DESPITE having more than three times the number of Liberal Democrat party members and consistently doing better in the pools, the Scottish Green Party is set to be treated as a "minor party" on commercial television and radio while the Lib Dems will continue to enjoy major status.
As reported in The National earlier this week, the broadcasting regulator Ofcom looks ready to maintain the status of all the Scottish parties that it decreed before last May’s General Election. The SNP, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Conservatives, and the Lib Dems will be ‘major parties’ entitled to four party political broadcasts and involvement in key debates and panels.
The Scottish Greens have been bracketed with UKIP as a minor party and will be entitled to two party political broadcasts and it will be up to the broadcasters whether they are included in leadership debates as it will not be compulsory for them to be involved, unlike the major parties.
The Scottish Greens said in a statement that Ofcom “is proposing guidance which would deny the party equal coverage in the forthcoming Holyrood election”.
The party, which is projected to have nine MSPs in May on the basis of current opinion polls, launched an online petition at the weekend in light of similar proposals by the BBC. So far more than 5,000 people have signed the petition.
Though they won no seats in Scotland last May – Alistair Carmichael was the only Liberal Democrat to survive – the Scottish Greens polled around eight per cent in 2015, nearly double the 4.4 per cent achieved in 2011 and well ahead of Lib Dems’ average of 5.7 per cent.
Scottish Green MSP Alison Johnstone said: “Five parties have been in the Scottish Parliament since the start and we’re one of them. We’re on course to play a greater role in the next parliament, so the public deserve to hear from us whether via the BBC or STV.
“We’re grateful for the support we’ve had from the public since the BBC’s proposals became known on Sunday. It’s a concern that the commercial regulator has similarly failed to take into account our strong polling, surging membership and the high approval ratings for Patrick Harvie.
“We will of course make formal submissions to both, and would encourage others to do so, as the case for equal treatment is extremely strong. We look forward to revised guidance being produced.”
Ofcom stated that it “places greater weight on performance in previous elections, which reflects how voters exercised their democratic choice, than opinion poll ratings. There is also a relative lack of opinion polling data since the 2015 General Election.” The consultation document added: “The evidence in relation to the Liberal Democrats in Scotland is finely balanced. The party demonstrated a significant level of support in the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary elections and a relatively high performance in directly-elected seats in 2011 (but lower than 2007).
“Opinion polls suggest low levels of current support for the Liberal Democrats. However, on balance, our proposal is that the Liberal Democrats should remain on the list of larger parties for Scotland.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here