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    " Shameless Mick', The Daily Mail and The Right Wing Ideological Assault On The Welfare State" by DR Paddy Hoey

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    Paddy
    IN 2013 when the Derbyshire father Mick Philpott was jailed for the murder of several of his children in a fire, the Daily Mail chose to describe him as the “Vile product of Welfare UK.” The conflation of the horrifying murder of children to a wider demonization of the working class was a new front opened in the Mail’s ideological campaign to undermine the Welfare State. In keeping with a neo-liberal push for welfare reform led by Tory minister Ian Duncan Smith, the Mail’s concerted attacks on the working class, as symbolised by Philpott, concentrated on how the feckless underclasses were sustained by a welfare state that was ‘broken’. Furthermore, the Mail continually used Paul Abbott’s long running C4 drama Shameless as shorthand for this feral and deviant underclass. References to, and pictures of the programme, were used to illustrate stories about the welfare ‘cheats’ who populated ‘Shameless Britain’. This paper addresses the issues surrounding the use of a fictional text as a representation of the ‘real world’ and the relentless propaganda campaign against both the welfare state and the working class.

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    " Shameless Mick', The Daily Mail and The Right Wing Ideological Assault On The Welfare State" by DR Paddy Hoey

    Uploaded by

    Paddy
    447 views21 pages
    IN 2013 when the Derbyshire father Mick Philpott was jailed for the murder of several of his children in a fire, the Daily Mail chose to describe him as the “Vile product of Welfare UK.” The conflation of the horrifying murder of children to a wider demonization of the working class was a new front opened in the Mail’s ideological campaign to undermine the Welfare State. In keeping with a neo-liberal push for welfare reform led by Tory minister Ian Duncan Smith, the Mail’s concerted attacks on the working class, as symbolised by Philpott, concentrated on how the feckless underclasses were sustained by a welfare state that was ‘broken’. Furthermore, the Mail continually used Paul Abbott’s long running C4 drama Shameless as shorthand for this feral and deviant underclass. References to, and pictures of the programme, were used to illustrate stories about the welfare ‘cheats’ who populated ‘Shameless Britain’. This paper addresses the issues surrounding the use of a fictional text as a representation of the ‘real world’ and the relentless propaganda campaign against both the welfare state and the working class.

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    "‘Shameless Mick’, the Daily Mail and the right wing ideological assault on the welfare state" by Dr Paddy Hoey

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    IN 2013 when the Derbyshire father Mick Philpott was jailed for the murder of several of his children in a fire, the Daily Mail chose to describe him as the “Vile product of Welfare UK.” The conflation of the horrifying murder of children to a wider demonization of the working class was a new front opened in the Mail’s ideological campaign to undermine the Welfare State. In keeping with a neo-liberal push for welfare reform led by Tory minister Ian Duncan Smith, the Mail’s concerted attacks on the working class, as symbolised by Philpott, concentrated on how the feckless underclasses were sustained by a welfare state that was ‘broken’. Furthermore, the Mail continually used Paul Abbott’s long running C4 drama Shameless as shorthand for this feral and deviant underclass. References to, and pictures of the programme, were used to illustrate stories about the welfare ‘cheats’ who populated ‘Shameless Britain’. This paper addresses the issues surrounding the use of a fictional text as a representation of the ‘real world’ and the relentless propaganda campaign against both the welfare state and the working class.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    447 views21 pages

    " Shameless Mick', The Daily Mail and The Right Wing Ideological Assault On The Welfare State" by DR Paddy Hoey

    Uploaded by

    Paddy
    IN 2013 when the Derbyshire father Mick Philpott was jailed for the murder of several of his children in a fire, the Daily Mail chose to describe him as the “Vile product of Welfare UK.” The conflation of the horrifying murder of children to a wider demonization of the working class was a new front opened in the Mail’s ideological campaign to undermine the Welfare State. In keeping with a neo-liberal push for welfare reform led by Tory minister Ian Duncan Smith, the Mail’s concerted attacks on the working class, as symbolised by Philpott, concentrated on how the feckless underclasses were sustained by a welfare state that was ‘broken’. Furthermore, the Mail continually used Paul Abbott’s long running C4 drama Shameless as shorthand for this feral and deviant underclass. References to, and pictures of the programme, were used to illustrate stories about the welfare ‘cheats’ who populated ‘Shameless Britain’. This paper addresses the issues surrounding the use of a fictional text as a representation of the ‘real world’ and the relentless propaganda campaign against both the welfare state and the working class.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 21

    'Shameless Mlck', Lhe !

