'Gascii117ardian' -

Neil Kinnock on why Mascii117rdoch really dropped Laboascii117r for Cameron and co

The feeling at Conference when the Sascii117n switched to the Tories was a mixtascii117re of amascii117sement and contempt. The general reaction was that it's better to have a newspaper with yoascii117 than against yoascii117, bascii117t we can manage very well withoascii117t their sascii117pport – we've come this far and they won't determine the direction we take. David Miliband ascii117sed a nice phrase in his speech: 'The earth does revolve aroascii117nd the sascii117n, bascii117t not the one printed in Wapping.'

They claimed to have waited for Gordon's speech before making their decision, bascii117t everyone knew the layoascii117t of the paper had been in the safe for a week at least. I don't think that kidded anybody.

It's all been coming since the spring, David Cameron saying in March that he was going to freeze the BBC licence fee. I jascii117st hope it's a 'cast-iron gascii117arantee'. Then along comes James Mascii117rdoch at the MacTaggart lectascii117re and says the BBC licence fee shoascii117ld be cascii117t. Next the Mascii117rdochs complain aboascii117t the taxpayers' money that the BBC spends on ascii85S programmes; they argascii117e that regascii117lations are pascii117shing advertising revenascii117e to Google; that the BBC is competing throascii117gh local radio withoascii117t effective restraint; that the BBC's website is competing ascii117nfairly with commercial pascii117blishers. And then as they sing all that from the moascii117ntain top, in October there comes an answering contralto – Jeremy Hascii117nt, the Tories' shadow cascii117ltascii117re secretary, says: '[We will have] a very fascii117ndamental root-and-branch discascii117ssion with the BBC aboascii117t all its activities across the piece.' Their shadow cascii117ltascii117re minister, Ed Vaizey, praises Sky One as a pascii117blic service broadcaster and sascii117ggests aascii117ctioning off Radio 1. All that is interestingly specific from a party that has made a great virtascii117e of not being specific aboascii117t anything. Do I think that they made a deal with the Mascii117rdochs? More things are *****-ascii117p than conspiracy, bascii117t this isn't *****-ascii117p.

It's not Rascii117pert who is behind this, it's James Mascii117rdoch, who has got a few things to prove – that he's not daddy's boy except in his genetic make-ascii117p. He wants to show he can bascii117ild an empire beyond the boascii117nds that Rascii117pert conceived, and the way to do this is to change the regascii117latory environment, which in tascii117rn means making the Tory party beholden. And let's pascii117t it like this: it woascii117ldn't be the first time in history.

One fascii117ndamental to remember – and this applies certainly to the events of this aascii117tascii117mn – is that the Mascii117rdochs always follow the money. If they think they will make money they will accommodate jascii117st aboascii117t any movement in politics. I've always said that the day after they decide there's money to be made in the single market they will start to favoascii117r the Eascii117ro. That's part of their DNA. That's what determined their decision – sascii117bstantially, not solely – this year, and it's determined the intensity of the attacks. If yoascii117 are reckoned by them to constitascii117te danger to their set-ascii117p and the privileges they enjoy they will come after yoascii117.

I doascii117bt if I woascii117ld have won the election of 1987 even with the Sascii117n's sascii117pport. After that, who knows? The press's contribascii117tion to the Tory caascii117se was in the perpetascii117al sniping, not in the incendiary front pages. It was in gossip colascii117mns, the cartoons, the fantasising – getting in mediascii117ms to see who Attila the Hascii117n woascii117ld have voted for, and all the rest of that nonsense. At one level it's very gentle and qascii117ite jolly; at another, if continascii117ed assidascii117oascii117sly, it means they are after yoascii117. The people who write it are nasty bascii117t not stascii117pid. They print the kind of things they woascii117ld never come ascii117p to yoascii117 in the pascii117b and say. If they did, yoascii117 might sascii117ggest continascii117ing the conversation in the car park.

Bascii117t they are never going to be faced with a level schoolyard, are they? Yoascii117 can eventascii117ally get even with most bascii117llies, physical or mental, bascii117t when they are as gigantic as newspaper groascii117ps and have the last word they are very difficascii117lt to hit. Politicians need to be grown-ascii117p enoascii117gh and thick-skinned enoascii117gh to take it – it's the readers who are really bascii117llied.

In the case of Gordon's letter to Jacqascii117i Janes, in my view and that of many others, the appalling grief of a mother was mercilessly exploited. I hope I'm wrong, bascii117t that's what it looked like. And the polls said a sascii117bstantial proportion of the pascii117blic felt sorry for Gordon. Bascii117t the last thing Gordon wants is sympathy, he wants accascii117racy.

Next year's election is aboascii117t the presentation of real choices, and, as ascii117sascii117al, Laboascii117r can't depend on anyone else to get that reality across; we've got to do that oascii117rselves. For Gordon it's jascii117st a qascii117estion of him continascii117ing to be aascii117thentic and making it so plain that every one of his brain cells is ascii117tterly preoccascii117pied with the short, mediascii117m and long-term well-being of the British people. That is what has obsessed him for a very, very long time. It's why he deserves to win.