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| The day the myths of press power and the centre ground died | The day the myths of press power and the centre ground died |
| (7 months later) | |
| Letters | |
| Sun 11 Jun 2017 18.52 BST | |
| Last modified on Mon 27 Nov 2017 22.53 GMT | |
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| This election has seen the death of two received wisdoms that have dominated political punditry for a generation. | This election has seen the death of two received wisdoms that have dominated political punditry for a generation. |
| First, the reign of the tabloids is over. For weeks, the ancient bazookas controlled by Murdoch, Dacre and other press oligarchs were trained on Corbyn and McDonnell, portraying them as patrons of terror and fantasists forever shaking a magic money tree. The campaign failed because the British press is more distrusted than any other press in Europe (as revealed by the 2016 Eurobarometer survey), its circulation is in freefall, and young people in particular get their news and political information from the internet. | First, the reign of the tabloids is over. For weeks, the ancient bazookas controlled by Murdoch, Dacre and other press oligarchs were trained on Corbyn and McDonnell, portraying them as patrons of terror and fantasists forever shaking a magic money tree. The campaign failed because the British press is more distrusted than any other press in Europe (as revealed by the 2016 Eurobarometer survey), its circulation is in freefall, and young people in particular get their news and political information from the internet. |
| The second myth is that parties only prosper if they stick to the middle ground (usually defined as the neoliberal political consensus). Labour moved to the left under Corbyn, fought on a radical social democratic manifesto, and increased its share of the vote since the 2015 general election from 31% to 40%, denying the Conservatives a majority. | The second myth is that parties only prosper if they stick to the middle ground (usually defined as the neoliberal political consensus). Labour moved to the left under Corbyn, fought on a radical social democratic manifesto, and increased its share of the vote since the 2015 general election from 31% to 40%, denying the Conservatives a majority. |
| The centre ground myth was built on two false premises. It ignored the continuing commitment of the majority, revealed in comparable surveys conducted since the early 1980s, to higher taxes on the rich, an activist role of government in creating jobs, and collective public provision. Labour’s social democratic manifesto connected to this tenacious post-1945 legacy that never disappeared during the era of Westminster neoliberalism. Indeed, this legacy was boosted by a youth revolt that led to the rise of a marginalised backbencher to lead the Labour party. | The centre ground myth was built on two false premises. It ignored the continuing commitment of the majority, revealed in comparable surveys conducted since the early 1980s, to higher taxes on the rich, an activist role of government in creating jobs, and collective public provision. Labour’s social democratic manifesto connected to this tenacious post-1945 legacy that never disappeared during the era of Westminster neoliberalism. Indeed, this legacy was boosted by a youth revolt that led to the rise of a marginalised backbencher to lead the Labour party. |
| The centre ground myth also failed to grasp that growing numbers of people have simultaneously both left- and rightwing views. There has been a rightwing movement against migrants and “shirkers”, and a leftwing movement against continued austerity politics and economic insecurity. Corbyn’s pitch to Ukip supporters was to the radical element of their contradictory makeup. It worked better than anodyne centrism would have done. | The centre ground myth also failed to grasp that growing numbers of people have simultaneously both left- and rightwing views. There has been a rightwing movement against migrants and “shirkers”, and a leftwing movement against continued austerity politics and economic insecurity. Corbyn’s pitch to Ukip supporters was to the radical element of their contradictory makeup. It worked better than anodyne centrism would have done. |
| The Guardian’s election editorial (2 June) suggesting that a Corbyn Labour party could be the beginning of something important stood out from the crowd. It has been seemingly confirmed by this election result which few in the political-media establishment anticipated.Prof James CurranGoldsmiths, University of London | The Guardian’s election editorial (2 June) suggesting that a Corbyn Labour party could be the beginning of something important stood out from the crowd. It has been seemingly confirmed by this election result which few in the political-media establishment anticipated.Prof James CurranGoldsmiths, University of London |
| • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com | • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |
| • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters | • Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters |
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