That two prime ministers of such different characters, in different parties and under different circumstances, can face such similar situations may indicate that this state of affairs has more to do with our political system than their specific weaknesses.
If the Corporation cannot persuade even half the public it offers a well informed and unbiased public service, it will need to change.
The idea that if ‘both sides are accusing you of bias you must be doing something right’ has built an internal complacency that accusations of bias, say more about the accuser than the BBC, and that any critics just want the Beeb dismantled. It’s made them blind.
This is simply the news environment which the Party has now to navigate: one with far more players than is historically normal, and where a piece doesn’t feel incomplete if it hasn’t checked in with the Tories.
Her next exam question is whether or not she can build on the momentum of last week and find ways to keep winning the spotlight when it is no longer guaranteed by the political season.
Pubs and papers go hand in hand. They are community hubs, rooted in place, fostering connection, and acting as a glue that binds neighbourhoods together.
Both Labour and the Conservatives seem, for some reason, to have decided to employ the tactics of the 1970s, a decade defined by the continual retreat of government in the face of union power.
Under pressure from many of his MPs, Starmer was forced into a humiliating U-turn on his welfare proposals, which will necessitate vast tax increases. Somehow this escaped anything like the level of media scrutiny that so significant a development deserved.
Sport is central to who we are as Conservatives and as a nation. Conservatives know that sport has untapped social capital that will build stronger communities which we need more than ever.
The news we see, the debate we’re allowed, and the outrage we’re nudged toward, are all part of a carefully stage-managed performance and, crucially, both the media and the political class are in on it.
For a party that built its reputation on criticising the Conservatives for failing to deliver, Reform is rapidly falling into the same pattern: bold announcements for headlines, with little follow-through.
BBC Commercial is a ring-fenced, supposedly for-profit spinoff… which makes a loss, as American rivals grow and grow. British media talent deserves better.
Culture binds us together. From festivals to football, shared history to local landmarks, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport can be a powerful force for building national pride and community identity.
If the West is always the villain and its institutions irredeemably corrupt, what exactly are we trying to preserve? Why not tear it all down?
Pollsters tend to indulge in finger-in-the-air postulation about an election perhaps years away. Frankly, you might as well slaughter a chicken and try to read its entrails at this point.