A simple way to annoy lefty comedians
Posted on June 6, 2011Work has been quite hectic lately, hence the very limited blogging over the last ten days. In all the whirl, I missed this report about The Freedom Association securing an apology from the BBC.
Back in December, Alan Davies and David Baddiel used a 5 Live slot to smear The Freedom Association as a “posher version of the BNP” and liken TFA’s founder, Norris McWhirter, to “Oswald Mosley” and Hitler’s Brownshirts. Sadly this was just the latest instance of lefty comedians forgetting that being good at jokes doesn’t make you the fount of all political truth.
Had Baddiel and Davies bothered to check the facts before slinging mud, they would have known that the Freedom Association – which I worked for 2005-2007 and on whose governing Council I am proud to sit – is dedicated to the seven principles of a free society:
- Individual Freedom
- Personal and Family Responsibility
- The Rule of Law
- Limited Government
- Free Market Economy
- National Parliamentary Democracy
- Strong National Defences
In short, it is a libertarian organisation which is about as far from the oppressive, racist collectivism of the BNP or Oswald Mosley as you can possibly get.
As for Norris, he served tirelessly in the Royal Navy helping to defeat fascism in World War II and spent the bulk of his adult life supporting the fight to free the peoples of Eastern Europe from Communist totalitarianism. But apparently too long under the studio lights (or perhaps too many licence-fee-funded lunches) have blinded Alan Davies and David Baddiel to such inconvenient facts.
It’s good news that after pressure from Robert Halfon MP, criticism from DCMS Secretary of State Jeremy Hunt and complaints from many listeners, the BBC has acknowledged it was in the wrong. It would be better news if Davies and Baddiel were made to apologise personally for the lies they told on air with no attempt at balance, but that seems unlikely.
Perhaps the best way to fight back against their smears, and the best way to annoy some lefty comedians, would be to join The Freedom Association. You can do so here.
Tags: Alan Davies, BBC, BNP, Comedians, David Baddiel, Fascism, Freedom, Libertarianism, Media, Norris McWhirter, opinion, Oswald Mosley, Politics, Socialism, TFA, The Freedom Association
Categories: Culture, Opinion, Politics
As a TFA member I think it’s all too easy for the BBC to make a nominal apology. In my view it would be quite proper and balanced in this case, for the BBC to cancel any contracts they have and forbid their having any future ones. I’m sure that, assuming they are witty enough, they’ll get plenty of other work.
27.06.2011 15:20