Latest news with #pro-Unionist
The National
6 days ago
- Politics
- The National
BBC Scotland resorts again to simplistic straw-man defence
SO that's Professor Richard Murphy ended his chances of ever being invited back on BBC Scotland after he called out the corporation's obvious biases on the issues of Scottish independence, Israel-Palestine, and its constant platforming of right-wing views and news framing. During a phone-in on BBC Radio Scotland's Mornings Show discussing BBC impartiality, hosted by Connie McLaughlin, Murphy noted quite accurately that the half of the Scottish population who support independence have no trust in the broadcaster because it is 'so absolutely pro-Unionist'. Until Murphy's intervention the programme had largely consisted of McLaughlin, former BBC political editor Brian Taylor, and former BBC Radio 4 presenter Roger Bolton mutually patting one another on the back about how wonderfully impartial the BBC is and what a great job it does. When Murphy was brought in to have his 'final word', he said: 'We've gone on for 40-plus minutes and all I've heard so far is pro-BBC propaganda from the BBC.' After calling out McLaughlin for constantly interrupting him when she'd allowed her BBC colleagues to speak without interruption, Murphy was finally allowed to say: "The BBC is biased in favour of big business, it is biased in favour of the right wing media because it uses that as its news sources in the main for discussion, it is biased against the nationalist cause in Scotland, it is biased against the Palestinian cause in its claim and its right to have a state, it is biased in favour of Israel very clearly." The BBC likes to delegitimise those who call it out for its obvious bias, particularly on the issue of Scottish independence, by characterising its critics as conspiracy theorists, and indeed this was in essence the defence attempted on the programme by Brian Taylor, who claimed that he was 'never at any point asked within the BBC by managers to tailor a report to fit an agenda dictated by the BBC' adding that he had witnessed 'endless complaints' about BBC Scotland coverage. Taylor's response represented a simplistic and self-serving mischaracterisation of how bias operates. No one is alleging that BBC managers issue instructions to journalists and reporters to alter their reports in particular ways. That's not how institutional bias works. Institutional bias arises from a culture within an institution which creates and fosters perceptions that a particular institutional policy is fair, deserved, or justifiable in some manner. In the case of the BBC that policy is the belief that Scotland being a part of the UK is a natural and politically neutral state of affairs which does not require to be defended or justified. The BBC is a quintessentially British organisation and as such is incapable of viewing Scottish independence as anything other than a threat to the proper and natural order of things. This institutional culture permits those BBC employees who possess personal beliefs against Scottish independence permission to allow these beliefs to colour their reporting, safe in the knowledge that pro-UK bias will go unchallenged or will be tacitly supported by senior management, while those who have personal views in support of independence will self-censor. This is compounded by the BBC's unshakeable belief in its own impartiality, which inhibits staff from speaking out against bias from within the organisation, which allows bias to continue uncorrected and to become compounded over time. Institutional bias also shows itself in the choice and framing of news stories. The BBC has a symbiotic relationship with the print media, which in the UK is largely right wing, and which in Scotland is both largely right wing and overwhelmingly anti-independence. In both these aspects the print media is wildly out of kilter with the views of the Scottish population as a whole, yet the BBC's own pro-British and establishment institutional bias prevents it from recognising that it allows print media bias to determine the BBC's own news agenda and presentation. Evidence of BBC bias, particularly when it comes to the coverage of the Scottish constitutional issue, is overwhelming, but the BBC Scotland's institutional bias prevents the Corporation from recognising it as such. Recognising it would entail making a radical change to the entire structure, organisation and ethos of the BBC. Instead, it resorts to the simplistic and comfortable kind of straw man defence which was witnessed from Brian Taylor on this morning's BBC Scotland programme which implies that there is some sort of conspiracy being alleged. This protects the BBC from having to examine the more fundamental and systemic issues which are responsible for the bias which is so plain to see but which the BBC cannot admit to. Ian Murray visits Faslane nuclear base Ian Murray, the Governor General of North Britain, and a man whose views are remarkably plastic, changing over time to suit the requirements of his political masters, today visited the Faslane nuclear submarine base on the Clyde, to announce a £250 million investment in the ageing and polluting site. The cash will be spent over the next three years to improve infrastructure at the site, ensuring that the base can house the next generation of nuclear submarines. Murray was previously opposed to nuclear weapons, he's now an enthusiastic cheerleader for the UK's weapons of mass destruction. The £250m won't be spent on cleaning up the radioactive waste which the MoD has released into the Firth of Clyde. In 2009, The Guardian reported that there were repeated leaks of radioactive waste from broken pipes and storage tanks at the site into the waters of the Holy Loch. The leaks were so serious that that the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) warned that it would consider closing the base down if it had the legal powers to do so. There is no reason to believe that the MoD has cleaned up its act in the intervening sixteen years. Indeed, in 2020 it was reported that the MoD was planning to increase discharges of radioactive waste into the Firth of Clyde by up to 50 times. That's something else that BBC Scotland didn't give a lot of publicity to. [[BBC Scotland]] is quite content to push the UK Government line that its nuclear base on the Clyde is nothing more than an extremely generous job creation scheme for the greater Helensburgh area.
