Why does Have I Got News For You barely criticize Starmer and endlessly rail against the Tories as if they were still in power? LEO MCKINSTRY

How refreshing it would be if the BBC broadcast a comedy show that pokes fun at the twisted left-wing mentality that dominates public life in Britain today.

You’d be spoiled for choice with the variety of targets – from the absurdity of our border troops acting as a glorified ferry service for illegal migrants across the English Channel, to ministers secretly accepting free donations from millionaires for new clothes, to Ed Miliband’s net- Zero Agenda, which… could mean solar panels made by Uighur forced laborers being imported from China and British families having to pay skyrocketing energy bills for the privilege.

However, this fun is missing in the airwaves.

Instead, too many so-called comedians act like guardians of progressive orthodoxy, throwing endless pathetic tirades at conservatives as if they were still in government.

Nothing underlines this more vividly than BBC One’s Have I Got News For You. Now in its 34th year, the once sharp, caustic program is outdated and predictable. The flamethrower of wild jokes has been replaced by the loudspeaker of political partisanship.

One of the guest panellists, former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns (pictured), was subjected to a barrage of character slurs which left her almost silent

Conversely, today’s “comedians,” steeped in their anti-conservative prejudices, of course cannot tolerate attacks on the left. (Pictured: Boris Johnson)

After 14 years of vilifying the “cruel and evil” Tories, the producers and cast seem unable to change direction.

Last Friday’s offer was typical. Everyone knows that Labour’s first 100 days were marred by scandal – even Sir Keir Starmer had to admit they were “troubled”. But this rich trove of material was hardly mentioned.

Instead, one of the guest panelists, former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns, was subjected to a barrage of character slurs that all but silenced her.

Leading the charge was Ian Hislop, who, with increasingly puritanical complacency, has become one of the nation’s most important moral preachers. Yet he is one of Britain’s privileged elite who uphold the gospel of political correctness while raking in a reported £20,000 per show. He has a seemingly neurotic obsession with Boris Johnson – someone who last held No. 10 three prime ministers ago.

When Dame Andrea defended her former boss against Hislop calling him a “liar”, the studio audience groaned loudly, which understandably led her to tell Hislop that the BBC had “selected” the audience they wanted.

In fact, they constantly cheered and cheered at every left-wing platitude uttered.

Conversely, today’s “comedians,” steeped in their anti-conservative prejudices, of course cannot tolerate attacks on the left.

In a previous episode of Have I Got News For You, Hislop expressed his most schoolmasterly words on the subject of dirt and the Starmer government, simply declaring: “It’s very disappointing.” The only reaction from the audience was an awkward fidget on their seats.

The truth is that the health of the country’s political debate is best served when the leading satirical show openly mocks the government of the day

Everyone knows that Labour’s first 100 days were marred by scandal – even Sir Keir Starmer had to admit they were “troubled”.

This program also featured two left-wing panellists, journalist Helen Lewis and comedian Chloe Petts, whose predictable opinions provided an argument for abolishing the compulsory BBC license fee.

Elsewhere, there are many social justice activists posing as “comedians.” BBC Radio Four’s News Quiz is another tried-and-tested vehicle of anti-conservative hostility, while Channel Four’s The Last Leg often degenerates into a left-wing hatefest.

With “Have I Got News For You,” however, the issue is particularly serious because of the high profile and reach of the show, with approximately 4.5 million viewers (compared to the 60,000 people who watch copies of the Left’s house magazine on weekdays). , “The Guardian”, buy).

The truth is that the health of the country’s political debate is best served when the leading satirical show freely and without fear or favor mocks the government of the day, exposes the hypocrisy among MPs of all stripes and punctures every fashionable ideology.

Instead, the British public is treated to a show that appears to be horribly dumbfounded by its own bias.