Unfortunately, my school teacher is no longer with us to grade this piece through her golden rule of journalism: Who, What, Where, When, and Why.
So, let us walk through Laura Kuenssberg's article together and scan it the way she taught me to.
WHO
The article relies heavily on an army of anonymous faces. 'An ally tells me', 'one cabinet minister', 'another minister', 'one source'. This is not verified reporting. It is Westminster gossip and unnamed sources. If sources have no names, they have no skin in the game and no accountability.
WHAT
We are told the race to replace the Prime Minister is officially on. But what has actually happened? One MP resigned from government and another wants to re-enter parliament. Everything else, the timelines, the coronation plots, is speculative drama, gossip, and unnamed sources designed for clicks.
WHERE
The setting is entirely inside the Westminster bubble. An article about such a momentous topic that will affect the lives of millions of citizens contains absolutely no mention of them. There is no word on how the stock market is already reacting or how this uncertainty will impact the entire country and every single citizen.
WHEN
The piece talks about a leadership contest over the summer, yet the author admits this timetable is miles away from being confirmed. A real journalist would know the rules, laws, and procedures, and would offer at least two alternative timelines, including the very real possibility that none of this happens at all.
WHY
We are told Starmer is being pushed because he is a 'slow decision-maker'. This reduces national governance to a personality contest. Why is there no mention of the GDP growth, the many advancements the government announced just last week, or the clear progress made on their manifesto? A proper journalist would look at these undeniable results and search for the deeper, hidden motives of the people challenging the PM.
The Verdict
My teacher would have given this a 2/10. It is a theatre review masquerading as news.
The author lists major issues on the PM's desk, help with energy bills, defense spending, social media safety for children, and so much more. Yet, these crucial issues are treated as mere background decoration for party infighting.
The fact that this comes from the BBC is what should worry us the most.
A broadcaster that built its global reputation on honest, investigative journalism now relies on writers who treat politics like a soap opera.
Between these narratives, figures like Robbie Gibb with questionable political motives, and an Ofcom regulator that does everything except its job, civic trust is being destroyed.
Laura Kuenssberg can go hand in hand with Chris Mason.
We are left to wonder why the two of them are doing this and what their motives are, especially regarding the BBC, which we pay for.
We deserve real facts, not orchestrated drama.
#BBCNews #LauraKuenssberg #ChrisMason #Ofcom #UKPolitics #Journalism #VotersFirst #Decency
@AndyBurnhamGM Your path seems to be set.
As you have been a member of LFI, the first thing you need to do is unequivocally condemn Israeli genocide & commit to ridding parliament of foreign influence, particularly Israel.
If you don't do that, I will not be voting Labour in future elections.
Zack Polanski will now be witch hunted by the British media as a sort of sport.
That effort will involve centrists and right-wingers alike.
The Green Party need a strategy to deal with that - which means going on the attack and changing the conversation.
Consider the fact that it is the only Jewish party leader currently being targeted after an antisemitic attack.
Rather than Nigel Farage, who has allegations of extreme antisemitic behaviour from over 30 people he grew up with.
Even though I'm almost the only newspaper columnist who supports the Greens, you'll note I've been de facto blacklisted by most broadcasters.
I've got my own video platform these days, so whatever. But just consider the absurdity of it. The Greens are on 20% in some polls.
My colleagues want to restore the political universe they are comfortable with:
Which revolves around debates about kicking out migrants and tax cuts.
They don't want to be forced to debate taxing the rich, public ownership or not arming genocides.
The British media want the left to go away, and they will do everything they can to crush Zack Polanski and the Greens for that reason.
They want to apply a stigma to someone saying they support the Greens - unlike, say, the racist cesspit of Reform.
Then - to their horror - the left came roaring back in the form of the Green Party.
That wasn't supposed to happen!
Keir Starmer was supposed to have buried the left by lying through his teeth, which my colleagues regarded as good politics.
The British media are dominated by people who saw the 2017 election result as a nightmare.
That's when a left-wing Labour party won 40% of the vote, deprived the Tories of a majority, and looked on course to win.
My colleagues believed 2019 buried that nightmare for good.
A retweet by Zack Polanski is now the main story across every single media outlet.
Two days ago, it was revealed that Nigel Farage failed to disclose a £5 million gift from a crypto-billionaire.
It gets nowhere near the media attention, for straightforward political reasons.
@Keir_Starmer But you don’t condemn the identical Israel strike on Iran, right? That came first?Because you’re still supporting their illegal war of aggression letting US planes take off from UK bases?
This hypocrisy is fucking mind-numbing
A major report on the UK government's complicity in the Palestinian Genocide was published today
Which news organisations have reported on this important story so far today?
From what I've seen:
Keir Starmer, you have allowed my party, the party of Keir Hardie, Clem Attlee, Aneurin Bevan, Harold Wilson, Barbara Castle, Tony Benn to be dragged into the gutter by Mandelson, McSweeney, Simons & Labour Together. We need an independent inquiry into LT & its influence.
The left surprised them with Corbyn,so they sabotaged him. They destroyed the Labour Party thinking they had destroyed the left. But the ideas and policies are popular and that is why the left keep bouncing back. They can’t keep fixing all the leaks of hope for a better world.✊
Palantir - a company which has supported ICE raids and enabled genocide in Gaza - should be nowhere near this country, let alone our NHS.
Kick Palantir out.
The Greens were "respected" when they stayed in their lane & were "nice". The world isn't nice. The Greens have policies to govern & now have a large membership to deliver. The time to be "nice" has gone. Politics is a serious business. We are here to fight for every vote.
Huge moment from @GeorgeMonbiot on #BBCQT.
Britain and the US overthrew Iran’s elected leader Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 after he nationalised oil.
The Shah followed. Then the 1979 revolution.
Decades later the consequences are still unfolding.
That’s imperial blowback.
Britain defended corporate oil interests abroad and yet at home we let our own resources flow into the global market instead of protecting national wealth.
History has consequences.
#IranWar
Dear #bbcqt can we please have more informed contributors such as George Monbiot on @bbcquestiontime every week?
What a refreshing change from the usual gaslighting and misinformation from Reform.
George Monbiot: “James Cleverly has learnt nothing from Iraq, nothing from Afghanistan, nothing from Libya. What we see here is Trump acting as a global chaos generator & the further we stand away from that the better”
#bbcqt