The Norwich North "Debate"

Norwich North candidate Craig Murray has got himself into a tizzy about not being invited on to a BBC debate between the "main candidates" in the Norwich North by-election:

The local BBC are broadcasting a live TV debate between the "Four Main Candidates" - none of whom has anything interesting to say - on 22 July at 22.15. I am excluded lest I say something voters might actually care about.

Of course, there's nothing quite like a would-be parliamentarian being slightly petulant to win the voters over. I wonder what Mr Murray will do next - perhaps sit in the corner and rock back and forth, muttering that they are all against him.

However, despite the tone of Murray's post, there is a real problem highlighted by Murray. Firstly, out of 12 candidates, the BBC have selected four to be the main candidates. Why four though? Why not five? Or six? And what selection criteria did they use? Something about past and present electoral history in the area. But what if Labour wasn't in the main four parties most likely to win this election? Would they not be invited to the debate? And what if the BNP or UKIP were one of the four parties riding highest in the polls/electoral history? Both scenarios are a possibility in some areas, but I suspect that Labour would still be in the debate whilst other parties wouldn't get the invite. 

Because these aren't the "Four Main Candidates". These are the representatives of the Four Established Parties. The Four Mainstream Parties. Three of those parties represent a simple maintenance of the status quo with minor tweaks, whilst the Green's represent a mad yet strangely fashionable combination of communism and environmentalism. They are not the future - they represent the past and the really rather crappy present. Whilst the focus on these parties might discount the loopy candidates, it also discounts other small parties who have a valid point to make and who are just starting to contest elections.* Besides, in the interests of free speech, shouldn't the loopy candidates be able to have their say in debate as well?

The grudging concession on the BBC precis of the programme that there will be "comments" from the other candidates in the broadcast does nothing to dispel the gross favouritism shown to the parties of the status quo. You could argue that the BBC is in charge of its own programming, and therefore can decide what to stick on our screens. But the BBC is a public service funded by those who pay the licence fee. And their clear bias in their "debate" creates the perception that there are only four real candidates contesting this election. The reality is somewhat different, and if the people of Norwich North really want a change, then the BBC should be prioritising the views of the lesser known candidates rather than burying beneath the bland statements of the parties of the status quo. 

*Yep, I'm talking about one party in particular here. Obviously.