Myth 8: 2015 is the first Internet election

April 29, 2015 1:05 PM

"Almost all media coverage depends on a rehash of several myths about this election. Let’s look at them – in no particular order – one by one. -- Eight media myths about the 2015 election and why they're wrong by Alex Grant.
posted by MartinWisse (22 comments total)

That was VERY confusing until I realized it was about a UK election. At about #3.
posted by smackfu at 1:36 PM on April 29, 2015

I like how this article ends with "this is what the media SHOULD be covering." Not that it's a substantial flaw in criticism of the media, but so many pieces rag on the media for their shitty, unbalanced, yellow, viewer-driven 24/7 horse race coverage, that it's a good reminder what the journalism's job actually is, and it feels good and necessary to remind people at the moment.
posted by easter queen at 1:43 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Really good piece - except that I myself haven't heard anyone say it's '1992 all over again'.
posted by Segundus at 1:47 PM on April 29, 2015

It's kind of depressing that to get any reasonable coverage of the UK election I have to visit websites outside of the UK to get a reasonable balanced view. The newspapers are all a bit nuts frankly, and I include my beloved Grauniad in that. Five-thirty-eight's coverage has been balanced and insightful. It's going to be a Lab-SNP coalition of some form or the other. The only question in my head is whether Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) will be PM rather than Milliband (Lab) - she's the more charismatic of the two and there's nothing in the constitution to say the larger party gets to have the prime minister.
posted by BigCalm at 1:58 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

Um, Nicola Sturgeon isn't even an MP.
posted by sobarel at 2:05 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

There won't be a Labour SNP coalition. It isn't really in the interest of either party to have a real coalition, but rather a Labour minority government with tacit SNP (or DUP even) support.

Ed doesn't need Nicola's keys.
posted by MartinWisse at 2:05 PM on April 29, 2015

The only question in my head is whether Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) will be PM rather than Milliband (Lab) - she's the more charismatic of the two and there's nothing in the constitution to say the larger party gets to have the prime minister

Not possible - she's not an MP nor is she standing to become one. She's an MSP, in Scotland, leading a Scottish party, which is fielding candidates in the national elections, but only in Scotland.
posted by Happy Dave at 2:07 PM on April 29, 2015

There won't be a Labour SNP coalition. It isn't really in the interest of either party to have a real coalition, but rather a Labour minority government with tacit SNP (or DUP even) support.

Labour really need a majority in England and Wales. If they get it, most of the possible criticisms of any sort of alliance with the SNP would be largely neutered, I'd have thought.
posted by dng at 2:13 PM on April 29, 2015

The only question in my head is whether Nicola Sturgeon (SNP) will be PM rather than Milliband (Lab) - she's the more charismatic of the two and there's nothing in the constitution to say the larger party gets to have the prime minister.

I assume Alex Salmond will be the leader of the parliamentary SNP. I'd quite like to see him as Prime Minister just to see the Conservative party's reaction to it, to be honest.
posted by dng at 2:17 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I've just come back from a week in Germany. Seven glorious days of weissbier, sunshine, and not having to look at Nigel Farage's face anywhere. The EU is a winner in my book.
posted by mippy at 2:18 PM on April 29, 2015 [11 favorites]

You'll be pleased to know that Nige is now trailing his Conservative opponent in South Thanet. This would be his sixth unsuccessful attempt to become an MP, and he's said he'll quit as Ukip leader if he doesn't win.

The one and only time it's ok to hope a Tory wins!
posted by sobarel at 2:33 PM on April 29, 2015 [1 favorite]

I'm still hoping the Reprisalizer steps in and saves poor old Thanet one last time.
posted by dng at 2:37 PM on April 29, 2015

I'd quite like to see him as Prime Minister just to see the Conservative party's reaction to it, to be honest.

You'd need a mop.
posted by eriko at 2:38 PM on April 29, 2015

My favorite part about this election was the truly epic trolling I did at the IT operation department at work where I explained that UKIP was a new attempt at replacing IPv4, since IPv6 really hadn't caught on.

