The veteran BBC broadcaster David Dimbleby has intervened in the election campaign to say that Jeremy Corbyn has not been treated fairly in the press.
The broadcaster, who is often regarded as the voice of the nation after decades of fronting Question Time, election night specials and state occasions, strayed into unfamiliar territory by backing a longstanding complaint by Corbyn’s supporters.
Speaking before a Question Time special on Thursday when he will interview the Labour leader and Theresa May, Dimbleby pointed out the rightwing bias of most British newspapers and complained of their “lazy pessimism”.
In an interview with the Radio Times, Dimbleby said: “I don’t think anyone could say that Corbyn has had a fair deal at the hands of the press, in a way that the Labour party did when it was more to the centre, but then we generally have a rightwing press.”
Dimbleby also echoed another trope of Corbyn’s supporters by suggesting the Labour leader has more support among the public than he does among the parliamentary Labour party.
“It’s a very odd election,” Dimbleby said. “If the Conservative story is how Theresa May is the ‘brand leader’, the interesting thing is that a lot of Labour supporters really like and believe in the messages that Jeremy Corbyn is bringing across.
“It’s not his MPs in the House of Commons necessarily, but there is a lot of support in the country.”
Dimbleby, who will break news of the exit polls on the night of 8 June and the unfolding results in the early hours of the following morning, suggested the outcome is not a foregone conclusion.
He said: “My own prediction is that, contrary to the scepticism and lazy pessimism of the newspapers and the British media, it’s going to be a really fascinating night, and it will drive home some messages about our political system and the political appeal of different parties that no amount of polling or reading the papers will tell us.
“Polls? You can have them until the cows come home. For me, the exit poll is the starting gun for a political rollercoaster ride, and a night of thrills and spills.”
Corbyn supporters, particularly among the Momentum group, have long complained of media bias and have frequently heckled journalists at Corbyn’s campaign appearances.
Some have welcomed Dimbleby’s intervention:
David #Dimbleby: Jeremy #Corbyn isn't treated fairly by the press despite having lots of support in the country#BBChttps://t.co/3shdbnm93p pic.twitter.com/SAg4jmjnvU
— Momentum Oxford (@MomentumOx) May 30, 2017
Others have said that Dimbleby himself is biased against Corbyn:
Dimbleby is one of the biggest offenders when it comes to bias against Labour generally and Corbyn in particular,... https://t.co/MCukCtagVB
— John Yates (@ThomasFairfax) May 30, 2017
