It's all a conspiracy?

The blogosphere has been full of how dreadfully 'left-of-centre' the BBC is over the last couple of weeks ... primarily driven by the 'perceived' lack of coverage of Labour donor rows and resignations?

... well, in recent times at least, I've never been convinced that bias actually exists - remembering all too well how I used to periodically feel in the 80's that the BBC was all part of a vast right-wing conspiracy to keep Labour from power :-(

And if ever proof were needed about the fallacy of a 'left-of-centre' BBC, then just have a quick scan at this story which they have led on all evening on most broadcast mediums tonight.

Apparently, and I've no reason to doubt the validity of the figures, when Labour came to power in 1997, the NHS spent around £1bn a year on maternity services. Ten years on, spending has risen to £1.6bn. The tone of the coverage indicates that rise is primarily down to a massive increase in immigrant mothers giving birth in the UK. Really?

What is mentioned nowhere is that £1bn in 1997 is now worth some £1.35billion, so the rise - in real terms - is not £0.6bn but only £0.25bn. That's around a 25% real-terms increase, as opposed to the insinuated 60% increase. Is that bad?

The coverage has also droned on about a 44,000 per year drop in babies born to British mothers, whilst there has been a 64,000 rise in babies born to foreign mothers ... whilst failing to mention that just under 750,000 babies are born every year in the UK :-(

You know, I just can't help wondering how many babies are being born to mothers with green eyes today, as compared to 1997? ... I think we urgently need to know :-((