Well done Ed Miliband for speaking out about the Daily Mail's article on his father

[claig]

The Daily Mail used a low tactic of accusing Ed miliband's father of hating Britain.

I think it was a nasty thing to do. Just because someone is a Marxist and may criticise some aspects of the country or its instiutions does not mean that they hate Britain.

Petite, yes it appears that he is right wing, but he seems to despise all of the right wing parties. Yes he is anti-EU.

Hmm, actually reading more about him I'm not sure what i think of his views. I think I will have to read some of his books. He might well be in a world of his own (which isn't necessarily a criticism)

petite I was surprised too that they gave him a right of reply. Not surprised about what they did with it.

I read your link to the newest bit of bile-flecked hate. It almost made me laugh. None of it's aimed at the readers who must just skip over it.

In Alistair Campbell's tirade on Newsnight he said Dacre can't bring himself to apologise. Seems right. He also twice slipped in that Rothermere thinks Dacre's losing the plot and Jon Steafel is after his job.

Who knows? But it's a good way to notch up the fear and loathing.

Spot on. He is in a world of his own, independent and above the fray, looking down on all of teh parties from another planet and anti all of them.

He used to be a Trotskyist in his youth. He is a very clever man, and lots of things that he says are right, but I wonder if he believes them all or if he is toying with us all down here on planet Earth.

'He also twice slipped in that Rothermere thinks Dacre's losing the plot and Jon Steafel is after his job.'

Campbell is wrong. Dacre has just been given an extension to his contract. They all fear Dacre.

Rothermere has just extended Dacre's contract :(

Cross post.

I am looking forward to reading Dacre's diaries. He must be writing them. They will be fascinating.

Yes, I noticed that yesterday, but forgot. Oh well.

At least Campbell said Steafel thinks Dacre's losing it too so perhaps he won't have too comfortable a time.

Not that I think many people have a comfortable time working for Dacre except for a few pets who write pieces headlined: 'hilarious' or 'excoriating', which is handy shorthand for: 'don't waste precious moments of your life reading this boring shit'.

Hark at all the people commenteding on the DM's message boards about Mr Miliband Snr's writing as though they had read it. In fact almost everyone who knew anything about it all was like me: they knew that the Miliband's dad was a refugee and a Marxist and that's about it. And now suddenly they're all experts and are banging on as though he had as much influence as Thatcher, and therefore this is all justified.

The Mail sent an uninvited reporter to a family-only memorial service for EM's uncle yesterday.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-24379322
Looks like they are/were planning a follow-up personal attack for publication this weekend. I believe that Rothermere extended Dacre's contract before this business with Miliband kicked off, somebody needs to take Dacre's shovel off him before he finds himself on a Workfare placement

before he finds himself on a Workfare placement

Oh, if ONLY!!!

Ha ha that would be funny.

re the reporter at the memorial service.

And surprising from the MoS as it is usually slightly better than the DM and even seems to criticise it on occasion. I think they are seriously misjudging the public mood. Or deliberately keeping going until the core readership comes round to what they are saying.

The hassling by the Mail of some of Miliband's relatives at a memorial service for his uncle is disgraceful. They are just taking the piss now - and sending a very clear signal that they consider themselves untouchable.

Interestingly the Daily Telegraph has reprinted in full and without comments its original obituary of Ralph Miliband from 1994

Professor Ralph Miliband, who has died aged 70, was an inspiring teacher of politics and an internationally renowned figure of the British Left. Though committed to socialism, he never hesitated to criticise its distortion by Stalin and other dictators. He also inveighed against the timidity and limited horizons of West European social democracy. The ideal he sought was a democratic and open Marxism.

They'd have thought sending a reporter to the service was normal. It's not, in the real world, but it's a normal part of harassing someone, or monstering them.

The MoS editor apologised an hour and a half after Rothermere received that letter and two people have been suspended - I guess the reporter and the news editor.

The editor apparently didn't know. It's possible, but I don't see how you'd decide to pick up the sister paper's ball and run with it without consulting the editor.

