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‘And what good came of it at last?’ Press–politician relations post-Leveson

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 06:06 authored by Steven Barnett, Judith TownendJudith Townend
James Margach famously argued that Prime Ministers from Lloyd George to Callaghan had been intent on exploiting the media in their determination to centralise power. From Margaret Thatcher onwards, however, there is a strong argument that the power relationship has been reversed, and that the Leveson Inquiry—set up in the wake of the phone hacking scandal—exposed a political class which had become deeply fearful of the power and influence of the national press. Citing evidence to Leveson and subsequent recommendations by the inquiry, this article presents two case studies—on data protection and on media ownership—where the public interest clearly demanded political intervention, which would be inconvenient for the major publishers. And yet, despite recommendations by Lord Justice Leveson and despite clear support from leading politicians of all parties, there has been virtually no policy progress in either case. While the Leveson Inquiry was billed as a watershed in press–politician relations and an opportunity to counteract decades of unhealthy press power, political inertia in these two areas suggests that very little has changed.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Political Quarterly

ISSN

0032-3179

Publisher

Wiley

Issue

2

Volume

85

Page range

159-169

Department affiliated with

  • Law Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • No

Legacy Posted Date

2017-05-04

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2017-05-04

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