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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
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| Orgasmic response from rightwing press as George Osborne budget hits G-spot | Orgasmic response from rightwing press as George Osborne budget hits G-spot |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| For the Daily Mail he was “fearless George” slaying dragons, while the Sun’s verdict on the first Conservative budget in almost 20 years heralded “the well fair state”. | For the Daily Mail he was “fearless George” slaying dragons, while the Sun’s verdict on the first Conservative budget in almost 20 years heralded “the well fair state”. |
| If George Osborne had actually written the front-page headlines of most national newspapers the day after his budget, they could not have been more positive. | If George Osborne had actually written the front-page headlines of most national newspapers the day after his budget, they could not have been more positive. |
| Fresh from pre-election newspaper coverage judged by some observers as the most partisan it has been since the early 1990s, the rightwing press gave a rapturous welcome to the government’s first budget with its cuts to welfare and its new “living wage”. | Fresh from pre-election newspaper coverage judged by some observers as the most partisan it has been since the early 1990s, the rightwing press gave a rapturous welcome to the government’s first budget with its cuts to welfare and its new “living wage”. |
| If Osborne’s chances of following David Cameron as party leader were to be decided this week, there seems little doubt which way the newspapers accounting for the bulk of national newspaper circulation would vote. | If Osborne’s chances of following David Cameron as party leader were to be decided this week, there seems little doubt which way the newspapers accounting for the bulk of national newspaper circulation would vote. |
| With the exception of the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror, all the national daily tabloids were cock-a-hoop: from “Hooray! It’s pay rises all round” in the Daily Express to “Now that works! George’s pay rise for all” in the Daily Star. | With the exception of the Labour-supporting Daily Mirror, all the national daily tabloids were cock-a-hoop: from “Hooray! It’s pay rises all round” in the Daily Express to “Now that works! George’s pay rise for all” in the Daily Star. |
| As for the upmarket titles, the Times trumpeted “Higher wages and welfare cuts in Britain’s new deal” while the Daily Telegraph moved further along the news-to-comment continuum with “A bold, rewarding budget that confirms the Tories as the workers’ party”. | As for the upmarket titles, the Times trumpeted “Higher wages and welfare cuts in Britain’s new deal” while the Daily Telegraph moved further along the news-to-comment continuum with “A bold, rewarding budget that confirms the Tories as the workers’ party”. |
| Only the left-leaning Guardian and the Independent showed front-page doubts. | Only the left-leaning Guardian and the Independent showed front-page doubts. |
| Related: Budget 2015: the verdict from our columnists | The panel | Related: Budget 2015: the verdict from our columnists | The panel |
| The inside pages were hardly more mixed in their support. The Telegraph went on to say that Osborne was responsible for a “genuinely important budget” before praising the increased defence budget. | The inside pages were hardly more mixed in their support. The Telegraph went on to say that Osborne was responsible for a “genuinely important budget” before praising the increased defence budget. |
| The Times believed his “budget was a political tour de force and economically essential”. | The Times believed his “budget was a political tour de force and economically essential”. |
| The Mail went on to applaud his “virtuoso budget” as “a masterclass in wrong-footing opponents”. Although concerned that “the £9 living wage can only encourage yet more migrants to flock to the UK”, the Mail concluded that Osborne, having “made Britain a more attractive place to live and work”, can “congratulate himself on a job well done”. | The Mail went on to applaud his “virtuoso budget” as “a masterclass in wrong-footing opponents”. Although concerned that “the £9 living wage can only encourage yet more migrants to flock to the UK”, the Mail concluded that Osborne, having “made Britain a more attractive place to live and work”, can “congratulate himself on a job well done”. |
| Why is the support so extensive? For a start, the narrative delivered in the budget of help for “workers” rather than “scroungers” suits the editorial positions of the rightwing papers. As the biggest-selling tabloid in Britain put it, the budget was one “we on the Sun could almost have written ourselves”. | Why is the support so extensive? For a start, the narrative delivered in the budget of help for “workers” rather than “scroungers” suits the editorial positions of the rightwing papers. As the biggest-selling tabloid in Britain put it, the budget was one “we on the Sun could almost have written ourselves”. |
| Yet for all the apparent Conservative support, the debate still rages about how much impact newspaper partisanship actually has on voters’ intentions. | Yet for all the apparent Conservative support, the debate still rages about how much impact newspaper partisanship actually has on voters’ intentions. |
