ROD LIDDLE
The BBC’s appalling bias is clear to see in farmers v Government row – but don’t expect any kind of apology
BBC has shown its pro-Labour bias
THE farmers are revolting. Take that whichever way you wish. But it’s enough to say they are very unhappy.
The Government intends to make larger firms subject to inheritance tax.
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The farmers reckon this will end a thousand years of history, with farms no longer being passed from father to son. Some will go broke.
Now, I know where I stand on this issue. And it’s not with the farmers, sadly.
I believe our whole agricultural policy, with its billions in subsidies, is an uneconomic mess.
But that’s just my view and I may be wrong.
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Hell, I’m often wrong.
And I listen to my friend and colleague Jeremy Clarkson and think, yeah, maybe I’m wrong on this one.
Jezza is VERY p***ed off about it.
The people who are meant to report on this stand-off between the Government and the farmers are the BBC.
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They are meant to do so in an impartial, unbiased manner.
But that’s not what’s been happening, once again.
Moment Jeremy Clarkson calls for medic as protesting farmer 'falls ill' as he speaks at Westminster rally
The BBC has shown its pro-Labour bias.
So much so that the Prime Minister, when asked about this touchy issue, has resorted to quoting from the BBC.
As if the BBC were the press office for the Government.
Which it very well might be.
The latest example of bias comes from the BBC’s Verify unit.
This was set up to decide, impartially, on all contentious matters.
It is a fantastically stupid idea and a dangerous one, too.
The BBC has 21,000 employees.
But only the 60 working for Verify are seemingly in possession of the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It is a nonsense.
In reality, what Verify does is look up a few statistics.
Just as all the other journalists do.
And where you get your statistics from determines what side you’ll come down on.
It may not surprise you to know that Verify almost always comes down on the side of the Left. The Government.
Its forerunner at the BBC was the same.
During Brexit, the supposed fact-checkers were remarkably biased towards the Remain cause.
And nothing has changed.
What Verify has done now shows what a completely flawed idea it was in the first place.
Its errors have been many and deeply embarrassing.
The Verify team wanted to support the Government’s line that not many farms would be affected by the changes.
Appalling case of bias
The first mistake they made was to confuse acres with hectares.
Thus completely misrepresenting the number of farms clobbered by the tax changes.
Then it was found to be using very outdated statistics which underestimated the number of farms affected.
Then they turned to an independent expert for his view on how many farmers would be paying the new inheritance tax.
This independent expert turned out to be Dan Neidle.
Have you met Dan?
Well, he’s a member of Labour’s National Constitutional Committee, an adviser to the party and a long-time party activist.
How’s that for unbiased reporting?
And don’t forget that this was BBC Verify quoting the bloke.
Not just any old BBC journalist — but journalists who claim to be totally impartial and in full possession of the unvarnished truth.
The BBC has subsequently altered some of its original reports from Verify.
What it hasn’t yet done is apologise for an absolutely clear and pretty appalling case of bias.
But then it never does apologise, does it?
With any luck its behaviour over this vexed issue will persuade all of our country’s farmers to stop paying the TV licence fee.
Just like so many of the rest of us have done.
Jaguar's all-electric drive is a cat-astrophe
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THE latest stupid company to go woke is, sadly, Jaguar.
No longer will it make cars that everyone aspires to drive.
From now on it’s all electric.
And advertised by some truly awful diverse and modern young people.
The company says it does not mind losing 85 per cent of its regular customers.
OK, let’s see how that works out for you.
I bet they will be back to growly E-Types within two years.
Cough up for Covid
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THESE may be hard times.
But there is still plenty of your money to be frittered away.
And usually placed in the grasping paws of lawyers.
The Covid Inquiry is a case in point.
Yup, it’s still going on, somewhere or other.
Cardiff, at the moment, I think.
The lawyers are hearing from people such as Eluned Morgan, the Welsh First Minister.
Her contribution to the debate was a message, when Covid arrived, that “we’re all f***ed”.
Anyway, the projected cost of this bloody inquiry is now £208million.
And it isn’t nearly over just yet.
Most of that dosh is going to m’learned friends.
Scandal, isn’t it?
Barmie to snub sarnie
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GEN Z-ers don’t like sandwiches, apparently.
The traditional British sarnie is under threat.
Because the young folk prefer wraps filled with hummus and tree bark, or something.
I’ve certainly noticed a big drop in the proportion of proper sandwiches on display in the supermarkets.
Wraps have indeed taken over.
I suppose if the younger generation want to eat damp cardboard, that’s their lookout.
And I suppose it’s no different to when my parents looked at me askance when I ordered my favourite bacon, brie and cranberry sandwich back in about 1990.
“What’s wrong with Cheddar, you pretentious idiot?” My dad asked, appalled.
Claim is Tu much
TULISA CONTOSTAVLOS, of N-Dubz, has revealed to a grateful public that she is “demisexual”.
This ludicrous term means someone who can only form sexual relationships with people to whom they are already emotionally connected.
In other words, almost everybody in the entire bloody world.
I wish she would change shows.
And appear on I’m Not A Celebrity, Keep Me Here For Ever.
Putin in a panic
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I NOTICE that the Scandinavians are stocking up on iodine tablets.
In case the Russians nuke them.
Vladimir Putin has been waving his atomic threats around again.
And Europe is in a state of panic.
The real panic, though, is in Russia.
I suspect Putin fears that Trump will do as he said.
And force both sides in the war to compromise.
Putin will have lost far more than he won in sacrificing 700,000 soldiers to gain a few raggedy bits of Donetsk – and Crimea, which he had already.
LABOUR has been in power for just four and a half months – but already inflation is on the rise.
The rate for October was a nasty-looking 2.3 per cent – up from 1.7 per cent the previous month.
It’s well above what the Bank of England was hoping for.
And it means no chance of an interest rate cut, and higher prices in the shops.
I wonder if Rachel Reeves will go down as the worst Chancellor in living memory, after Kwasi Kwarteng?
A VET killed himself because he was heartbroken at having to put down pets simply because the owners were tired of them.
I feel for him.
It must be awful to deal with callous pet owners who really shouldn’t be allowed to keep animals.
Perhaps we should enact a law for our pets: Assisted living.
No pets to be put down unless they are terminally ill and in deep pain.
How about that?
THE unparallelled musical genius* that is Ed Sheeran has been moaning about Band Aid.
His voice from 2014’s rejigged Do They Know It’s Christmas? is included in the latest version of the charity single.
He says it presents a negative image of Africa.
Yes, Ed. One in which people are very poor and often starving? Like it actually IS?
Listen, ginge, it’s a dim-witted song.
There WILL be snow in Africa this Christmas, for a start.
In the Atlas Mountains and on Kilimanjaro, for example.
And they DO know it’s Christmas.
But that’s not the point, is it?
It’s to raise money for people who have a few quid less than you, Ed.
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So stop the wokeish grandstanding.
* And yes, I was taking the p***.
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