak its name is that it is far too disorganised to be “biased” in any direction. But Tuesday’s News at Ten is a tiny example of literally scores I have seen in recent years and months which show that the corporation is now treating Cameron’s unchanged Tory party as, if not quite a government, beyond any doubt a government-in-waiting.