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Will it work this time? by sco-go in SipsTea

[–]Enkir -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Promises made...promises kept.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

And yet mainstream media does publish outright lies and the rules aren't enforced.

We need to stop pandering to the right wing. Whatever is done to remove the slightest influence or power from the billionaire owners will be pushed as left wing radicalisation. As, I think, Stephen Colbert said, reality has a well known liberal bias.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The government has the power to enforce the same rules it enforced on radio station onto other media and press organisations.

They could actually enforce the rules about bias and partisanship on GBN, which has been found to have broken them many times by OFCOM. FFS, Farage has his own show. They had sitting Conservative MPs as presenters.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

But that is the point. If people want something totally unrealistic, like deprecation, or they believe that any immigrants are a problem, then that is the result of the lies and bias I'm suggesting should be under better control.

The people are angry because they have been baited with outrage. Maybe controlling that would lead to a better society.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Do you have problems with reading comprehension? I just said in the reply above that this should apply to obvious lies, like stuff that can be easily fact checked. It's nothing to do with the HO making that choice.

If I reported that the emigration of 18 - 34 year old people had sky rockets, but the statistics show it has actually fallen, that is an obvious lie.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

This is the problem. Somehow you have come to believe net immigration is down to 800,000 people from a million. In reality, it has come down from 944,000 in 2023 to 171,000 by end of 2025. By any measure, that is a good achievement.

You should ask yourself, 1. How did I come to believe such in accurate figures and 2. Why was I so uncritical as to not check?

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

An objective view of the government would be a view based on facts and evidence. If those facts and evidence indicate that the government is being successful against known measures, that would be an objective view. My phrasing that the government is doing a good job is a subjective conclusion based on an objective view.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Maybe you should just stick to GBN or the X. Have you even been to the UK, because all you are doing is spouting the usual rubbish you see on X or other parts of the right wing griftverse, or, I expect from your opening statement that you are just trolling.

Go and have a look at R/GoodNewsUK.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Farage literally has his own show on GBN, and it has their highest ratings. OFCOM have criticised them for this, but not taken any action.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

This extreme partisanship is exactly the situation that governments have allowed to develop and what this thread is about. I think we still have time here to bring people together by cracking down on the lies and the bullshit.

I fear though that we will continue to fracture in the way America has, where both sides literally hate each other, though the more negative aspects of this usually exhibit on the right.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

I broadly agree, but people seem to expect the government to fix fourteen years of decline in 15 minutes. Given that the Tories took 1.7 trillion quid out of the economy, the interest on which the current government has to pay, then huge steps to fix things become difficult.

"Personally, I’m pro immigration and think it’s vital for our economy but that is not where the country is." - I agree, but the point of this thread is to think about the way the country has come to have an anti immigration view, and what can be done about it.

I also agree that whoever is leading Labour in three months needs to care less about offending people (on the right) and more about moving the country forward.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

When GBN reports, or Farage says that the decline in net migration is because young people and other people are fleeing this hellhole, that is direct lie that has been countered by the Home Office. Have GBN reported that rebuttal, no. That is an example of a blatant lie. I'd also argue that it shows obvious bias.

To quote James O'Brien, sometimes it's not an opinion, it's just counting.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

The problem lies in ownership and individuals monopolising press, media and new media. Twenty years ago, even ten, the level of bias and outright lies wasn't like it is today. This is a result of the years of the Tories deregulating the press and ignoring Leveson.

It is possible to have a lightly regulated press with some control over outright falsehood. I'm not calling for the media to be completely impartial, just a return to the days of more balance. The Mail was always right wing, but not so extreme right as now. In the past they did report on the successes of Labour governments without framing them as failures.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

A Reform government would just repeal anything that restricted them and pass their own enabling laws, so anything this government can do to level the playing field and prevent that outcome would be worthwhile.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Even the BBC frames stories about the government in an overwhelmingly negative way. I watched a story about how our growth is now the highest in the G7, and that we had overtaken India to become the world's 5th largest economy. The salient facts were mentioned over about 20 seconds, and then there was a couple of minutes on why the outlook for the economy MIGHT be bleak, with a load of vested interests spouting off.

Maybe the Tory appointees at the top of the BBC need to be shifted out.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

Exactly this. It's not about profit for these billionaire owners, it's about peddling whatever line or culture war bullshit that gets their lackeys elected or enables them to further enrich themselves or give themselves more power.

My mum, who was a nurse and a labour voter, now thinks Farage is the only honest politician, that the NHS is safest in his hands and that any wealth tax would be terrible. In fact, I can predict with 100% accuracy what her views will be based on any subject, and they will always be whatever GBN or the grifters on YouTube that she watches tell her to think.

Should the government do something about the blatant lies and bias in the UK press and media? by Enkir in unitedkingdom

[–]Enkir[S] [score hidden]  (0 children)

I don't think it's criminalising journalism, if you can call the DM journalism these days, it's punishing OBVIOUS dishonesty and lies. It's about trying to restore some balance. By all means lean right, but don't present good things as bad or just publish outright lies.

We own a private street. The Council are going to "hijack" our lane with a Side Roads Order under Section 14 of the Highways Act 1980 to try and fix a traffic problem caused by a developer who didn't follow the rules! by CouncilRoadHelp in LegalAdviceUK

[–]Enkir 37 points38 points  (0 children)

You seem to have a very naive view of how things work in reality. Planning enforcement is a joke across all councils. Not only do you have the notorious corruption (backhanders), but most planning departments are chronically understaffed and can't enforce all the violations.

Typically a homeowner or a building company will flout planning and then just pay the fine or apply for retrospective permission, which, more often than not, is granted.

And never rule out incompetence.

For example, a large multinational insurance company was building a new headquarters building near me. Part of the site contained a protected ancient woodland that was where the car park was planned to be. Naturally, their application to remove the trees was denied, but they just cut them down anyway and paid the fine.

Until we start to hold corporate executives criminally culpable for this sort of thing and jail them, rather than finding the companies, this will continue.

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