    "#$% '"#$ and Lhe


    rlghL wlng ldeologlcal assaulL on Lhe
    welfare sLaLe

    addy Poey
    hoeyp[edgehlll.ac.uk
    Aprll
    2013
    ollucally mouvaLed medla culL of
    '()"*+$+,,' Mlck hllpou
    shows Lhe pervaslveness of evll born ouL of welfare
    dependency."
    lled Lhe lld on Lhe bleak and oen groLesque world of Lhe
    welfare beneL scroungers - of whom Lhere are noL dozens,
    noL hundreds, buL Lens of Lhousands ln our counLry."
    Shameless Mlck was medla culL ln hlmself, creaLed by
    frequenL sLorles and 1v shows
    !"#$% '#--.-
    l1v/ !eremy kyle - (buL noL Anne Wlddlcombe)
    lL's all abouL class, sLupld
    1he reason vlcky ollard caughL Lhe publlc lmaglnauon
    ls LhaL she embodles wlLh such fearful accuracy of several
    of Lhe greaL scourges of conLemporary 8rlLaln: aggresslve
    all-female gangs of embluered, hormonal, drunken
    Leenagers, gymsllp mums who choose Lo geL pregnanL as
    a career opuon, pasLy faced, lard guued slappers who'll
    drop Lhelr knlckers ln a bllnk of an eye. Lhese people do
    exlsL and are every blL as rlpe and as [usL a LargeL for
    soclal saure as were, say, Lhe raddled worklng-class
    drunks senL up by PogarLh ln Cln Lane."
    !ames uellngpole, /)+ 0#*+,, 13 Aprll, 2006,
    Why ()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln?
    ()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln becomes !"#$% '"#$ shorLhand for Lhe
    declencles of modern 8rlLaln 'grlpped by welfare
    dependency' ln 2008
    Shannon Mauhews ln Aprll 2008
    leckless faLhers, drug abuse, Leenage pregnancles name
    any conLemporary soclal lll and ()"*+$+,, shows lL, noL as
    a vlslon of a llvlng hell, buL as a Lwo-ngers-up Lo auLhorlLy
    scally romp ln whlch Lhe moral of Lhe sLory ls Lhe morals
    don'L really mauer.
    Shannon Mauhews famlly: could come from CenLral
    Casung for Shameless 8rlLaln."
    Alllson earson, 'Shameless 8rlLaln lsn'L a comedy - lL's a
    Lragedy", !"#$% '"#$. 9 Aprll, 2008.
    ()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln: 8roken 8rlLaln
    Cheuoes of worklessness, as many as 84 of people
    on welfare."
    uevasLaung reporLs palnL a Lerrlfylng plcLure of Lhe
    Lrue exLenL of '()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln', ln whlch mllllons
    grow up ln a culLure of dependency where work does
    noL pay. 1he governmenL wlll. lay ouL new plans Lo
    Lackle Lhls welfare dependency launchlng a crackdown
    on beneL scroungers.
    "1he shock|ng report by the r|ght-w|ng th|nk-tank
    Centre for o||cy Stud|es."
    uanlel Marun, '8rlLaln ls branded Lhe [obless caplLal of
    Lurope', !"#$% '"#$, 11 CcLober, 2010
    8lghL wlng Lhlnk Lanks and
    compasslonaLe conservausm
    We have managed Lo creaLe a block of people ln
    8rlLaln who do noL add anyLhlng Lo Lhe greaLness
    of Lhls counLry." !"#$ $&'()"* &+#,$ -#.$ /0.1
    laln uuncan SmlLh, /)+ (12, 12 AugusL 2010
    Labour had also announced bllLz on beneL
    scroungers" ln rlghL wlng press ln 2008
    1he paper whose Lone and agenda ls closesL Lo 1960s/70s-
    sLyle moral panlc ls probably Lhe !"#$% '"#$. uurlng Lhe
    1haLcher years, Lhe !"#$% '"#$ pracused and perfecLed Lhe
    characLerlsucs of hegemony, ln a way LhaL was ln uncanny
    harmony wlLh 1haLcherlsm."
    (Mc8obble, 1hornLon, 1993: 369)

