Sarah Vine In The Mail Today

[andy-hughes]

It's no secret that Mail columnist Sarah Vine is married to Michael Gove -

but are either Ms Vine or the Mail justified in spending two pages of today's edition bigging him up and essentially writing an election manifesto for his leadership bid, drenched in planet-sized levels of cant and hypocrisy.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7129687/SARAH-VINE-opens-heart-Michael-Goves-cocaine-past.html

I understand that Ms Vine will stand by her husband, but I think it wrong that her employers give her such a massive soapbox from which to preach the wonders of her husband who is - whatever she may say, a hypocrite for publicly denouncing the use of Class A drugs, when he has been a user himself, and not, as both the Vines are trying to spin it, as a feckless teenager, but actually as a man in his thirties - old enough to know better.

Any thoughts?

[dannyk13]

Out of order,should have waited until after the election for PM.

[naomi24]

Just as well the Mail readership has no say in the matter of the Conservatives electing a new leader.

[dannyk13]

Naomi,it does, as the Mail readership must include some members of the Tory Party

[Tilly2]

Surely they read The Telegraph, Danny?

[agchristie]

Andy, it comes as no surprise to me that this has happened.

There is no getting away from bias and although Sarah Vine's column is an established feature, she was always going to fly the flag for Mr Gove.

A two page spread is excessive and flagrant and one suspects that all the other leadership contenders will not be afforded the same level of publicity.

Of course, the more that is written the more the readership could pick holes in but I am certain that they will form their own judgment.

Will the article have a significant bearing on his chances? I suspect very little but even so, a very questionable approach by the DM.

[dannyk13]

I don't think all of them do Tilly.I'd bet that quite a lot of then read the Mail.

[naomi24]

danny, //the Mail readership must include some members of the Tory Party //

Whatever paper members of the Tory party read, I imagine most of them have already made their minds up.

[HBAnorak]

Yeah, the Mail should stick to its normal output of balanced, factual reporting and informed, insightful analysis. First source I look to for impartial news.

[jno]

naomi, I imagine most of them are still waiting to see who offers the biggest bribes.

[agchristie]

I find the article extremely cringeworthy and does not address the issues and qualities that are needed to get this country in forward motion.

I'm not interested in any sob story and couldn't care less who fell out with her, etc.

The readers letters bag may well be bulging at the seams or a full email inbox beckons.

Sarah Vine may well wish she had not bothered writing this 'tribute'.

[ToraToraTora]

Not justified but sadly innevitable andy.

[naomi24]

ag, //Sarah Vine may well wish she had not bothered writing this 'tribute'. //

One can but hope.

[naomi24]

jno, many a true word ... and all that.

[agchristie]

> If you’re putting yourself forward to run the country, you cannot have something like that hanging over you, playing on your conscience in the dead of night.

Of course, he willingly came forward didn't he?!

[agchristie]

Naomi, the biography may well have some revelations concerning Sarah herself. I hope for her sake she has no skeletons...

[anneasquith]

I have no issue with this , I have no reason to read the article, and choose not to .

[ludwig]

Newspapers and columnists are not objective, and they're entitled to write whatever they like. Personally I find a lot of the stuff in tabloids fairly obnoxious and unreliable so I never buy them, and only ever read one when I'm in sitting in the Chinese takeaway waiting for my meal to come out.

[jackthehat]

I imagine the owners/senior editors will be hugging themselves with glee at the prospect of (potentially) having the PM's spouse on the payroll.
It's no wonder they allowed Sarah Vine such an amount of space in which to wax lyrical about her hypocrite of a husband.....

[naomi24]

Fingers crossed that the Mail is disappointed. According to the Daily Politics a couple of hours ago Gove is way down the polls at something like 23% with Boris at 38%.

[agchristie]

//I imagine the owners/senior editors will be hugging themselves with glee at the prospect of (potentially) having the PM's spouse on the payroll. //

No doubt there will be a double page spread at a later date with Sarah making a stout defence of criticism of her in the book!!