Turner turns the tables on his critics

FOLK musician Frank Turner has gone on the attack after the Guardian newspaper attempted to expose him as a phoney in one of the worst pieces of journalism so far this year.

Turner wrote a post on his own blog - entitled Schmolitics - in response to a horrendously cobbled-together article by Michael Hann, written under the headline: "Frank Turner: turns out he was right-wing all along. We just never noticed".

The story actually originated from Labour MP for Bristol East Kerry McCarthy who called Turner "a twerp" on her Twitter account for comments which he gave on his political stances in an interview three years ago - but which she presumably had only just found.

Hann subsequently wrote a lazy piece for the Guardian music blog by rehashing old quotes from interviews given by Turner to other magazines and websites.

Perhaps the simple task of picking up the telephone to speak to the artist himself sounded like too much hard work for this journalist...

To clarify, the quote which seems to have caused the most consternation is: "I do firmly believe that leftist politics lead to the misery of many, the crushing of the little guy and all that kind of thing".

But Turner has attempted to clarify the situation on his blog post. He wrote: "My politics are based on principles like democracy, individuality, equality of opportunity, distrust of power and, above all else, freedom, including economic freedom.

"They’re not the same as when I was 19, or indeed 23 – a few more years kicking around the world has made me adjust my views a little, although the basic principles remain the same.

"Once I would have called myself an anarchist. These days I suppose the word 'libertarian' does pretty well for me, though I suspect it’s a little over-intellectual as a description."

Turner continues: "Incidentally, here’s some things I’m not: 'Tory', 'conservative', or 'Republican'. If you don’t know the difference between these and libertarians, I suggest reading up a little before slagging me off. I don’t consider myself 'right wing' either. I’m just not a leftist."

Now, time for some full disclosure on my part: if you had not already guessed, I am a fan of Turner's work, particularly as a solo artist.

And, although I accept that it makes this viewpoint automatically subjective, it also works somewhat in my favour, as I have a good knowledge of his music.

I know, for instance, that he released an album with the song called 'Thatcher Fucked the Kids' in 2006, but I also know that he no longer sings it at his gigs because it associated him with being a left-winger.

Furthermore, it is clear that Turner was at the very least frustrated with the left-wing of politics back as early as 2008 when he released his acclaimed album Love Ire & Song.

For, in the song of the same name, he laments: "But it was worse when we turned to the kids on the left / And got let down again by some poor excuse for protest /

"Yeah, by idiot fucking hippies in 50 different factions / Who are locked inside some kind of 60s battle re-enactment / And I hung up my banner in disgust and I head for the door."

If those lines demonstrate what Turner is not politically, his more recent release 'Sons of Liberty' on his third album Poetry of the Deed (2009) would seem to give a better reflection of where his views lie.

But, even if Turner was actually a Tory, I would like to think that, as a fan of acoustic folk, I would still appreciate the considered way which he candidly writes and sings about the themes of love and heartbreak in the likes of "Jet Lag", "Sunshine State" and "Fastest Way Back Home", to name just three. 

Then there is the simple pleasure which I get from listening to some of his more up-tempo numbers such as "Reasons Not To Be An Idiot" and "Try This At Home". 

Now, even as a fan, I am aware that Turner can be somewhat of a 'Marmite' musician, and that the little rants in his songs can come across as like something out of a students union open mic night.

However, there has really been no need for the irrelevant attacks on Turner's background, which have come from some critics. 

Yes, he is a posh boy from Winchester in Hampshire, who went to school with Prince William at Eton and he is also the grandson of a banker. 

But, as far as I can tell, he is his own man with his own views making his own way in life - and it is simply inverse snobbery to bring his upbringing into it. 

That is not to say that, like a soppy boyband hanger-on, I agree with everything Turner says, and it seems my politics would be still to the left of his own.

Indeed, if the article had focused more on the fact that apparent hypocrisy of Turner featuring at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, then it would have undoubtedly had more of a point.

After all, Turner has expressed his distaste for non-essential services, including the arts, receiving state funding but then appeared at a ceremony which had received millions of pounds of taxpayers' money.

However, journalist Hann simply decided to accuse him, wrongly as it turns out, of being a right-winger, and then defended his slanted perspective in the comment sections below the line. 
There, he wrote: "The Guardian is a left-wing newspaper. What we do is disagree with the right."

But, even here, it was pointed out that Hann himself was wrong. Commenter, MickGJ, stated more accurately: "The Guardian is supposed to be 'small-l' liberal newspaper, which means you should be horrified at the thought that anyone should be automatically "castigated" for his or her political views, whatever their profession."

Meanwhile, another member of the public, mrMilitant, summed up a more relevant divide than the old left-wing/right-wing axis quite succinctly:

"So let me get this right. Frank is:
- Against the surveillance state
- Against National Identity Cards
- Against complete European integration
- For the NHS
- For government playing less interfering roles in people's lives."

... and added...

"Let's remember that New Labour
- Tried to bring in National ID cards
- Built the biggest part of the surveillance/database state, including the Contactpoint children's database, automatic number plate recognition cameras/network, encouraged fingerprinting children in schools and drinkers in bars and clubs, created a centralised, highly insecure medical records project and many others.
- Instigated the building of grossly expensive and unnecessary aircraft carriers, and presided over an MOD so uselessly that it is the bankrupt shambles it is today.
- intrusive and inept CRB checking that wrongly labelled thousands as criminals
- refused to change the law over people's records unnecessarily on the biometric DNA database even after an EU ruling.
- EU or not EU has riven the left on various occasions
- passed Terrorism Acts and efforts to increase detention without charge to 90 days
- removed habeous corpus [sic] and the right to silence
- generally acted in the most breathtakingly authoritarian, some would say 'right wing', way of any government of the last century".

Basically, when it comes to Frank Turner versus the authoritarian worst of New Labour - and their journalistic sympathisers - for me, there is only one winner. FTHC.