A re-blog from the archives of my regular column for (now extinct) Alltern8; Comicking.
With the UK general election happening this week, democracy gets opportunity to curtail the taint destructive politicians have left on the world stage. I thought it might be interesting to deliver a round-up of what some British cartoonists have been saying on the matter.
Labour or the Conservatives (or ‘Unionists’, as they used to be known, and sometimes are in Northern Ireland) have held power for 65 years. So, care of Sean Duffield, a four page look at the Labour leader, David Cameron,
Ah yes, Cameron’s friendship with Rupert Murdoch, Google-fearer and owner of the British registered Newscorp (BSkyB, The Sun, The Times), which avoids paying tax in Britain.
Might we be seeing this sort of thing in a Murdoch-Cameron Britain?
Marc Roberts of Throbgoblins,
“I’ve been playing around on PhotoShop (other image manipulation programmes are available) and have come up with the following. It’s mostly a tad sinister – UK politics and the pending ecological debacle”
Here’s his ApoCameron-lypse,
Crazy internet-fearing Murdoch, drawing threats on the BBC, a public service broadcaster funded by the public since 1933 with it’s aim to present fair impartial reporting.
Here’s a cartoon on favourite LibDem Clegg’s victory by Rich Johnston from the 26th April as originally posted to Guido Fawkes.
And of course, the always admirable Steve Bell in his work for The Guardian,
So, really a televised leadership election debate should have taken place at the BBC rather than being relegated to third place after the commercially funded ITV and Murdoch’s private BSkyB.
Above: Two more from Steve Bell and The Guardian.
Now the UK have a chance to lock Murdoch out of UK politics and cut the propaganda that has seen the nation’s Green Parties, the welsh Plaid Cymru, the Scottish National Party and others locked out of these debates.
Oh, and this guy too.
Source: Duffield
Source: Bell
The image above by Holocaust-denying racist Nick Griffin, parasite to re-opened multi-party politic talk. It’s another by Sean Duffield: Go and donate a few pounds towards War – The Human Cost, a brilliant BRILLIANT anthology he’s hoping to get out.
The BBC brought us the iconic kids show Bagpuss, and here’s Sean take on Gordon Brown.
Marc Roberts goes for high pitch animals too,
This will be the first UK election since Web 2.0 has fully worked it’s way into British culture. Hopefully we’ll not get any Votergate-type scandals and see elected tolerable agenda for the job.
Murdoch isn’t the only unelected dictator we need to get rid of, after all.
Source: Mark and Rich, Guido Fawkes
And what of this man?
He may very well be the UK’s new Prime Minister.
Modern politics is driven by who you can’t vote for, rather than who you’d like to. Still, being cooped up in Westminster talking only to other politicians is an uneconomical reality to face.
The above cartoons are by Steve Bell. There are some more of them here.
Dave Brown, then Peter Schrank (The Independent) as to how they’re not really of the same thinking state as many of us,
(IMAGES FROM ORIGINAL ARTICLE MISSING)
Some things are just too prescient. Morland Moreton from The Times way back in 2006..
(ORIGINAL IMAGE MISSING)
Please vote on Thursday. Sure they’re all crap, but not voting helps keep them in power. Remember, ‘Hung parliament’ is code for greater democracy.
If you’re interested in similar, less conservative attitudes to British political cartooning try the works of BRICK (aka John Stuart Clark), Kate Evans,Polyp and Kate Charlesworth.
andy-luke.com 