The key to this working is Americans will tend to read that acronym as "you kay eye pee" rather than "you kip."
posted by eriko at 2:42 PM on April 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

There's nothing that says the Prime Minister has to be an MP - we've had plenty who weren't.

Not that there's any chance at all of Sturgeon or Salmond getting anywhere near the cabinet, let alone No. 10.
posted by influx at 3:05 PM on April 29, 2015

Alec Douglas-Home managed to be Prime Minister while sitting, alternately, in the House of Lords, the House of Commons, and not sitting in Parliament at all. An achievement which won't be repeated.
posted by Thing at 3:23 PM on April 29, 2015

It's kind of depressing that to get any reasonable coverage of the UK election I have to visit websites outside of the UK to get a reasonable balanced view.

That's pretty funny considering that I read British news sites to get info on the US elections.
posted by lumpenprole at 3:54 PM on April 29, 2015 [3 favorites]

UKIP was a new attempt at replacing IPv4, since IPv6 really hadn't caught on.

There are too many south asians mucking around with TCP/IP. The UK needs a good clean set of sockets for wholesome English gentry to connect to.
posted by ennui.bz at 6:46 PM on April 29, 2015

Slight correction. The article says:

The Sun and the Mail unveil front pages saying Ed Miliband lost leadership debates before the debates are even finished

In fact:

The Sun reported viewers' damning "verdict" on Ed Miliband's performance under the headline "Oops! I Just Lost My Election" while the Daily Express summarised the debate thus: "Cool Cameron on top, but Farage keeps up fight on EU and migrants."

Which showed commendable clairvoyance: both these first editions came through before the live debate had even begun.

posted by TheophileEscargot at 1:09 AM on April 30, 2015 [3 favorites]

So it's an interesting one. The Conservatives have been pushing hard this whole "SNP in government OMG!!!" line, which rather underlines quite how little they are concerned about Scotland being a part of the UK. If SNP hadn't had the poll surge they've had Labour would be looking comfortably in the lead now, and I... suspect... they wouldn't question the legitimacy of Scottish Labour MPs quite so much (although this has come up in the past, and may come up again). I think there are some legitimate constitutional questions which the Scottish parliament raises which haven't been satisfactorily answered, but the idea of an English only parliament when England constitutes the vast majority of the UK population is absurd and unworkable.

Unfortunately the last moment that you will get reasonable answers to complicated questions is during a razor tight election where Labour are trying to talk down the SNP so Scottish Labour isn't utterly obliterated, Cons are trying to talk up the SNP to make Labour's position seem more precarious, and the SNP keep talking about how nooo they're not actually that bothered about an independent Scotland right now, don't know quite what you're talking about there!
posted by Cannon Fodder at 1:12 AM on April 30, 2015

Maybe it's just my mood or my media consumption, but I do get the feeling that this election campaign has been more cynical than most.

Tony Blair temporarily got the Murdoch press either on his side or neutral, partly by dint of not doing anything that remotely threatened a single penny of the wealth of the rich. But with that gone, most of the press are firmly back in the camp of monstering Labour and Ed Miliband with almost hysterical fervour. But the cynicism seems particularly great now.

You have the Sun backing the SNP in Scotland, and the Conservatives in England to "Stop the SNP running the country".

You have the reporting of Miliband's catastrophic debate performance, before the debates have even started.

You have Cameron's refusal to attend the debates, smoothly reported as "I wasn't invited".

You have the Conservatives endangering the Union they claim to support by their portrayal of the SNP as illegitimate.

You have the blatant refusal to make budget sums remotely add up.

You've got straight-faced lying abou history the constitution, that just pretend the Conservatives didn't work with the SNP in the Scottish Assembly, claims that the largest party has to form the government, in a pre-emptive attempt to declare a Labour government illegitimate.

Maybe because the polls are close, this seems to be an uglier and more untruthful election campaign that most that I remember.
posted by TheophileEscargot at 9:33 AM on April 30, 2015 [1 favorite]

I assume Alex Salmond will be the leader of the parliamentary SNP.

Salmond gives personal assurance he will not seek SNP's Westminster leadership.
posted by ninebelow at 8:24 AM on May 1, 2015