Yesterday the broadcasters unveiled a proposal for televised leaders’ debates that fails basic tests of fairness and balance.
Yesterday the broadcasters unveiled a proposal for televised leaders’ debates that fails basic tests of fairness and balance
So this is what British politics on TV in the twenty-first century is supposed to look like? Four middle-aged white men arguing over whose turn it is to rearrange the deckchairs as the Titanic sinks?
Whatever qualities David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg and Nigel Farage may have, the public does not think they represent the diversity of modern Britain. It does journalism a disservice to pretend that they do – the public are not fools.
We can either have a real debate, with all strands of political opinion represented, or we can have another establishment charade that will see the public turning off in droves.
Yesterday the broadcasters unveiled a ludicrous proposal for televised leaders’ debates that fails basic tests of fairness and balance. The so-called 2-3-4 format allows different shades of the British establishment free airtime while excluding those who disagree with their politics of austerity. It is neither a reflection of modern Britain nor an aid to the free and fair elections that twenty-first century democracy demands.
The Green Party has to be in there, if for no other reason than to show that there is a genuine choice on offer in this election. You can either plump for business-as-usual, as expressed through the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Labour or UKIP, or you can vote for the real change that we offer.
Whether it’s a £10 minimum wage, keeping the NHS in public hands, bringing the railways back into public ownership or stopping runaway climate change – the Greens offer a distinctive voice that millions of Britons support.
We’ve also earned our right to sit at the top table the hard way – by building up our membership and staying true to our values. We’re not funded by tax-dodging millionaires and we never will be.
Voters increasingly recognise that the Green Party is different. Our policies are made by our members, not by focus groups or newspaper tycoons. We campaign for what is right and fair, not what is easy or fleetingly popular. We aren’t afraid to stand up to the mighty and the powerful and we aren’t embarrassed to speak out on behalf of those whose voices have been stifled.
On any objective test the Green Party should be in the leaders’ debates. UKIP has had an MP for about five minutes; by May 2015 we’ll have had Caroline Lucas in the House of Commons for five years. The Lib Dems are slated for two debates yet we comprehensively beat them in the European Elections this May – winning three times as many seats and 150,000 more votes. General Election opinion polls put us neck-and-neck with the junior Coalition partners. And when the public get to hear about Green policies they prefer them to the alternatives.
So broadcasters can keep moving the goalposts to shut us out but we are not going to go away.
Since they published their proposals yesterday there has been an explosion of public support for us. Whether natural Green voters or not, people do not like the idea of closing down discussion and debate. With traditional party loyalties fragmenting at an unprecedented rate the electorate want to see the full range of views on offer.
We live in an era of multi-party politics. The broadcasters need to accept that or get out of the way.
Natalie Bennett is leader of the Green Party
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29 Responses to “On any objective test the Green Party should be in the leaders’ debates”
ematter
“And that purple arrow should be a purple pen** on Farage’s head.”
It is estimated we derive around 25% GDP from the EU, and that is only going up (obviously accounting for the financial crises – do I really need to clarify that for UKIP)!
Most EU Immigrants work, contribute to our economy, NHS and tax.
I agree with those that demand a higher minimum wage, removal of zero hour contracts, tighter controls / heavier fines on illegal labour, and to build more houses.
I really DO NOT CARE if people speak English, Polish or even French, as long as they can speak English at work, and obey the law!
I am tired of hearing drunk illiterate English idiots who have never worked a day in their life, complaining about EU migrants! Those lazy bums grow old on the state and collect a pension on the state, then raise hell about people that actually work!
The fact is that for every job taken by an EU worker, another job is created! END OF!
So if your beef is no one is speaking English, then “GET SOME CULTURE, BE FRIENDLY” while you can, because when the EU picks, which it will, that will change.
In the mean time, we should build house, create jobs, bring in more business… because when the EU recovers – we want to have the business ready to meet demand – which the rest of the EU “will not be able to do”!
This is important because “GOVERNMENT DEBT IS STILL GOING UP!!!”, and yes that is “REALLY BAD!!!”. You can hear some Muppet complaining how there is not “LIVING SPACE”… well we live in a top heavy demography with no money to spend on infrastructure, because we gave it all to the very rich bankers. STILL if you want to commute, the get a lovely house in the country side and commute, BUT if you live in the fricken city, that is what a FRICKEN CITY LOOKS LIKE!
Now a little message to UKIP – “STOP MARGINALISING THE VULNERABLE” to get bigoted little morons onto their narrow understanding of political correctness. Politicians serve the public, so we expect them to be politically correct! UNDERSTAND! It is not complicated!
Many people in the world hold Britain in high regard, and UKIP is making us look like a bunch of red necks!
David Lindsay
And still come out of it with no MPs.
These things may or may not make good television, but they have absolutely nothing to do with British politics.
David Lindsay
UKIP has the potential to win dozens of seats
Oh, puh-lease! If you get two, then you will have had a staggeringly good night. You will almost certainly get none.
ematter
Many GREEN voters see the EU as a means to tackle global issues such as Global Warming, so an over representation of UKIP would be completely undemocratic!
David Lindsay
If they do see that, then they are deluded on more than one front. But by all means let us have the debate.