BBC refuses to include Green party in general election TV leader debates

The BBC has rejected a demand from the Green party to be included in the proposed TV leader election debates, saying that it, unlike Ukip, has not demonstrated any substantial increase in support.

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 Green Party was infuriated that they had been excluded and won support in online petitions.

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.

“The performance in elections of the Greens in relation to the Liberal Democrats has been mainly the result of the decrease in support for the latter as opposed to a significant increase in support for the Green party; opinion polls do not as yet demonstrate that the Greens have drawn level with the Liberal Democrats.

“Even if they did, we would still, of course, be taking as our starting point the result of the 2010 general election, where the Lib Dems took more than 50 seats and 23% share of the vote, demonstrating a level of electoral support overall substantially ahead of the Green party.”

The letter goes on to say that the BBC “will continue to keep any new evidence of increased support for the Green party under close review” and that if the debate proposal is successful, the BBC would be “offering appropriate opportunities to other political parties – including the Green party – to ensure that the BBC’s election coverage does satisfy the overarching obligation of due impartiality across the UK”.

Natalie Bennett, Green party leader, said: “The BBC in its reference to polling data for the Green party and the Liberal Democrats would seem to be concentrating too much on past performance rather than looking at current interest in the Greens.

“Leading pollster Peter Kellner’s recent piece, Ukip, the Greens and the new politics of protest, gives a more realistic picture of where the Greens are currently on the political landscape.

“We are concerned over the statement beginning ‘we would still … be taking as our starting point the result of the 2010 general election’. This demonstrates very clearly how the BBC appears to be acting as a worrying brake on democratic change; I believe they are failing to grasp that the future of politics doesn’t look like the past.

“In 2010 there was still a widespread belief that an economic recovery would see our economy and society continue much as before. But more people are recognising every day that the business as usual approach to economics, society, environment and politics is now untenable.

“This BBC attitude is contributing dangerously to the buildup of frustration and disillusionment with politics in the UK. We have seen nearly 200,000 people sign a petition demanding that Greens be included in the leaders’ debates based on natural justice and fairness.”