Monday 6 March 2017

395 council candidates for a PEB - fair or unfair?


Mebyon Kernow – the Party for Cornwall regularly lobbies the BBC and other broadcasters for fair coverage.

This includes our frequent request for the right to have a Party Election Broadcast (PEB) – something allowed to most other political parties. And yet each year, I receive a letter from the BBC’s Chief Adviser (Politics Editorial Policy & Standards) setting out the criteria for a PEB, which are unachievable for a Cornish political party.

I have just received the latest letter which informs me about the criteria for May’s council elections.

Basically, in order to get a PEB in England, Wales or Scotland, “a registered political party must stand candidates in a minimum of one sixth of the seats being contested …” in one of those “nations.”

In this process, the BBC does not respect Cornwall’s nationhood and has informed MK that it would need to field candidates in 395 different divisions in “England” to get a broadcast. There are only 122 divisions in Cornwall.

If you agree this is unfair, why not help MK in the upcoming local elections to get our message across.

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