From George Murphy

Thursday, 23 June 2022

Hebden Bridge was fairly full today, Leila's was busy, despite the RMT strike. I might have found a seat in the square or outside the Shoulder of Mutton, but the busker had her speakers up high.

I was too early for Marco's and so I went round to Cafe Cali. It was full inside and out. I fancied sitting outside in the sunshine, but the tables were almost full at the front of Innovation and in earshot of the busker. So I thought I'd try inside. The cafe was empty apart from Look North's Spencer Stokes, his cameraman and David Fletcher. So I took my coffee outside next to the river. The tables were full, but a friend let me share with him.

Imagine my surprise, watching Look North when the news item was based on the strike driving visitors away. The camera roved over empty seats inside the cafe. I won't engage with the points made by Mr Fletcher, although I notice that the idea of 'levelling up' seems not to apply to members of unions, even if their pay claim is less than the inflation rate.

My real argument is against Look North for exaggerating the impact of the strike on local traders in Hebden Bridge. This untrue picture was shown to viewers on a by-election evening. Is the BBC so cowed by the government that they decided to put out a biased report?