Are the media attacking striking nurses because the Tories are losing the argument?
There’s a big argument over the reason given by nurses for their strike, with the claim being that they are demanding far too much money.
The people making the claim are media representatives like more-than-£250,000-per-year Tory Nick Robinson who, after taking massive increases in their own pay over the last 12 years (that’s right, isn’t it, Nick?) have taken it upon themselves to berate nurses for seeking parity with what they used to receive in 2010, before 12 years of Tory pay cuts.
He has tried to claim that a so-called ‘Independent’ Pay Review Body – that was in fact set up, appointed, and is paid by the government – is offering fair pay by saying nurses should receive less than a quarter of what they would need to achieve parity with 2010.
When he lost that argument, he fell back on the “you’re saying…” fallacy, trying to tell Royal College of Nursing General Secretary Pat Cullen that she was rowing with the Tory government for “political” reasons.
Here are the reasons Robinson was wrong:
Why the media blitz on nurses? Is it because the Tory government is losing the argument?
Here’s A Different Bias to cover that angle:
So nurses are winning the argument, even among Tory voters, and despite the fact that facts themselves don’t matter as much as they way the argument is perceived.
That’s why the rail workers are having a harder time; Tory MPs keep peddling a lie that train drivers – who are well-paid – are striking for more money. But train drivers aren’t striking. They belong to a different union from the strikers – ASLEF, as opposed to the RMT union. Many RMT workers are on the minimum wage, which should indicate the depths to which the Tories have stooped.
Nurses have also performed well when interviewed:
Nurses also benefit from the government’s cack-handed handling of the consequences of their strike:
In a nutshell: soldiers assigned to cover for striking NHS staff are not trained to do the jobs they are filling, therefore they are more trouble than they are worth.
And Tory MPs are increasingly putting their feet in their mouths when they try to convince us that the cost of paying strikers is more than can be afforded:
So it seems the Tories have no choice but to rely on the media to repeat lies about nurses, time and time again, in the hope that the old Nazi strategy – of repeating a lie until people believe it – will work.
Remember those rail workers?
As I write this article, Rishi Sunak has been attacking them as “grinches” who “want to steal Christmas”.
Many of these “grinches” are on the absolute minimum wage payable in the UK, remember. Sunak is one of the richest men in the country, and is married to the richest woman in the UK. He has enjoyed above-inflation pay rises since the moment he became a member of Parliament.
So, who’s really trying to steal Christmas? Don’t expect the media to answer that honestly!
Have YOU donated to my crowdfunding appeal, raising funds to fight false libel claims by TV celebrities who should know better? These court cases cost a lot of money so every penny will help ensure that wealth doesn’t beat justice.
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