One factor that often puts me off voting for political parties such as UKIP and other right wing populist parties, among other things, is their on-going criticism of the BBC and their definition of "neutrality".
In my personal opinion, I believe that parties like UKIP will always accuse news and other media outlets who don't spurt out populist material as having a liberal bias. Over the years, many politicians and their officials have tried to whip the BBC into line and to its credit, the BBC has resisted this and so it should. The BBC has a well respected international reputation as being one of the most neutral and unbiased news outlets there is and to say otherwise is unfounded and misguided. And although they won't admit this, the reason for UKIP's criticism of the BBC is based largely on the fact that the BBC doesn't have UKIP spread across their entire news channel 24/7. This is due in part to UKIP having become accustomed to their party being on the front page of populist tabloids and now they expect that sort of treatment from all news outlets including the BBC.
In conclusion, I agree that we should have debates about many of the issues that UKIP cares about including immigration and energy policy. However, I do believe that anyone who doesn't spurt out UKIP propaganda will be accused of having a liberal bias by many of the party faithful. If UKIP is to become a truly respected party and a permanent part of the British political landscape, they'll have to learn that just because someone has an opinion different from their own doesn't mean they have a hard line liberal bias. If they continue to do this, the fanfare surrounding their party will soon fizzle out and they'll increasingly alienate people outside their core support and bind their own future onto a downward spiral.
Jason Cates
In my personal opinion, I believe that parties like UKIP will always accuse news and other media outlets who don't spurt out populist material as having a liberal bias. Over the years, many politicians and their officials have tried to whip the BBC into line and to its credit, the BBC has resisted this and so it should. The BBC has a well respected international reputation as being one of the most neutral and unbiased news outlets there is and to say otherwise is unfounded and misguided. And although they won't admit this, the reason for UKIP's criticism of the BBC is based largely on the fact that the BBC doesn't have UKIP spread across their entire news channel 24/7. This is due in part to UKIP having become accustomed to their party being on the front page of populist tabloids and now they expect that sort of treatment from all news outlets including the BBC.
In conclusion, I agree that we should have debates about many of the issues that UKIP cares about including immigration and energy policy. However, I do believe that anyone who doesn't spurt out UKIP propaganda will be accused of having a liberal bias by many of the party faithful. If UKIP is to become a truly respected party and a permanent part of the British political landscape, they'll have to learn that just because someone has an opinion different from their own doesn't mean they have a hard line liberal bias. If they continue to do this, the fanfare surrounding their party will soon fizzle out and they'll increasingly alienate people outside their core support and bind their own future onto a downward spiral.
Jason Cates
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