The SNP, and particularly it seems, their leader Alex Salmond MSP, are so incensed by the bias towards the three main parties in the General Election campaign that they intend raising the matter in an action in the Court of Session in Edinburgh this week, according to various reports in the newspapers on Monday 26 April.
They will apparently request a judicial review of the decision by the BBC not to allow Salmond (or his Welsh counterpart Carwyn Jones) to speak at the leaders debate.
According to Lesley Riddoch’s interpretation in The Scotsman they want to either be included in Thursday’s debate, or have the debate aired everywhere apart from Scotland, or force an additional debate which will include Salmond.
It is difficult to see that the resolution of airing the debate elsewhere apart from Scotland would be fair in any way to anyone, and particularly Scottish voters who also deserve to be informed. It is also difficult to see how that could be policed given the technology available to us all in 2010.
The action will require a fund of £50,000 to pay for it (no legal aid available unlike the three MPs accused of fiddling their expenses) and the party have apparently gathered in just under half of that already according to The Times. (In fact on close reading of The Times they mention three separate estimates of how much has been raised – £5,000, £19,000 and about £25,000!)
It must be debatable (no pun intended really) whether the money can be raised to fund the action, which would according to The Scotsman, require papers lodged in court on Tuesday 27 April.
Alastair Bonnington writing in The TImes (Page 9 of the printed edition Monday 26 April) says it is legal nonsense that the SNP should be treated in the same way as the UK-wide parties, and based on legal precedent he considers it unlikely that they would succeed on this occasion. Whether or not that is the case rather depends on the court’s interpretation of what the BBC’s duties at times of election are. The relevant law to be considered is the Human Rights legislation, including the right to freedom of expression, and also The Communications Act 2003.
It should be recognised that whilst freedom of expression is paramount, political advertising or broadcasting is an exception only allowed at the time of elections. The Electoral Commission has expressed the view that there is no public interest requirement which should allow smaller parties access to the broadcast media. They consider that TV and radio reach such large audiences that the broadcasters should concentrate on the parties which everyone viewing or listening can vote for, and not dwell on any of the smaller parties.
The real problem with the X Factor style debates is that the public has taken to Nick Clegg in such a big way after only one performance, that it has now turned the election campaign into a three horse race. The SNP and Plaid Cymru really need it to be a three and a half or four horse canter, at least in their respective nations, otherwise all their hard work at Holyrood and in the Welsh Assembly may amount to nought.
Whether or not you agree that there is a case to answer by the BBC, there must be a common consensus throughout the nation that the debate which will take place this week, and which centres on the economy, will be the One to Watch.
