• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, December 17, 2019

I think many in journalism were shocked at the criticism the BBC received from both sides of the political divide and the particularly vile social media comments levelled against its political editor, Laura Kuennsberg.

For some reason, it's always the leading female presenters who get the most flack. I'm sure Kay Burley on Sky News would agree. 

For me, Huw really hits the nail on the head when he talks about the moaning and accusations of "toxic" reporting as being more at home in the US where Fox News is generally considered to be a Republican-leaning channel.

In the UK, of course, broadcast journalists are held to far higher standards on impartiality than their print counterparts. Ofcom ensures that public service broadcasters, ie the terrestrial channels, keep their news unbiased and based on fact.

This is probably why the BBC has come in for such unwarranted criticism. The papers have pretty much chosen sides years ago with The Sun backing Boris against the red-leaning Daily Mirror and the Torygraph being shorthand for The Telegraph.

With print so obviously leaning toward one party or the other, angry election losers can only turn to television to moan about how biased reporting robbed them of victory.

The truth is far more simple. Labour was pointing both ways on Brexit. Anyone who wanted to "Get Brexit Done" typically felt they only had Boris to trust. As for Labour's pledge to offer everyone free broadband by nationalising a part of BT, alongside the utilities and rail companies.

It was just a tax-and-spend programme out of the 70s, which Labour still hasn't learned is the surest way to get a Conservative government elected. 

News that the frontrunner to become leader of the Labour Party is a so-called "Corbynista" suggests it is a lesson they have still yet to learn. 

One might suggest to the Labour Party that the fact Boris is avoiding BBC Radio 4's Today programme rather tells another story.

According to the Conservative Party, the station -- or at least the show -- is anti-Tory. So come on, guys -- you can't have it both ways.

If the BBC is being criticised by both sides, it must surely be doing something right? You can't be biased against both sides of the political debate. 

Last week, the nation spoke loud and clear. Labour's manifesto and very odd stance on Brexit was shunned in favour of Boris' very simple message on our future relationship with the EU.

You can shoot the messenger all you like and you can cry foul over invented accusations of bias, but please leave the BBC alone.

I would say it's like arguing with the ref, but the BBC is not in the middle refereeing a match. It's there to report on the news, and the fact that it was such an awful result for Labour is not its fault.

The man responsible is leaving, and it's time the party realised that another hard-line left winger in charge will ensure that Boris remains in power for the rest of the decade.