The SNP and Plaid Cymru are to review their policies in regard to the BBC licence fee in the wake row over the presidential-style debates to be broadcast in the run up to the Westminster election. Each party will look again at its broadcasting policy in response to what they call a 'stitch up' over live prime ministerial TV debates.
The BBC says that separate leader debates will be held in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This does not, however, alter the fact that the three English based parties will have 3 x 90 extra minutes of exposure beamed in to every home in Scotland, Wales and NI.
Labour’s Anne McGuire MP said on Newsnight Scotland that the three debates will have interest for people UK wide. After being corrected by Gordon Brewer, she acknowledged that the first debate will concentrate on Health and Education with Immigration tacked on, although neither of the main topics are relevant to the Celtic countries and the immigration situation in England is entirely different from that, at least, in Scotland.
Many of the topics which may be discussed will not be relevant in the Celtic countries. For some this will simply be boring, but for others it will be misleading, and in extreme cases may lead to someone voting for a policy which will not be enacted in their country.
Labour and the Tories insist that, as Alex Salmond is not going to be the next Prime Minister there is no reason to ask him to debate even on devolved matters. As the SNP’s election co-ordinator, Stewart Hosie MP (pictured) pointed out, we do not vote for a prime minister in the UK. We vote for a person, usually representing a political party, in any one constituency.
It follows from that that it is the monarch who, theoretically, decides who will be the next PM when she asks them to form a Government.
As Stewart pointed out, it is not a potential prime ministerial debate but a leaders’ debate and as such should include Alex Salmond. The BBC’s own website continues to call them prime ministerial debates possibly as an excuse for not including the SNP and Plaid. But why then are they including the Liberal Democrats? We know that either Gordon Brown or David Cameron will be the next PM. We also know that Nick Clegg will not, so why is he included?
Stewart pointed out that Canada's state broadcaster manages to have leaders’ debates across five parties, in two languages. He has sought to enter into discussions with the BBC but he said that whereas Sky had engaged with him, the BBC had not given substantive answers to his points. At that point, unfortunately Brewer cut him off. It is perhaps ironic that the state broadcaster for which we all pay is less inclined to take a non partisan line than an organisation which is commercial and owned by a foreign media mogul with a reputation for promoting a strongly partisan agenda.
Plaid's Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd said: "We met to discuss the unfair treatment of Welsh and Scottish licence fee payers who are being denied the opportunity by the public broadcaster to hear from their respective national parties in these set piece leaders debates. It is unacceptable for the people of Wales and Scotland to be short-changed in this way and for the leaders of London parties to be given an additional 90 minutes of prime time exposure.”
Is there an answer to this problem? From my personal point of view given that: all over the UK there are parties who have the right to be heard; only two could provide the next UK prime minister; since devolution many policies do not affect the whole of the UK; the UK has a parliamentary democracy and not a presidential system.... We should not have presidential debates.
This article from James Kelly on Scot Goes Pop, one of my favourite blogs, is worth a read.
.................
The BBC says that separate leader debates will be held in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This does not, however, alter the fact that the three English based parties will have 3 x 90 extra minutes of exposure beamed in to every home in Scotland, Wales and NI.
Labour’s Anne McGuire MP said on Newsnight Scotland that the three debates will have interest for people UK wide. After being corrected by Gordon Brewer, she acknowledged that the first debate will concentrate on Health and Education with Immigration tacked on, although neither of the main topics are relevant to the Celtic countries and the immigration situation in England is entirely different from that, at least, in Scotland.
Many of the topics which may be discussed will not be relevant in the Celtic countries. For some this will simply be boring, but for others it will be misleading, and in extreme cases may lead to someone voting for a policy which will not be enacted in their country.
Labour and the Tories insist that, as Alex Salmond is not going to be the next Prime Minister there is no reason to ask him to debate even on devolved matters. As the SNP’s election co-ordinator, Stewart Hosie MP (pictured) pointed out, we do not vote for a prime minister in the UK. We vote for a person, usually representing a political party, in any one constituency.
It follows from that that it is the monarch who, theoretically, decides who will be the next PM when she asks them to form a Government.
As Stewart pointed out, it is not a potential prime ministerial debate but a leaders’ debate and as such should include Alex Salmond. The BBC’s own website continues to call them prime ministerial debates possibly as an excuse for not including the SNP and Plaid. But why then are they including the Liberal Democrats? We know that either Gordon Brown or David Cameron will be the next PM. We also know that Nick Clegg will not, so why is he included?
Stewart pointed out that Canada's state broadcaster manages to have leaders’ debates across five parties, in two languages. He has sought to enter into discussions with the BBC but he said that whereas Sky had engaged with him, the BBC had not given substantive answers to his points. At that point, unfortunately Brewer cut him off. It is perhaps ironic that the state broadcaster for which we all pay is less inclined to take a non partisan line than an organisation which is commercial and owned by a foreign media mogul with a reputation for promoting a strongly partisan agenda.
Plaid's Westminster leader Elfyn Llwyd said: "We met to discuss the unfair treatment of Welsh and Scottish licence fee payers who are being denied the opportunity by the public broadcaster to hear from their respective national parties in these set piece leaders debates. It is unacceptable for the people of Wales and Scotland to be short-changed in this way and for the leaders of London parties to be given an additional 90 minutes of prime time exposure.”
Is there an answer to this problem? From my personal point of view given that: all over the UK there are parties who have the right to be heard; only two could provide the next UK prime minister; since devolution many policies do not affect the whole of the UK; the UK has a parliamentary democracy and not a presidential system.... We should not have presidential debates.
This article from James Kelly on Scot Goes Pop, one of my favourite blogs, is worth a read.
.................