The National
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
I called out BBC Radio Scotland for bias – here's how it went
As the paper notes: ECONOMIST Richard Murphy clashed with a BBC Radio Scotland presenter as he ripped into the corporation for being 'biased against the nationalist cause'. Murphy took part in the phone-in on the Mornings show presented by Connie McLaughlin on Wednesday when the pair got into a spat. Midway through an extensive discussion on impartiality at the BBC, Murphy came onto the programme to say he did not have confidence in the BBC, highlighting that the 'nationalist community' does not trust the broadcaster because it is 'so absolutely pro-Unionist'. After former BBC political editor Brian Taylor was brought back into the discussion – having spoken on the programme already – alongside ex-BBC Radio 4 presenter Roger Bolton, Murphy and McLaughlin then got into a heated back-and-forth. Eventually, after many interruptions from the presenter, who seemed totally unaware that the producer had invited me onto the programme because, apparently, they could find "no one in Scotland" who had a word of criticism to make about the BBC, I was allowed a word in edgeways and got to say: The BBC is biased in favour of big business, it is biased in favour of the right wing media because it uses that as its news sources in the main for discussion, it is biased against the nationalist cause in Scotland, it is biased against the Palestinian cause in its claim and its right to have a state, [and] it is biased in favour of Israel very clearly. The bias was staggering. In a supposed discussion on bias in the BBC, which had BBC employees or ex-employees appear one after the other to sing its praises, including the fact, as one suggested, that in 35 years he had never seen editorial bias, I was interrupted from the moment I began to criticise it, as if to prove that everything I had to say about bias was justified. READ MORE: Zarah Sultana restates 'We are all Palestine Action' in parliament Even more bizarrely, when they introduced me, they said I was a "columnist" but would not even mention The National newspaper that I write for – so biased are they against it. I had to correct them. Never doubt that the BBC is biased. And most especially, never doubt that it is very biased in Scotland, where Unionism is the only cause that it represents. No wonder no one wanted to go on: The odds were grossly unfairly stacked against me as a critic. And that, apparently, is an absence of bias in the BBC lexicon.
