BY GABRIEL PRINCEWILL
The clash between veteran Political journalist, Andrew Marr, and Boris Johnson on Sunday on his BBC show left a sour taste in the mouth of many viewers.
Many were equally happy to see the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, subjected to a sustained level of scrutiny combined with disdain by Marr who appeared on a mission to humiliate Johnson for his stance to join the Brexit campaign.
It may well be that Johnson’s transgression was his decision to inform the Prime Minister that he will be in the opposite camp only 9 minutes in advance of his public announcement of this. One can speculate endlessly why the Mayor took this step, though the most likely reason may have been to avoid the discomfort of any foreseeable pressure for him to back track on his plans.
FREEDOM OF OPINION
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Whatever the case, our individual and collective rights to freedom of expression and freedom of opinion must necessarily transcend the natural propensity we as humans have to get everybody to be on our side and share our views and values. This is easier said than done in the world of politics where opposition can often engender ill feeling and even contempt, whenever an expected level of allegiance to one’s position is not shared by those in your party.
TENSION
The resulting tension this can have was exemplified on Sunday when Andrew Marr pounced on Johnson in his rigorous scrutiny of the Mayor’s position, offering a thorough and needed examination of the Mayor’s position on the hot upcoming EU referendum this summer. Marr was assertive but bullish at times, allowing Johnson little room to expand on his point.
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Marr’s resolution to vigorously undermine every point of the Mayor implicitly revealed where the interviewer himself stands on the EU issue. He wants Britain to stay in the EU, that’s obvious.
However, what the British people need to hear are the coherent arguments for and against staying in the EU. At the moment these arguments are firmly embedded in the subjective view points of politicians and knowledgeable members of the public. The lay man barely knows what the ramifications of staying in or leaving will be.
The BBC profess impartiality and objectivity, whilst palpably pushing an agenda to stay in the EU instead of focusing on an exhaustive discussion that clearly pit the arguments for and against the EU.
The United Kingdom should not miss its “golden opportunity” to leave the regulatory and legislative burdens imposed by the European Union, London Mayor Boris Johnson said on Sunday. This is the only way to get rid of the “anti-democratic” regulations imposed by Brussels, according to the Mayor.
“I want to campaign for free trade with the EU. That is what we need and what we will get.”
“I want us to be able to trade freely with that zone. But I don’t want us to be subject to more and more top-down legislation and regulation.”
“We were told that there was going to be fundamental reform, we didn’t achieve that. I think that the lesson of the whole business has been that reform is not achievable,” the mayor said.
THE ANDREW MARR SHOW
Whether reform is achievable or not doesn’t demonstrate we are better off out than in, neither does it mean the reverse. But as the Mayor tried to elaborate on some of his points, he was promptly told ” this is the Andrew Marr Show, not the Boris Johnson show”. Firm, but unnecessary words, reminiscent of the kind of rhetoric often said in the Jeremy Kyle show where their guests are of far less acumen than those on Marr’s show.
Marr is an accomplished journalist with a wealth of experience, and we expect a higher level of decorum and professionalism from a man of his high credentials. This was not objective journalism here, it was more like a show of power and position on the part of Marr. He had Johnson stuck on the issue of the report from the Mayor’s economic adviser predicting economic shocks if Britain leaves the EU.
Johnson’s insistence that his economic adviser was misunderstood seemed to sharply contradict the precise words of the economist which Marr did not hesitate to quote verbatim.
PERSONAL
However, Marr’s suggestion when he reflected the opinions of other’s in the party that Johnson’s stance has an underlying political motive to overthrow David Cameron has
no legitimate substance, and appeared ‘personal’ as Johnson rightly pointed out. Loosing a referendum is not tantamount to losing your elected position.
Altogether, it was an interesting clash, but the overall approach of the BBC journalist was avowedly biased and unprofessional. The eye of media was particularly disappointed with the abrupt way he ended the interview and expressed our disappointment with the BBC.
In response, a BBC spokesperson said :
”Our coverage of the EU referendum is fair and balanced so that across the campaign period audiences are given clear and impartial information about both sides of the argument”.
We trust the BBC will reflect this impartiality, but hope to see it reflected at all times in their broadcasts.
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