    Moral volce of Lhe new mlddle class and old lower
    mlddle class
    lLs own sLyle of ln-house morallLy (lbld)
    !"#$% '"#$: volce of common sense
    ()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln: 8roken 8rlLaln
    ()"*+$+,, 8rlLaln ad[uncL elemenL of ually
    Mall's auack on Lhe legacy of falled le
    pro[ecL:
    Macro |ssues: ulmlnlshed soverelgnLy: Lu
    M|cro |ssues: MuluculLurallsm & lmmlgrauon
    8eneLs v Welfare, Welfare SLaLe
    non selecuve educauon
    ollcles of le wlng MarxlsL lnLelllgenLsla
    ApoLheosls ln auack on 8alph Mlllband
    ollucal & economlc background
    neo-con and neo-llberal pro[ecLs LhaL began wlLh
    8eagan and 1haLcher
    1rlumph of conservauve Amerlca, ConLracL wlLh
    Amerlca, deslgned by newL Clngrlch
    Among oLher Lhlngs, reappralsed deserv|ng and
    undeserv|ng poor
    aved Lhe way for economlc llberallzauon of Lhe
    'welfare' secLor
    1he 8lg SocleLy
    hllpou: medla power/ medla
    ldeology
    CpporLunlsL use of eplsodes of crlmlnallLy or
    soclal Lurmoll Lo advance ldeologlcal agenda
    Pow?
    non-ubllc Servlce 8roadcasung secLor
    domlnaLed by rlghL wlng volces
    Murdoch/ uMC/ 1elegraph sull domlnanL onllne
    envlronmenL, desplLe decllnes ln prlnL clrculauons
    CrowLh of lnuence of Lhe commenLarlaL/ blogoLarlaL:
    ?oung, uellngpole, Mckenzle, hllllps, SLarkey
    Medlauon & medlauzauon
    olluclans respond by appeallng Lo Lhe crowded,
    cenLre rlghL ground - ukl eecL?
    Medlauon & medlauzauon: when medla ls cenLral,
    domlnanL force ln ow of lnformauon beLween
    pollucs and publlc
    Medlauzauon/ medla loglc: sLorles packaged Lo L
    medla agenda
    e.g. Pazel 8lears
    Why ()"*+$+,,?
    Lasy encapsulauon of
    worklng/ underclass llfe few
    mlddle classes have any
    experlence of
    kevln Magulre: uewsbury of
    Shannon Mauhews or uerby
    of Mlck hllpou ls as allen as
    kandahar ls for mlddle/
    meLropollLan class
    Lven Lhe ()"*+$+,,
    reference was losL on Mall
    readers: Marun plece had Lo
    explaln whaL ()"*+$+,, was
    roblems of uslng ()"*+$+,,
    Creeber (2009) polnLs Lo Lhe problems of press
    uslng ()"*+$+,, as quasl-reallsuc
    'Anu-soclal reallsm' - klcks agalnsL Lhe reallsm of
    lLs creaLor aul Abbou's oLher work and LhaL of
    hls conLemporarles, !lmmy McCovern
    lrank Callagher should noL be seen as elLher a
    rellable narraLor or auLhenuc
    Conunually hlghllghLs 'a lack of auLhorlal 'LruLh'.'
    ln Lhls case, lL ls noL enurely ln Lhe manner of
    PogarLh's soclal saures
    Worklng class and hegemony
    uemonlzauon of worklng class, especlally when
    erroneously predlcaLed, represenLs Lhe class
    dlslocauon of Lhose produclng MSM producLs -
    MSM ls lncreaslngly mlddle class ln complexlon
    !ournallsm, ls lncreaslngly domlnaLed by a
    prlvaLely-schooled, Cxbrldge-educaLed ellLe
    and. lL ls becomlng dlmculL for Lhose from oLher
    backgrounds Lo geL a fooLhold, accordlng Lo Lhe
    educauonal charlLy LhaL carrled ouL Lhe survey."
    Cwen Clbson, Lhe 31"-4#"2, 13 !une, 2006
    eople ralsed on beneLs never really
    make lL all Lhe way Lo here - Lo London.
    1o Lhls London - Medla London. 1o Lhe
    place where power ls. 1hose glro
    cheques, and Lhe soclal clrcles, don'L
    sLreLch Lhls far. 1hose people don'L geL
    Lo commlsslon documenLarles, or make
    dramas, or wrlLe columns or books
    abouL Lhelr llves, speak on 5+6,2#7)/ or
    Lell [okes on 8"9+ : 3./ 5+6, ;.- <.1.
    1hey do noL geL Lo speak. ?ou [usL see
    Lhem ln crowd shoLs lnsLead, as a mass
    shouung on Lhe Lerraces or queulng ln
    Lhe 8oxlng day sales aL nexL."
    CalLlln Moran, Lhe 0#*+,, 21 !anuary,
    2014
    1he LruLh ls Lhe hllpous say
    noLhlng abouL anyone, excepL
    for Lhemselves, [usL as serlal
    murderer C Parold Shlpman
    sald noLhlng abouL mlddle class
    professlonals."
    Cwen !ones, Lhe :24+=+24+2/,
    3 Aprll 2013
    aul Abbou: lL's soclal raclsm
    ulumaLely ln a ume when raclsm and homophobla
    are ouLwardly unacepLable, shameless has become
    an accepLable means of demonlzlng less forLunaLe.
    Shameless ls one of Lhose words LhaL's sull
    accepLable. ?ou can'L say plkey, hoody has had lLs
    day. Shameless ls noL oenslve. lL's a lazy plece of
    referenclng by Lhe Ms Lo refer Lo Lhe underclass."

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