Whilst I would agree, the truth is that the traditional media are so hostile to liberal or left policies that the only way to get sympathy is to be a part of that critical mainstream.

the best analysis of this is coming out of the USA where the situation has gone a lot further and for far longer. We only have to note the difference in reporting on Bush and Clinton to see this phenomenon in action.

Clinton was destroyed in the press and on TV merely for having extra-marital sex. However, Bush's offences against the USA are legion; he has broken the law 750 times and trashed the Constitution itself on numerous occasions, yet it is almost impossible to even infer a minor criticism of him in the mainstream press.

They simply apply a different criterion when reporting on the left or the right. And it happens here too. Quite why well-educated and informed people, who individually actually tend towards liberalism, behave as a group like a ravening right-wing horde is open to debate. But it is nevertheless a fact that they do and politicians respond to that reality. If they want the press to say nice things about them, they have to be horrible to the left.

keep to the Fen Causeway