Nick Robinson has reported:
I’m told that Labour has asked the two other big parties to sign a joint letter to broadcasters criticising them for covering the debates and the polls too much and claiming that the news bulletins had “failed to deliver the usual specialist examination of specific policy areas”. The Lib Dems and the Tories have refused to sign. The BBC has yet to receive the letter.
Here’s the party’s official response to the request from Labour:
We have discussed your proposal, however, we do not think that it is appropriate for political parties to seek to dictate the nature of political coverage to broadcasters. We are pleased that because we have set out our policy priorities clearly in our manifesto and included detailed costings, broadcasters and others have been able to analyse our policy and subject it to proper scrutiny and discussion. It might assist coverage if other parties followed suit. We would of course welcome further focus on policy given our clear message, focused priorities and detailed costings.
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4 Comments
So basically Labour are unhappy because their debate and poll performance is bad, and they would prefer the media to concentrate on some unspecified area in which they are strong.
I wonder what area they think that is.
oh snap!
(the above comment is deemed too short by LDV so I have added this comment below).
Besides which, the feedback I’m getting from people is that they’re interested by the debates coverage, so then they, shock horror, go and look the policies up.
Getting quizzed on the doorstep on the minutai of the tax relief taper for pensions (which I don’t actually understand) is an interesting experience. The couple were very interested in voting for us after the debate, so had gone, DLd the manifesto, and read it. Shock horror.
I think it’s rather good, myself.
Whatever you may think it would surely be better for our democracy for elections to be fought on policy rather than personaility. However, I fear the dumbing down of our public life sinply relects the superficial celebrity culture that pervades all aspects of modern Britain, so, perhaps, Labour were pushing water uphill hoping for anything better from the other parties.
I recall rarely agreeing with you at York University in 1988, Mark, and still find we have diverging views. Thought you looked good on the box today though.