"I've Still Never Voted Tory..."

The other day The Guardian was running a headline about the 'Tories' Dirty Secret'. Naturally, I got my hopes up that they were about to reveal that David Cameron loves nothing better than donning black face, putting on women's clothes and singing 'Old Man River', whilst being whipped by a large man dressed as a slave overseer. Not, obviously, that a clean living guy like Dave would do a thing like that. George Osborne, perhaps. But no, the story turned out to be about Lord Ashcroft, his non-dom status and the millions he's pumping into the Tory Party. I'd like to believe that these revelations might help open people's eyes to the Tories' true nature prior to the election. Sadly, I think it will pass most people by. Even if they understand all the nuances of the issue, the reality is that the majority of the Tory-controlled press simply won't report it.

Perhaps the most depressing thing I've seen this week has been the BBC's capitulation in the face of a hypothetical Tory election victory, announcing cuts and the closure of two radio stations in the vain hope that this might appease Cameron's puppet masters, Murdoch and Son. I wouldn't mind, but not a single vote has been cast yet. Hell, we don't even know for sure the date of the next election, let alone whether the Tories actually will win. Indeed, the way the polls are going at the moment, a hung parliament seems increasingly likely. But what else should we expect from the current BBC Director General, Mark Thompson? Time and again, he's shown himself to be utterly spineless in the face of manufactured media opprobrium toward the corporation. That's why he got the job, of course, and why his predecessor, Greg Dyke, had to go. Dyke had shown his willingness to defend the BBC and stand up to the government during the whole 'dodgy dossier' business. It's not even as if Thompson's current proposals make much sense. Closing 6 Music, for instance, is hardly going to bring big savings, bearing in mind it has an annual budget of less than ten million pounds. If they must lose a radio station, what about Five Live, which has degenerated into nothing more than a glorified local radio phone in, where neo Nazis, bigots and the plain ignorant air their moronic 'opinions' on a daily basis? Even better, how about cutting a few of those vastly overpaid BBC executives who, as far as anyone can see, make no creative contribution whatsoever?