Ed Miliband has come of age as Labour leader over the phone hacking scandal that has engulfed the News of the World and the controversy around Murdoch’s proposed takeover of BSkyB in comparison to the continued incompetence of David Cameron.
It is a brave thing to stand up to the Australian and associates like Rebekah Brooks, who Miliband has maintained should resign in wake of the phone hacking corruption. Murdoch’s empire spans the world and he is arguably one of the world’s most influential men. However of yet the Labour leader has not flinched and stood firm in his position of opposing Murdoch and co.
I admire Miliband for the strong stance he has taken over the whole situation and he is doing the right thing, but there is a risk that opposing Murdoch will be like playing with fire for the Labour leader. Already senior figures in News International have been said to have threatened Miliband, saying they will never back his party again if he continued to maintain his position, in particular over Brooks.
It’s a difficult situation to be in for the Labour leader because he knows the power of the media, and developing a positive relationship with the media will not do his chances of becoming prime minister any harm at the next election.
The Murdoch press strongly backed Cameron in 2010 and Blair in 1997. Five years before that in 1992 the Sun’s strong anti-Kinnock headline of ‘If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights’ was seen as why Labour narrowly lost the election to the Tories.
Even though a risk it is standing up to Murdoch and his hierarchy, Miliband is doing the right thing. People in this country are rightly sickened and outraged by the alleged phone hacking at the News of the World, not just of celebrities, but also murder victims and the war dead in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Labour leader has and expressed the real concerns that people have about the situation. The public do not understand how Murdoch’s News Corporation could even be allowed to take over BSkyB in wake of the phone hacking allegations and Miliband was right to plan to force a Commons vote to try to stop the Australian’s takeover of BSkyB.
Meanwhile, Cameron is still trying to desperately defend his appointment of communications director, Andy Coulson, the former News of the World editor and he just frankly seems out of depth with the whole situation.
I did mention the power of the media and the influence it has had on previous elections, however it’s important to point out that we now live in a digital age. Less people now consume information through newspapers and the more traditional mediums. Instead social media seems to be the way forward with sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Perhaps political parties and MPs will be vying for who can get the most Twitter followers in the build-up to future elections.
The doubts over the BSkyB deal make you question whether the Australian is still the media mogul he once was.
Ed Miliband has repeatedly said the Labour party must be ready to change to win again; his position over the phone hacking and Murdoch’s News Corporation shows he is serious about this. They say fortune favours the brave – Miliband can be successful if he stands up to Murdoch and co.
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