The National
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The National
Richard Murphy in huge spat with BBC presenter over 'pro-Union bias'
Murphy took part in the phone-in on the Mornings show presented by Connie McLaughlin on Wednesday when the pair got into a spat. Midway through an extensive discussion on impartiality at the BBC, Murphy came onto the programme to say he did not have confidence in the BBC, highlighting that the 'nationalist community' does not trust the broadcaster because it is 'so absolutely pro-Unionist'. After former BBC political editor Brian Taylor was brought back into the discussion – having spoken on the programme already – alongside ex-BBC Radio 4 presenter Roger Bolton, Murphy and McLaughlin then got into a heated back-and-forth. READ MORE: Media expert raises fears over BBC Gaza documentary review When Murphy was brought in to have his 'final word', he said: 'We've gone on for 40-plus minutes and all I've heard so far is pro-BBC propaganda from the BBC.' McLaughlin then interrupted to say: 'Well not really because they've allowed you to speak.' 'No, let me finish Connie please,' Murphy then said. McLaughlin then hit back saying: 'Richard, come on.' Murphy then said he had just heard a programme 'which is entirely about how good the BBC is from BBC editors and producers' which he claimed is 'bias'. McLaughlin interrupted him again saying: 'Have you not been speaking on the programme for the last eight minutes or so because I don't think then that's accurate?' (Image: Ian West/PA Wire) Murphy then said: 'Every time I do, you interrupt me Connie and you are not interrupting your BBC colleagues.' McLaughlin said it was 'not fair' for Murphy to make that accusation as she warned him that he had a minute and a half left to speak. 'The BBC is biased in favour of big business, it is biased in favour of the right wing media because it uses that as its news sources in the main for discussion, it is biased against the nationalist cause in Scotland, it is biased against the Palestinian cause in its claim and its right to have a state, it is biased in favour of Israel very clearly,' Murphy concluded. McLaughlin replied: 'Thank you for that, you've had your say and hopefully you think you had enough time there.' The squabble had been preceded by Murphy clashing with Taylor after the economist claimed Taylor had said he had never heard any complaints about BBC bias in his time at the broadcaster. READ MORE: Scottish Tories in cronyism row as THIRD ex-spin doctor gets public cash Taylor clarified that he had said he was 'never at any point asked within the BBC by managers to tailor a report to fit an agenda dictated by the BBC' adding that he had witnessed 'endless complaints' about BBC Scotland coverage. But Murphy hit back by claiming the BBC bases its news agenda on a printed press heavily skewed in favour of the Union. He said: 'You're saying there's never been an instruction but let's look at how the BBC constructs so much of its news output. 'Almost every day the BBC's news agenda is tailored by what is in the media, the rest of the media, in particular the printed media. 'Have you noticed the bias in the printed media in Scotland? There is one pro-independence newspaper and a raft of those who are opposed. 'So, if the BBC reflects equally each of the newspapers, the nationalist cause does not get represented.' McLaughlin said: 'The purpose of the BBC is not to reflect every newspaper out there.' The BBC has come under fire from a variety of angles after an independent review found it had breached an accuracy guideline in failing to disclose that the narrator of a documentary on Gaza was the son of a Hamas official. However, the report also concluded that in terms of the programme's content, there were no issues with accuracy, fairness or impartiality. The BBC has also sacked both MasterChef presenters Gregg Wallace and John Torode, following a review into the behaviour of Wallace. The report, commissioned by MasterChef production company Banijay UK and led by law firm Lewis Silkin, found 45 out of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated, alongside two standalone allegations made against other people, including one for using racist language. Wallace was sacked by the BBC last week. In a post on Instagram, Torode confirmed he was the person alleged to have used racist language but said he had 'no recollection of the incident' and was 'shocked and saddened' by the allegation. Torode has been told his contract on MasterChef will not be renewed on Tuesday.
The National
09-06-2025
- Politics
- The National
It's not enough for SNP to occasionally say ‘independence'
Moving from local to national, there was a call for a constitutional convention from Councillor Murray in The National on Saturday. On the same day in the same paper, Gordon Macintyre-Kemp (Believe in Scotland) called for a new national conversation through a citizens convention. Independence Forum Scotland's Summer Convention on Scotland's Future will take place in Perth this Saturday. It will be their second this year. The grassroots took root, sheltered immediately after 2014, and the movement well continued. And thank (supply your own deity or whatever) for that. It's still the same message from across that movement: independence. It's sad, then, that political parties such as the SNP haven't moved on in tandem with us. The independence message has been diluted, and looking at the most recent rejection last week, it's more a case that the message was missing, again. John Swinney is quoted after the latest failure as saying: 'I thought the SNP was best placed to see off Reform because of the scale of collapse in the Labour vote.' Is it too much to believe (as I