Enoch Powell famously said that “For a politician to complain about the press is like a ship’s captain complaining about the sea.” For Tony Blair to complain about spin is like… well, words fail me. But the Prime Minister had plenty of words about how the wicked media has corrupted the message of the virtuous political class. All his press conferences, committee appearances were for to no avail. For the press are “feral beasts” whose negative stories about his government apparently “saps the country’s confidence and self-belief”.
I enjoyed and agreed with Tony Blair’s valedictory article on foreign affairs in The Economist. But this is beneath him. It’s just the most monstrous hypocrisy, sounding more like the out-takes from the Alastair Campbell lecture tour.
But one point I find logically unsound. Blair points to the proliferation in the media: cutthroat competition, the migration of advertising revenue to cyberspace etc. Yes, it’s tough for us. But that means it’s better for the reader. That’s why Britain has, in my view, the greatest media in the world. Where else do you get a dozen daily newspapers to choose from every day, each fighting for your attention? The consumer has never been so empowered. Mr Blair may not like what they choose, but he can hardly claim someone is forcing it on them.
I can see why Blair is nostalgic. Once, the man in Whitehall knew best. Information is power, and in the old days the public were kept in the dark about so much so they were more deferential to ministers. Now, the public have more information than ever before – and don’t see why ministers still have so much power. Britain is an ingenious country: it doesn’t need to be led. We have never had less need for a political class. And if it isn’t respected anymore, then it’s a sign of the times. Having a huge state in the 21st century is a risible anachronism. I’m afraid the old days are not coming back.
One line in Tony Blair’s speech jumped out at me. “Most politicians come into public life with a desire to serve and by and large, try to do the right thing not the wrong thing.” Peter Oborne is working on a new book demonstrating precisely the reverse, I suspect his version of events will ring a lot truer than Mr Blair’s speech.
Comments