Why Starmer was wrong to write for The Sun – by a Murdoch employee
Together? Maybe. But stronger? Future? Unlikely. Keir Starmer’s decision to write for The Sun will have disgusted Labour’s mainstream followers without attracting voters across from the Tories.
The simple fact is that Keir Starmer has access to far more – and far better – media outlets than The Sun, so his choice to write for that rag was a political statement.
The people of Liverpool, where next year’s Labour conference will be staged, will undoubtedly be animated by that revelation. Will they cancel?
Here’s the information we all need to read:
When I started working for The Times, there was very little in the mainstream national press about Hillsborough. @BrianReade in The Mirror and @david_conn at The Guardian never let it go and are heroes. But elsewhere?
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
Yes, there was a sense of fighting on enemy territory (see earlier thread) but I was playing guerrilla warfare, trying to educate people who did not understand at every chance I got.
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
Some would claim that the justification for Starmer writing in The Sun is addressing those who are not naturally Labour voters. It's bollocks
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
The media has fractured. In 1980, newspapers were crucial to political destiny. Now? They are much less important. People 'consume' their news in so many different ways. The number of people who form their opinions from The Sun are tiny
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
But I can imagine the thought process behind it. Starmer's team going, 'yeah, man, it's bold. It shows we've got wider appeal. Only the dinosaurs could object. We need to embrace Sun readers.'
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
And no one is brave enough to call bullshit. I'll give you an example from my career. At a meeting at The Times, a blagger who'd climbed the ladder said: 'We need to own football.' Everyone there went, 'yeah, yeah' and were nodding
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
I can imagine Starmer and his people blagging and lying to themselves, convincing themselves that they've found a route to success. I've seen too many delusional institutionalised shitbags over the years
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
Did any of Starmer's people think of saying, 'How about we ask the British people if they are proud of becoming a laughing stock? Do they really want to be considered xenophobic? Do they understand that austerity has defined more than a decade and will define the next 10 years?
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
It should be an open goal. The carnage of Covid, Johnson's economic self harm and the utter and complete contempt the Tory government have for the people of this country are obvious
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
I, in my small way, was desperate to find a voice on enemy territory. Starmer, who could set the agenda and has access to the entire media vista, chose to go to The Sun
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
Nice one Keir. And no, it's nothing to do with Liverpool, the boycott or football. It's about stupidity, Mr Starmer
— Tony Evans (@TonyEvans92a) October 5, 2021
Yes. It’s about stupidity. ‘Nuff said?
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I wish it was just stupid pursuit of the turkeys-who-voted-for-Xmas-dinner, but I think it’s more cynical than that. Still stupid, but it’s about throwing a two-fingered salute to Labour’s strongest heartlands, especially Liverpool. It’s Starmer’s way of saying to the poor, “I control you, you don’t control me, and just to prove it, here I am writing in the paper that always treats the poor like cr*p.”
He’s in for a shock though.