News / bristol south
BBC will be ’embarrassed’ over Green snub
A Bristol Green Party parliamentary candidate has said the BBC will end up being “embarrassed” for excluding his party from televised debates in the run-up to next year’s general election.
Tony Dyer, the candidate in Bristol South, said the BBC on a national level had “moved the goal posts” to include the likes of Ukip and exclude the Greens.
The BBC has srejected a demand from the Greens to be included in the proposed TV leader election debates, saying that it, unlike Ukip, has not demonstrated any substantial increase in support.
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The broadcasters have proposed three debates, one including Ukip, the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Conservatives, a second involving the Lib Dems, Labour and the Conservatives, and finally one between Ed Miliband and David Cameron.
The BBC, in a letter to the Green party director of communications Penny Kemp, said: “Ukip has demonstrated a substantial increase in electoral support since 2014 across a range of elections along with a consistent and robust trend across a full range of opinion polls; the Green party has not demonstrated any comparable increase in support in either elections or opinion polls.”
Dyer said the party had been given fair coverage on a local level. But while admitting the BBC’s decision was a blow, he insisted speaking to people face to face would have a greater impact.
“We need to distinguish between the coverage we get nationally and that which we get in Bristol,” he said.
“We get a fair crack of the whip from the BBC here, but nationally they have moved the goal posts in favour of Ukip and the Liberal Democrats, and to exclude the Greens.
“It will be embarrassing for the BBC though as our membership has continued to rise regardless of the lack of national coverage we get.
“[The BBC’s decision] will have an impact but I find that if we speak to people then this has a greater influence on how people vote.”
The BBC decision came on the day an opinion poll for The Sun put the Greens ahead of the Liberal Democrats.
YouGov research had Labour on 34%, three points ahead of the Conservatives, Ukip on 17%, the Greens on 7% and the Lib Dems on 6%.
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