| Yet, even if the media may not be the main reason people put an X in a particular box, they do have a role in setting the agenda: witness the way the focus on the prospect of the SNP in government and the perceived weakness of Ed Miliband helped dictate television news in the runup to the election. | Yet, even if the media may not be the main reason people put an X in a particular box, they do have a role in setting the agenda: witness the way the focus on the prospect of the SNP in government and the perceived weakness of Ed Miliband helped dictate television news in the runup to the election. |
| It helps too that one of the “string of dragons fearlessly slayed with the most radical budget in years” (according to the Daily Mail) was the BBC, forced to take on the £700m-a-year cost of providing free TV licences for the over-75s. | It helps too that one of the “string of dragons fearlessly slayed with the most radical budget in years” (according to the Daily Mail) was the BBC, forced to take on the £700m-a-year cost of providing free TV licences for the over-75s. |
| After years of complaining about the BBC and its unfair competitive advantage, the newspaper industry now has a chancellor prepared to listen. | After years of complaining about the BBC and its unfair competitive advantage, the newspaper industry now has a chancellor prepared to listen. |
| How this affects the BBC’s own journalism will be seen in the 18 months until the end of this charter period. BBC insiders have been left fearing further job cuts since the announcement of the deal on Monday. With the speed needed to report the news in a 24-hour cycle, decisions not to press too hard can be easier to make than not. | How this affects the BBC’s own journalism will be seen in the 18 months until the end of this charter period. BBC insiders have been left fearing further job cuts since the announcement of the deal on Monday. With the speed needed to report the news in a 24-hour cycle, decisions not to press too hard can be easier to make than not. |
| Relations between Conservatives and the BBC have been tetchy since the election, with senior ministers accusing the Today programme on Radio 4 of being biased, and Cameron threatening to “close it down”, albeit jokily, on a campaign bus. | Relations between Conservatives and the BBC have been tetchy since the election, with senior ministers accusing the Today programme on Radio 4 of being biased, and Cameron threatening to “close it down”, albeit jokily, on a campaign bus. |
| The chancellor’s traditional day-after-the-budget Today show appearance was delayed by 10 minutes because of technical difficulties. The interview with regular presenter Justin Webb was so civil, it prompted fears that perhaps BBC reporters were being cowed. | |
| Comparisons were made with Evan Davis’s famously combative interview with Osborne on the Today programme in 2012, when the presenter kept interrupting and finally said: “Let’s just move on, you’re not going to answer the question so let’s not waste time.” | Comparisons were made with Evan Davis’s famously combative interview with Osborne on the Today programme in 2012, when the presenter kept interrupting and finally said: “Let’s just move on, you’re not going to answer the question so let’s not waste time.” |
| The idea that financial settlements ever affect BBC news reporters is denied by anyone who has ever worked there. Richard Sambrook, former director of news and now at Cardiff University, said BBC journalists “are all so bloody-minded it works the other way. If they knew something was sensitive, they all run at it!” | The idea that financial settlements ever affect BBC news reporters is denied by anyone who has ever worked there. Richard Sambrook, former director of news and now at Cardiff University, said BBC journalists “are all so bloody-minded it works the other way. If they knew something was sensitive, they all run at it!” |
| But not everyone agrees. Yet another former BBC insider, who asked not to be named, believes that while news reporting may remain immune from political pressure, other programmes do not. “I don’t expect many big numbers on welfare or a ‘poverty week’ any time soon,” the insider said. | But not everyone agrees. Yet another former BBC insider, who asked not to be named, believes that while news reporting may remain immune from political pressure, other programmes do not. “I don’t expect many big numbers on welfare or a ‘poverty week’ any time soon,” the insider said. |
| Others take a more nuanced view. BBC political editor Nick Robinson, about to move to the Today programme, agreed that the fear of accusations of bias makes reporters work the other way. | Others take a more nuanced view. BBC political editor Nick Robinson, about to move to the Today programme, agreed that the fear of accusations of bias makes reporters work the other way. |
| However, in a recent interview with the Guardian he said he believed Cameron’s actions had a negative impact on BBC staff, calling the veiled threat “another bit of pressure”. | However, in a recent interview with the Guardian he said he believed Cameron’s actions had a negative impact on BBC staff, calling the veiled threat “another bit of pressure”. |
| Given the media coverage the Conservatives have had since the election, it appears that the pressure is off the government – for now at least. | Given the media coverage the Conservatives have had since the election, it appears that the pressure is off the government – for now at least. |
| • This article was amended on 10 July 2015. An earlier version said the chancellor “turned up 10 minutes late” for his appearance on the Today show the day after the budget. To clarify: he was in the BBC’s radio car in time for the interview, but his appearance on air was delayed by technical difficulties |