News from the New Party

New Party calls for BBC to end its 'discrimination' of smaller political parties

The surge of voters seeking to join the BNP following Thursday's Question Time fiasco was easy to predict given the lack of political choice being offered viewers by the BBC as it continues to give the major parties the lion's share of airtime, New Party spokesperson Richard Vass said today.

"Many voters feel there is little to choose between Con/Lab/Lib. They feel they have a voice that is going unheard in the democratic process. Developing parties such as ours, based on a solid policy underpinning, can give them their voice back.

"But programme-makers, even the BBC with its public service remit, continue to discriminate against small political parties in favour of the top three. This leaves voters feeling the only choice they have is an extreme one because it is the BNP that is given airtime and media coverage, he says.

"By offering people a more diverse range of parties on key television debates, channels would not only help people engage more in the democratic process but would also aid in stopping voters drifting to extreme parties, said Vass.

"Small parties need the chance to show they are viable alternatives to the major ones. This will help stop people slipping through the cracks in democracy. With an election looming next year, the current media mind-set can only lead to further BNP election successes.

"I would like to see a special Question Time - or any other programme for that matter - that allowed smaller national parties to answer questions from the audience and viewers to show there is more to politics in this country than extreme choices and career politicians," he said.