have done til now) that the SNP would see off Reform and the other pro-Unionist parties not by asking for a vote just to keep someone else out, but with their laid-out vision for independence? It is their raison d'etre after all. Not heart before head, but by taking the abstract notion of independence and translating that into the positive. It's not enough for the SNP to occasionally say 'independence' like some now tired mantra. Or expect me to click my heels and wish, Dorothy-like. Where is the plan, the strategy, the tactics? Where, when are we reminded of the changes to date that have had a positive impact? The likes of additional child payments, free bus passes, achieved through our government, our parliament, albeit hamstrung via the clever trap that is devolution. Where, when is the current highway robbery situation explained, as energy flows out of Scotland only to be returned at an increased cost to households? Westminster seems to have imposed a tariff on Scotland, having robbed us first! I think even Trump would be impressed with that one! There's no room to say that as this was a local election, indy shouldn't feature. These are all 'local' issues across the 'nation'; indy should always feature. Then to all politicians who say they believe in independence: you need to be connected with the grassroots movement, you have to heed what we say, see what we're doing, realise the strength, the numbers. You need to be prepared to tell folks if it's change you want, then change you'll get with independence, and here's how, here's the plan. The clock is ticking down to 2026. Selma Rahman Edinburgh WHY oh why can't we have simple literature telling the general public that with INDEPENDENCE we will be THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS better off and rid of THIS, THIS, THIS, THIS and THIS from Westminster that is making us worse off? Ken McCartney Hawick
The National
29-05-2025
- General
- The National
Is Larkhall all that 'staunch'? Local historians say maybe not
With its caged-in green traffic lights and the world's only black Subway sandwich shop, Larkhall has long-held a reputation for being deeply anti-Catholic and pro-Unionist — local historians, however, want to set the record straight. Members of Larkhall Heritage Group spoke to The National about the town's history, its community spirit, and why they believe Larkhall's sectarian reputation may be unfair. READ MORE:£150m renewable energy site proposed for former coal terminal The history of Larkhall Helen Moir, head chairperson of the group and local historian, gave a brief overview of the town's history: 'Larkhall as we know it now really didn't come into being until the 18th century, around 1740, but when they were digging up the foundations to build the Asda they found evidence of habitation that went back 8000 years. 'What really made this town grow was the fact that Larkhall sits in the main Glasgow to Carlisle coach road.' Moir explained that Larkhall was initially a domestic weaving town, where families would work with looms in one room of a cottage and live in the other, but the discovery of a coal seam — like many towns in South Lanarkshire — was what really put it on the map, leading to an influx of new residents and the creation of both a cooperative and the Larkhall Victualling Society. Larkhall's victualling society, pictured above, was set up to provide essential goods and services at affordable prices for community members (Image: Larkhall Heritage Group) It was described by Moir as a place that has always been forward thinking, being an early adopter of a cooperative movement and having tram and train links by the early 20th century, but acknowledged the sectarian reputation it holds. 'It's always been a forward thinking wee village, and I know we get a reputation for sectarianism but that's not totally true — this group has studied Larkhall inside and out. 'There was a huge mix of Catholic and Protestant Irish people who came to the west of Scotland and settled in Larkhall, and local records show absolutely no evidence of sectarian violence.' Whilst still a predominantly 'Rangers' area, and being home to a historic Orange Lodge, Moir said that interest in Orange Walks had died down in recent years and stressed there is a thriving Catholic congregation in the area — as well as setting the record straight on the infamous red-white-and-blue railings. 'They were painted that colour for Queen Elizabeth's father's coronation and they just remained that colour — it wasn't a deliberate act," she explained, referencing how the fence was green prior to the coronation. She added: 'I think this all needs to be kind of put to bed now.' Shifting the focus Instead of Larkhall being known for its sectarian roots, Moir wants people to focus on the wealth of history the area has, the revival of train services following the Beeching cuts, its tight-knit and pro-active community, and the fact it still has a thriving high street amongst other things. READ MORE:Drivers to face permanent 20mph limits across Highlands 'We should talk about the fact there's been habitation here for thousands of years, talk about how Larkhall had advanced with trains, trams and all of its shops; it has always been a village that's moved on', she said. 'The aim of this group is to archive as much local history as possible and to present it and save it for generations to come, rather than talk about Rangers and Celtic and Orange Parades and all of that stuff. 'Since the trains were brought back, the town has expanded like many others. It brought investments, new houses and with that more folk. Anything that brings more diversity, more community spirit — that can only be a good thing, no matter the faith background.'
