Alister Campbell. The man holding politicians accountable? Or just a biased Labour supporter?

Today the twitter-sphere is talking about the divisive Labour strategist, Alister Campbell. The man who has famously advised Tony Blair throughout his stretch of power and inspired the ‘Thick of It’s Malcolm Tucker has taken up Piers Morgan’s old role as the Good Morning Britain presenter next to Susanna Reid.

It is no surprise that there is such a debate over his skills as a presenter. Some are applauding his determination to hold politicians such as Kit Malthouse (Minister of State for Crime and Policing) and Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer) accountable for the petrol crisis and the failures of the police. However, others feel he is being too left-wing and is outraged by his choice to call the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, a “coward” for failing to return to the GMB studio.

The interesting thing about this is, that it was this exact fearlessness of Piers Morgan during the start of the pandemic that made many change their opinion of the controversial journalist. So why are so many opposed to it when Alister Campbell does the exact thing? Surely isn’t this what we want from our journalists, to hold the people accountable that we can’t?

It is the view of those that are criticising Campbell that he is too biased to be able to interview the Conservative Party professionally and fairly. Others feel that it’s the hypocrisy that he worked with Tony Blair and was part of the decisions to send our forces to Iraq which still to this day many are angry over, that didn’t look at the interest of the British people or its troops.

However, it would be naive to say that the political affiliations of the GMB’s viewers have not got in the way. Labour views the Conservatives as racists and money grabbers, while the Conservatives see Labour supports as a bunch of ‘snowflakes’ who are far too sensitive. It is to the extent that if a journalist, presenter or political commentator supports one party over another, they are immediately biased. As has been the case with Alister Campbell’s presenting on the show. The public is either viewing him as a spoke person for the left or a biased Labour supporter who is out to get the Conservatives, rather than seeing him as a man who has worked in politics, knows the system, and can give an insight into the political world more so than others on the show.