Public Wants More Balanced Coverage Of Political Parties, New Polling Suggests
5 min read
Voters want more balanced broadcast coverage of political parties to reflect the emerging multi-party system, new research from YouGov and Cardiff University suggests.
The findings, shared with PoliticsHome, found that a clear majority of people believe political parties should receive equal airtime on TV and radio, even in cases where one party is outperforming others in the opinion polls.
The research, which interviewed 2,153 people between October 5-6, asked one nationally representative group of people how they would designate airtime without naming specific political parties.
They were presented with a situation whereby one party has four MPs but has been leading in the polls for several months, and another party, which has 72 MPs but is fourth in the polls.
In response, 13 per cent said there should be more airtime for the party leading in the polls, while a similar share, 12 per cent, said there should be more airtime for the party that has more MPs.
Sixty per cent of respondents said the parties should receive equal airtime on TV and radio, which rose to 70 per cent when undecided respondents were excluded.
YouGov and Cardiff University then asked another group about a scenario whereby the political parties – Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats – were named.
Support for equal airtime was 40 per cent, and rose to 48 per cent after excluding those unsure. Once again, similar shares of people said there should be more airtime for Reform and the Lib Dems; 27 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
Reform, which currently has five MPs after Danny Kruger defected to the party from the Conservatives last month, has been leading voting intention polls for many months. YouGov's most recent poll tracker put the Lib Dems, which have 72 MPs, on 13 per cent, behind Farage's party, Labour and the Conservatives.
"To ensure people continue to keep faith with the impartiality of broadcasters, they will need to be transparent with their audiences about how they weigh coverage according to different factors, as the BBC did in September when the public service broadcaster issued a statement explaining its coverage of Reform UK," said Professor Stephen Cushion, who is leading Cardiff University's work on broadcast impartiality.
Ed Davey's Lib Dems have been publicly critical of the BBC in recent months, accusing it of giving Reform UK and its leader, Nigel Farage, disproportionately heavy coverage.
In July, PoliticsHome reported that the Lib Dem leader met with BBC Director General Tim Davie to express his “frustration” over its allotted coverage. In September, the party launched a campaign titled ‘Balance the BBC’, accusing the broadcaster of “wall to wall” coverage of Farage's party.
Commenting on the new research, Lib Dem culture spokesperson, Anna Sabine MP, told PoliticsHome: “The fact that 70 per cent of those with a clear view on the matter back equal airtime is a powerful rejection of the warped media environment that has given wall-to-wall coverage to Nigel Farage.
"This disproportionate focus has created a completely false sense of equivalence and normalises a party with a tiny parliamentary footprint that is spouting dangerous and divisive views."
The BBC has defended its editorial decisions, with Davie recently telling MPs the claim that the broadcaster is leaning towards a particular party is "frankly ridiculous" and "for the birds".
In September, Davie told MPs on the Culture, Media and Sport Committee that the BBC was trying to adapt to the fact that “the landscape politically has changed fundamentally”.
“It’s appropriate we look at the latest election results and polling. Reform’s estimated national [vote] share is about 30 per cent… We’re trying to get the balance right. It’s difficult," he said.
He later added: “Suggesting we’re ingratiating ourselves to one party or leaning towards another is frankly ridiculous."
The findings suggest both Reform and Lib Dem supporters are largely in favour of more equality in broadcasters' coverage of political parties. Sixty per cent of Reform voters and 65 per cent of Lib Dem voters backed equal airtime in the unnamed scenario, while 47 per cent of Lib Dem supporters still favoured equal coverage even when their party’s name was included.
The survey also asked participants to rank which factors broadcasters should use to determine coverage of parties. These included the number of MPs won at the last general election, the share of the vote secured, performance in local and regional elections, recent opinion polling, and whether a party has done or said something newsworthy.
The top-ranking factor, cited by 25 per cent of respondents, was whether a party does or says something broadcasters consider important. This was followed by trends in opinion polls (20 per cent). The number of MPs and vote share at the last general election were each ranked third by 13 per cent. Local and regional election performance was considered to be the least important factor.
Cushion told PoliticsHome: "Our survey showed the vast majority of people believe broadcasters should be impartial, and they trust TV and radio above other forms of news, such as online or social media.
"But more people thought broadcasters were complying badly than well with the due impartiality guidelines, signalling that editors of TV and radio programming could do more to convince the public about how they allocate airtime.
He added: "While it is not always easy to allocate airtime to all parties, our survey suggested a preference for equalising coverage.
"At the same time, it found many people were unsure about what factors should influence editorial decision-making. This makes it essential for broadcasters to inform their audiences about the difficult decisions they are making in balancing airtime for parties and how they are complying with impartiality rules.”
