how does the media affect british politics?

... rchill, Attlee and Wilson. Nicholas Jones stated very clearly that 'in today's media driven age, every aspiring politician has to be able to write a press release or provide a comment column for the local newspaper'. Although Jones has his own political biases, there is an essential truth in what he says. This dependence on the media has had alarming side effects. No where is this more true than in the controversial role of Alistair Campbell as Blair's Press Secretary. As a Press Secretary, Campbell is theoretically a civil servant and should remain an impartial member of the administrative arm of government. However New Labour has contradicted tradition and political convention in allowing Campbell, in his professional capacity, to promote government policies. Furthermore, he has not only been accused of criticising the Opposition but also of misleading journalists, bullying ministers and perhaps worst of all is the accusation that Campbell and his colleagues 'were no longer abiding by the conventions designed to protect the political impartiality of the civil service'. In late March 1998 the House of Commons select Committee on Public Administration announced an inquiry into the allegations that Labour party mandarins had politicised the Government's information and communication service. Although this investigation did not prove any of these accusations, it did create greater awareness of the activities of the Labour Party. Despite the inconclusive evidence, Bernard Ingham, venerable for his role as the impartial press secretary to Margaret Thatcher, maintains that: 'had I been accused of one per cent of Mr Campbell's activities... I would have been drummed out of the Government Information Service within Months'. Campbell's position, it was feared was another step towards a presidential style of Government, in which the press secretary to the President has a supreme influence on his White House counterparts. The expansion of the media has, in effect directed politics into a new era a far cry from Churchill's comforting wartime radio broadcasts which were devoid of such tools as spin doctors and press secretaries. In short, a whole new dimension has been added to politics, whole departments dealing with the power of the media, sound bites and governmental spin doctors are all as a result of the influence of the media on British politics today. However, the n ...