Conservative MP Nicky Morgan told flat-out lies about Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell live on the BBC this morning. And, what’s more, the Tory MP’s absolutely blatant lies went completely unchallenged by the host John Humphrys, and have still not been apologised for by the corporation.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Morgan was attempting to big up her party’s imminent review into the farce that is £9,250 university tuition fees – a crisis the Tories brought entirely on themselves, and one which they have already signalled they’re not willing to back down on even after their showpiece review.
However, after admitting that the Tories had got things wrong in relation to the exorbitant fees they charge students for the temerity of wanting an education, Morgan – devoid of any pro-student Tory policies to promote whatsoever – decided to lay into Labour’s supposed mistreatment of students instead.
When asked about Labour’s firm proposal to scrap tuition fees (a policy which they would still implement if they got into government), Morgan, who was the Tory Education Secretary until July 2016, told Humphrys:
I think pretty soon after the election, as far as I can remember, Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell both said ‘oh well we’re not sure we’re going to abolish it’.
Nicky Morgan’s flat out lie went completely unchallenged by the host John Humphrys, and it still, incredibly, has not been apologised for by the corporation.
Morgan then went on to claim, completely wrongly, that Labour had simply made their tuition fee pledge ‘in the heat of an election’, before going on to say that Labour ‘knew was absolutely unaffordable’.
These statements by Morgan – all of them – are complete lies. And she, as well as the show’s host John Humphrys, know this full well. However, rather than clarifying the clear mistakes, Humphrys responded to Morgan’s lies by simply moving on to another question.
The BBC has now been forced to issue an on-air correction after the Labour Party pointed out the lie.
Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell have been clear about tuition fees. Whilst the Tories support charging students university students £9,250 a year for their education, Labour’s policy is, and has been since the 2017 snap general Election, to abolish tuition fees for all students as soon as they get elected.
Now why would the Tories want to muddy the waters on Labour’s pro-student policies, eh? Oh yes, because their policy to scrap tuition fees are a) extremely popular with students, b) complete costed and fiscally sound, and c) because the Tories have absolutely no intention of making things in the least bit fairer for students themselves so they’re trying to paint Labour as being just as bad, even though that’s clearly not the case.
Tory Nicky Morgan on @BBCr4today misrepresents Labour’s tuition fees policy and goes unchallenged by interviewer John Humphries but BBC refusing to correct. So let’s make it clear once again to the BBC and everybody else, Labour will abolish tuition fees.
— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) February 19, 2018
You can listen to Morgan’s outrageous lies, and how John Humphrys just lets it go completely unchallenged, below:
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