BBC Bias?

Well, the election is over and as we speak, Nick Clegg and David Cameron (and possibly Gordon Brown?) are locked into negotiations as to who will form the Government. This is as it should be as all politics should be about compromise around the common good. No British Government since World War II has had the support of the majority of the British people (in terms of votes) and it is time that democracy, in terms of the will of the majority, be returned to the UK. After all coalitions were common in the UK after the rise of the Labour Party up to and including the war.

We in the Green Party had mixed fortunes. There was the astonishing win by Caroline Lucas to become the first Green MP in Britain and the very first in the world to be elected under a first past the post system. My congratulations go out to Caroline and her Brighton team.

In the rest of the country, however, the Green Party and to be fair ALL the smaller parties were punished by the polarisation of support brought about by the TV debates. Not just the Prime Ministerial debates, all the local and cabinet debates focused just on three grey men in suits from the Westminster parties. In Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales the nationalist parties were given a platform, but in England, TV viewers were told again and again that the race was between Tory, Labour and Liberal Democrat and other voices, including the Green Party were suppressed.

Here in the Richmond constituency, BBC North East steadfastly refused to talk to me as the Green Party candidate for Richmond. How many times did you see the Conservative candidate William Hague on the local news and debate programmes (Look North etc)?
Most blatantly, however, was a report by BBC Radio Tees (repeated on BBC Radio York) on Friday 28th April. I am told that BBC Radio Tees did a feature on the Richmond (Yorks) constituency. I am told that they interviewed the Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat candidates. I am told, but not by the BBC, who did not have the courtesy to inform the Richmond Green Party that the programme was even being broadcast. The BBC editorial guidelines say that the BBC should be impartial in its election coverage. How is it impartial to interview just three out of the four candidates standing in the Richmond constituency? How is it impartial to give dozens of opportunities for other Richmond candidates to voice their views on the BBC during the campaign, but to block all attempts by the Richmond Green Party to get its views across?

Never again must local and national broadcast stations be allowed to manipulate public opinion in the way they did in this election. Never again should such blatant discrimination against the smaller parties be allowed to undermine democracy. Never again will we allow BBC bias to go un-reported. Watch this space!

Success !!

In a previous blog I reported that William Hague had refused to turn up to the hustings due this Friday (30/4/10) at the Methodist Church in Richmond (7.30 pm). I repeated this complaint in a letter to the Darlington and Stockton Times (see last blog).
On the doorstep, his constituents started to complain about being taken for granted. As the sitting MP with a large majority, Hague showed his complacency by touring marginal seats the length and breadth of the UK (including Northern Ireland) whilst being unavailable to his Richmond constituents. Even the Red Fox from “Make Cruelty History” could not find him (see the hilarious clip of the Red Fox failing to find anyone at William Hague’s campaign HQ at http://cruelsports.wordpress.com/category/keep-cruelty-history/ then scroll down to day 2. The only candidate that met the red fox face to face by the way, was me - see same video where I make my support for the hunting ban clear.)

After my letter was printed in the D&S Times, the Tories started to panic. For weeks they had made it clear that no one from the Conservative Party would be at the 30th April hustings. Then yesterday (Tuesday 27/4/10) a telephone call from the Church minister organising the hustings informed me that Anne McIntosh was going to appear in place of the “far too busy” William Hague. Ms McIntosh was made notorious during the MPs’ expenses scandal for having her gardening paid for (tax free) almost every month from 2004 until the Daily Telegraph rumbled her. Clearly an embarrassment to her Party, perhaps this was something to do to keep her out of the way?
But still, my letter had worked and the Tory stonewall was crumbling. Then the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates, perhaps a little shaken by the prospect of facing “Rotweiler” McIntosh, complained that she was not a candidate. The Labour Party rang me to persuade me to join their opposition, but frankly I was looking forward to tackling Ms McIntosh about her MP’s expenses.
However, the minister rang me late this afternoon (28/4/10) to say the Tories had changed their mind again and William Hague was now going to come to the hustings after all!

SUCCESS! The Green Party had succeeded in getting Hague to meet his constituents. I rang Elizabeth, my press officer to tell her the good news, only to discover that she had just been told this by her press contacts. It seems that the Tories had informed the Press first, before anyone else.

But the bitter pill comes at the end. William Hague has appeared on TV and radio broadcast by the BBC and others on numerous occasions during this election. Last night on the BBC Look North Election 2010 he was introduced as the “Conservative candidate for Richmond”, a clear breach of broadcasting guidelines as the BBC had not invited me or the other Richmond candidates to the debate. In fact not once during this election has BBC North East invited me to appear on a programme. Now with their last opportunity to redress the balance, none of the broadcast media are going to attend the hustings. Even worse the newspapers are refusing to attend as well. Was that the reason why William Hague contacted the media first? He knows that facing his electorate will be embarrassment for him. So whilst William Hague basks in the spotlight of the media, his political rivals go unreported. This election is supposed to be about you electing your representative to Parliament. It has become a media circus of celebrities, with fair and balanced debate left out in the cold.

Alice in Wonderland Debate?

So the leaders of the Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat parties have agreed to have a televised debate. A debate on what? I think the most difficult thing will be to spot the difference between them.

Frankly, a plague on all their houses. You will not get rid of sleaze in the House of Commons by voting for the same old MPs. You will not get change in society by voting for Tweedle Dum or Tweedle Dee. There is not a ha'pth of difference between the old grey parties represented by these grey leaders.

So its your choice. Waste 4½ hours watching 3 discredited politicians pretending that their policies are significantly different in front of a selected audience banned from clapping or booing, no matter how poor the content . Or use that time looking at the alternative and different policies of parties like the Green Party. Remember, the choice is yours. If you want to change the politicians, then change the way you vote.

Richmond Green Candidate Confirmed

At a meeting of the Green Party in Richmond this week, I was confirmed as the Green Party candidate for the Richmond constituency at the next General Election. I want to thank Green Party members in Richmond for their support.

This general election represents a real opportunity for North Yorkshire to send a clear message to Westminster. To end the creeping privatisation of the health service by both Labour and Conservatives. To fight the greed shown by MPs in Parliament by voting for a candidate not financed by either Big Business or the Unions.

As an active campaigner & parish councillor, I claim no expenses for my work in the community. The Richmond Green Party campaigns all year round for local residents, not just at election time.

We need a transition to a sustainable society, based on living in harmony with our environment. My slogan will be put the planet before profit.

I lives in the Richmond Constituency with my wife and 3 kids. I am not parachuted in from Brussels like the Lib Dem candidate (only in it for the practice - look out for him in the next Euro-elections). The Green Party represents a real alternative to the tired old politics of Conservative or Labour.

The Green Party is the only party that has the policies to tackle head-on the economic crisis and at the same time lay the foundations for a sustainable and fair society. The Green Party rejects as false the choice between ‘economy' or the ‘environment' - we CAN do both.

Our 2009 Green Party manifesto sets out a plan for creating 1 million jobs through investment in renewable energy, housing, public transport and social care. We call this the Green New Deal - an approach to the economy that puts Britain firmly on the road to recovery, addresses the urgent climate crisis while improving the way we all lead our lives.

We believe in fighting for fairness - not crossing our fingers and hoping for the best. Our proposals would create a million lasting jobs - not ones dependent on cheap fossil fuels or financial bubbles. We want skilled jobs in public services, renewable energy and low carbon industries. We would nurture small to medium enterprises to encourage domestic manufacturing and local agriculture.

So don't waste your vote on the old grey parties. Vote for a Green New Deal with the Green Party.