Post by Teddy Bear on Feb 10, 2015 16:04:00 GMT
A drama that the BBC are airing by JK Rowling has been changed from the original to fit a particular political mindset.
No prizes for guessing the message that the BBC wants to convey.
Last week questions were raised over other edits to the plot, which some suggested were made in order to ramp up left-wing issues weeks before the General Election.
Tory MP and former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind last week said the timing of the broadcast struck him as being 'very odd at least'.
He said: 'In the run-up to a General Election, the Government quite rightly has to go into purdah and refrain from doing anything provocative. I think the BBC should have to apply the same criteria.'
The drama does not mention any political parties but critics say the battle over Sweetlove House is a thinly disguised attack on the Government's welfare cuts, which will be one of the crucial issues for the May 7 Election.
No prizes for guessing the message that the BBC wants to convey.
Last week questions were raised over other edits to the plot, which some suggested were made in order to ramp up left-wing issues weeks before the General Election.
Tory MP and former Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind last week said the timing of the broadcast struck him as being 'very odd at least'.
He said: 'In the run-up to a General Election, the Government quite rightly has to go into purdah and refrain from doing anything provocative. I think the BBC should have to apply the same criteria.'
The drama does not mention any political parties but critics say the battle over Sweetlove House is a thinly disguised attack on the Government's welfare cuts, which will be one of the crucial issues for the May 7 Election.
BBC ACCUSED OF POLITICAL BIAS IN ROWLING DRAMA: HOW BEEB RAMPED UP CLASS DIVIDE IN ADAPTATION JUST WEEKS BEFORE THE ELECTION
SCENE 1
The BBC: In the opening scenes, Councillor Howard Mollison, played by Sir Michael Gambon, and his social-climbing wife Shirley (Julia McKenzie) discuss plans for a luxury hotel and spa development. A gleeful Shirley tells her husband: ‘It’s beautiful. You feel better just looking at it. You can’t let Barry Fairbrother and his tribe of do-gooders stand in the way of progress. They’ll have to accept that Sweetlove House has had its day.’
In the novel: The plan for a luxury hotel and spa does not appear at all.
SCENE 2
The BBC: Opposing the plans, Councillor Fairbrother says: ‘That is social engineering. That’s apartheid. Herding people into ghettos because they don’t fit the aesthetic. There is a name for that, isn’t there. Bill, you stormed the Normandy beaches didn’t you, fighting fascism... That house helps people to live. The parish council is not here to make a quick buck for someone who already has more than enough... Is the legacy still of benefit? Yes. It has never been so important.’
In the novel: Councillor Fairbrother dies on page two having hardly uttered a word.
SCENE 3
The BBC: When progressive councillor Parminder Jawanda tells her colleagues that drug addicts will have to travel to nearby Yarvil to get help, a rival tells her: ‘They would crawl on their knees over broken glass if there were drugs to be had.’
In the novel: She uses far milder language, saying addicts should have their benefits cut.
SCENE 1
The BBC: In the opening scenes, Councillor Howard Mollison, played by Sir Michael Gambon, and his social-climbing wife Shirley (Julia McKenzie) discuss plans for a luxury hotel and spa development. A gleeful Shirley tells her husband: ‘It’s beautiful. You feel better just looking at it. You can’t let Barry Fairbrother and his tribe of do-gooders stand in the way of progress. They’ll have to accept that Sweetlove House has had its day.’
In the novel: The plan for a luxury hotel and spa does not appear at all.
SCENE 2
The BBC: Opposing the plans, Councillor Fairbrother says: ‘That is social engineering. That’s apartheid. Herding people into ghettos because they don’t fit the aesthetic. There is a name for that, isn’t there. Bill, you stormed the Normandy beaches didn’t you, fighting fascism... That house helps people to live. The parish council is not here to make a quick buck for someone who already has more than enough... Is the legacy still of benefit? Yes. It has never been so important.’
In the novel: Councillor Fairbrother dies on page two having hardly uttered a word.
SCENE 3
The BBC: When progressive councillor Parminder Jawanda tells her colleagues that drug addicts will have to travel to nearby Yarvil to get help, a rival tells her: ‘They would crawl on their knees over broken glass if there were drugs to be had.’
In the novel: She uses far milder language, saying addicts should have their benefits cut.