'Oh, so that's who Richard Morris is..." Lord Hattersley on The Daily Politics

'An influential activist' - The Guardian

'Iain Dale, without the self loathing' - Matthew Fox in The New Statesman

'
You are a tinker...' - Tim Farron

Friday 8 July 2011

Lest we forget: David Yelland - 'Nick Clegg's rise could lock Murdoch and the media elite out of UK politics'

And so, maybe, perhaps, slowly, it has come to pass.

Amongst all the current hullabaloo, there is the odd mention of the fact that we have been studiously and continuously ignored by Murdoch at al since time itself began. So how brilliantly prescient this article from David Yelland, former editor of The Sun, published in April last year now looks. Do read the whole piece but here's a few great examples of what he said:

"I doubt if Rupert Murdoch watched the election debate last week. His focus is very firmly on the United States, especially his resurgent Wall Street Journal. But if he did, there would have been one man totally unknown to him. One man utterly beyond the tentacles of any of his family, his editors or his advisers. That man is Nick Clegg".

"Make no mistake, if the Liberal Democrats actually won the election – or held the balance of power – it would be the first time in decades that Murdoch was locked out of British politics. In so many ways, a vote for the Lib Dems is a vote against Murdoch and the media elite."

"At the Sun, we deliberately ignored the Lib Dems. The cosy pro-Cameron press may now be left floundering."

Great stuff.

So I am slightly bemused as to why we're not more on the front foot on this story. I suspect there is a touch of "there but for the grace of God" about the whole thing - would (indeed, did) Nick have turned down an invitation to The Murdoch party a few weeks back? But that's no reason not to be doing the right thing now. Ed Miliband at al went to that party - yet are happily ( and quite correctly) leading the line against Rebekah Brooks and the Murdochs. Shouldn't we be doing the same? And why isn't Vince out there more? If ever a man had the right to say "I told you so..."

We have hunted for our own tactical political narrative for so long. Now it's been handed to us on a plate. Let's not let Ed Miliband tell the story for us.

Addendum

Completely forgot Olly Grender also linked to the Yelland piece in her article asking where all the Lib dem journo's are. Also great pieces on this topic at Virtually Naked and Lib Dem Voice

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