During the London mayoral campaign, the Evening Standard was accused of showing ‘overwhelming bias’ towards the Tory candidate Zac Goldsmith. The Media Reform Coalition claimed the paper had become the ‘mouthpiece of the Conservative party’ after it ran twice as many positive headlines about Goldsmith than his Labour rival Sadiq Khan. Khan was also the subject of twice as many negative headlines — which included: ‘Exposed: Sadiq Khan’s family links to extremist organisation’ and ‘Minister: Khan is unfit to be mayor’.
However, despite the paper’s best efforts — and eventual endorsement of Goldsmith — it wasn’t enough to sway voters, and Khan was elected mayor with 57 per cent of the vote. So, Mr S couldn’t help but notice what a difference four months can make.
Last night, Khan was crowned ‘most influential Londoner’ by the paper in a glitzy ceremony. Happily, Khan doesn’t appear to hold a grudge — accepting the award with a gushing press statement:
‘It is a huge honour and a privilege to be named the Evening Standard’s Londoner of the year.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in