Making change
Yesterday's article about the no-platforming of a Somerset independent candidate bears immediate fruit.
Dear readers
Yesterday Somerset Confidential® published a piece (Banana Republic) for our paid subscribers which examined how some of the worst election practises were getting air time and influence in our own General Election.
We looked at the election battle in Wells and Mendip Hills where seven candidates are battling it out.
The BBC had scheduled a debate this evening at 6pm hosted by Today’s Justin Webb which was to “no platform” the two Independent candidates.
In our piece we explored the BBC’s reasoning, pointed out how the decision breached its own rules and how the process it used was inherently prejudiced against Independent candidates.
We pointed out that had the BBC debate not taken place the candidates would at least be battling each other on a level playing field. However by hosting a debate with two candidates missing, the BBC had actually introduced bias into the electoral process.
Yesterday afternoon we were delighted to hear that following publication of our article, the BBC relented (in part). It has now issued an invitation to Abi McGuire, the more high profile of the two Independent candidates.
This is far from a complete victory as the BBC are not going to broadcast the debate live. Instead they will selectively broadcast “large portions” of the debate “on the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 between 6am and 9am on Wednesday 12 June.”
As we note above, our criticism of the BBC still stands. Whether the bias inherent in the original decision remains, depends entirely on whether all candidates are fairly represented in the selective chunks of the debate it chooses to air.
Nevertheless, we are delighted that we have been able to apply some pressure to right in part at least, a wrong done to the process of choosing an MP for Wells and Mendip Hills.
In this instance, Somerset Confidential® has been able to leverage change in an immediate way which is admittedly rare. But our work does leverage change. Change in policy and change in approach. If you would like to help us do more then please subscribe to Somerset Confidential®
I thought yesterday's piece was perhaps the most important you've ever written, not least the wider context of Rwanda and Trump informing your position on the local. Worth the subscription for that article alone. Thank you for standing up for democracy.
Thanks for the kind comments. Glad you found the piece engaging.