It's not that I feel sorry for the editor it's just that, as Miliband pointed out to Rothermere, this is the culture. This is what people do and if the owner appears to condone it why should they change?

Presumably the editor thought this was okay, until Rothermere changed his mind.

I wonder what's going to happen at the Daily Mail? I suppose they haven't actually doorstepped Miliband and will stick to the line that the opinion articles were legitimate. And Dacre is more important than Geordie Grief.

Grieg FGS! But Grief was a good typo.

He's MoS editor btw.

Alistair campbell has been an obnoxious hypocrite throughout this - as a proponent of the Iraq war and other examples of labour sleaze (think the autographed copy of the Hutton report which was promptly auctioned off by him, with the proceeds going into Labours coffers.. completely insensitive as far as Dr Kelly and his family were concerned)

And to think he now has the audacity to take the moral highground and mobilize a rent-a-mob contingent to seek out Dacre.

And yes, I see the same people demonizating Dacre for his insensitivity despite absentmindedly forgetting their own glee at Thatchers demise.

Laughable.

I noticed that catkins. I guessed the Telegraph were distancing themselves from the Daily Mail.

Their former editor, Charles Moore, condemned it in a column for them. BTW he's Lady Thatcher's official biographer and friend and yet he didn't bother diverting his argument with comments about Tramp The Dirt Down parties.

If he or other close friends of Thatcher such as Lord Moore think it's more important to stick to the point than score them, I don't know why people who didn't know her are haring off on a tangent.

Well, I do. But it's pretty desperate.

Agreed moistened . Double standards make me vom. Campbell was the biggest bully of modern times in Westminster. He cannot take the high ground with anyone and yet he does it in every interview about everything and anything.
Ed would like very much press regulation and is milking this for all it's worth, it's not a morale crusade it's a political one.

God forbid that anyone should be judged by comments their parents made at the age of 17.

I shudder to think of some of the views I held and garbage I spouted at that age!

I think many people are pleased to see a politician standing up to the gutter press instead of cravenly pandering to them.

Makes a nice change, doesn't it?

I don't know what you do for a living chipstick and moistened but I am a journalist, and let me tell you, you two are talking rot.

This is not acceptable and it's not what I went into journalism for. And before you ask, I've never worked for the Guardian and peddle my living in silly showbiz and women's stuff for whoever will buy it.

Many senior Mail journalists think this campaign and their editor has become insane. Just like people at The Sun, where I worked, thought Kelvin McKenzie was insane over Hillsborough and other things but didn't dare say.

With some egregious exceptions, most journalists are liberal, if not left wing. It's the nature of the job.

Do you know what it's like to work somewhere you can't express the mildest bit of political dissent because you will be branded a traitor and you will be shown the door?

Do you know what it's like to work somewhere where the day after a Conservative victory you have to compete with how Tory girl or boy you are to curry favour with the sociopath who is your boss?

My background is tabloids. I have monstered people, because that's what you do if your news editor tells you and you want to pay that month's mortgage rather than walking out the door in a blaze of glory towards the dole office.

You develop that Millwall mentality: everyone hates us but we don't care. It's a great feeling, and sometimes it's justified. But not always.

Do you want me to explain to you what it's like to be monstered? Trust me, you wouldn't want me on your doorstep, and I specialised in being one of the good cops.

I'm not asking for your sympathy. In fact I'd feel insulted if you pitied me.

I'm just pointing out that you two are woefully ignorant while posing as people who know what they're talking about.

You make me laugh and weep.

Very nice change.

And as I said above. There is a big difference between Thatcher and Miliband Senior. Thatcher was a public person whose acts had a direct effect on the people. It is normal that people had strong emotions about her one way or the other, though I don't condone them dancing in the street. Miliband was a teacher, a writer, and although not everyone agreed with him on everything ,(including his sons afaik), his life was led relatively privately and his actions harmed no-one. Most of the people criticising him haveno idea what he actually did write, but one thing is sure, he was not a Comunist and he did not support Communist Russia.

I don't see why people are treating the issue in the same way.

very good post Limited. Well said

Very interesting post, thanks Limited .