Latest news with #DebateNight
The National
4 days ago
- Politics
- The National
BBC bias claims reignite as majority of panellists back Labour
The BBC hosted a 'Glasgow Special' episode of the show on Wednesday night, featuring the SNP's Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken, Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells, artist David Eustace as well as both Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney and Labour peer Willie Haughey. We previously reported on SNP and Scottish Greens anger over the inclusion of two Scottish Labour politicians, especially given it came ahead of yesterday's Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election – which Labour's Davy Russell ended up winning in a shock result, beating the SNP by just over 600 votes. READ MORE: Good News Scotland: Plenty of Scottish heroics in May, both home and abroad The Scottish Greens have also since sent a formal complaint to the BBC saying they should have been represented considering their high support in Glasgow. But now, The National can reveal that Eustace also appears to be a Scottish Labour supporter, meaning three of the five panellists on the BBC show backed the party. The photographer and former chancellor of Edinburgh Napier University attended Scottish Labour's Winter Gala last year, according to his LinkedIn. In response to Anas Sarwar's post thanking those who attended, Eustace responded 'great night in many ways' – both by resharing the Scottish Labour leader's post and in a separate comment in response. (Image: LinkedIn) He has also interacted with Sarwar several further times in the past few months on the social media platform, including praising the Scottish Labour leader's Sunday Times article calling for Donald Trump's Scottish ties to be used to Scotland's advantage. (Image: LinkedIn) In a post announcing Ian Murray as Scottish Secretary after last year's General Election, Eustace also signalled his support, commenting: 'I doubt few work harder. Much respect and time for this man.' The connection has sparked a further BBC impartiality row, with an SNP source telling The National that the panel makeup was 'ludicrous' and calling for action to be taken. "It's ludicrous that the BBC would include three Labour supporting panellists,' they said. 'The BBC must make clear what steps it will take to rectify this." The Greens have also again hit out at the BBC, with Glasgow councillor Anthony Carroll telling The National that the BBC must review its procedures. 'To have two Labour representatives on a supposedly politically representative panel is one thing, but to also have another who is certainly at least supportive of Anas Sarwar and his vision narrows the spectrum of voices speaking about Glasgow, to the city's detriment," he said. "With parties like Reform being the darling of many partisan media outlets, its incumbent our public broadcaster to give fair hearings of parties who do well in elections, yet don't have half of Fleet Street on speed-dial. "The BBC must review their balancing procedures for shows like Debate Night to make sure the people whose futures they seek to debate see the people they vote for represented on those panels.' He added: "It's sad that audiences – on the eve of the Hamilton by-election – couldn't hear Green ideas on tackling the housing emergency through rent controls, banning winter evictions, or ramping up more social and affordable homes being built. Or our plans to get investment back for our communities who've been left behind by too many soft touch approaches by successive Governments on the rich, leading to growing wealth inequality in Scotland." The BBC and Eustace have been approached for comment.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
BBC Debate Night branded 'farce' as formal complaint made over 'bias'
It comes after there were no representatives from the Scottish Greens on a 'Glasgow Special' episode of Debate Night on Wednesday evening. Instead, the show – on the eve of the crucial Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election – featured the SNP's Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken, Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells, artist David Eustace as well as both Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney and Labour peer Willie Haughey. This led to some anger, including an SNP source telling The National that Debate Night appears to have 'thrown the BBC's proposed guidance on balance out of the window' by including two Labour representatives. But now, the Glasgow Greens have also branded the panel makeup as a 'farce', highlighting that their party are 'by some distance' the third largest in Glasgow in terms of the number of councillors and vote share in last year's General Election. READ MORE: Increasing UK defence spending is just about the worst way to support jobs The Scottish Greens have 11 councillors on Glasgow City Council compared with just one Tory, for example. Now, they have made a formal complaint to the BBC. Glasgow Greens councillor Anthony Carroll (below) said that it was clear the BBC are balancing only between the 'parties of the past'. (Image: Supplied) 'For the Conservatives to have a representative while they can barely hold on to any deposits in Glasgow any more, while the Greens - who surged to third place across the city - are ignored once again by the BBC, shows just how out of touch they are with the electorate,' he said. Carroll, who is also the party's democracy spokesperson, added: 'I urge the BBC to address this in any future political broadcasts and avoid another farce. To not is a disservice not just to the BBC, but to the growing number of voters who are clearly not being represented in their political debate broadcasting shows.' Councillor Jon Molyneux, who is Glasgow' Green group co-leader, added: 'Green representatives are significantly shaping the future of Glasgow, whether that's by working to end rip off rents, by making our streets and public spaces safer, or by delivering new powers, like the Visitor Levy, which can raise tens of millions more for local services.' He added: 'It's a shame - but perhaps not a surprise - that the BBC won't platform Green voices which challenge the status quo, but is happy to conceal the well-documented political affiliation of an unelected Labour Lord.'
The National
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Anger as TWO Labour politicians get key BBC slot on by-election eve
The BBC is hosting a 'Glasgow Special' episode of the show tonight, featuring the SNP's Glasgow Council leader Susan Aitken, Scottish Tory MSP Annie Wells, artist David Eustace as well as both Scottish Labour MSP Paul Sweeney and Labour peer Willie Haughey. It comes as voters are set to go to the polls tomorrow (Thursday) for the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on June 5, which is widely considered to be a three-horse race between the SNP, Labour and Reform UK. READ MORE: 'New low': SNP slam Labour over MP lobbying trip to Israel amid Gaza genocide An SNP source told The National that Debate Night appears to have 'thrown the BBC's proposed guidance on balance out of the window' by including two Labour representatives. "Debate Night appears to have thrown the BBC's proposed guidance on balance out of the window - the night before a crucial by-election,' the source said. 'Does Sir Keir Starmer really need two apologists to back up his woeful record?" Announcing the guests on social media site X, the BBC described Haughey as an 'entrepreneur'. (Image: Canva) But the millionaire tycoon (above with Sweeney) was actually made a Labour member of the House of Lords in 2013. He donated over £1 million to the party between 2003 and 2010. More recently, he gave £3900 to Scottish Labour MP Michael Shanks ahead of the General Election last year. Scottish Greens councillor Jon Molyneux also called out the BBC. 'Labour MSP and Peer for a "Glasgow Special" but no Glasgow Greens representative despite having 4 times as many elected representatives in the city than the Tories,' he wrote on Twitter/X. 'Farce.' The SNP also took issue with last week's BBC Debate Night by-election special for not including the actual candidates. It comes as Labour's candidate Davy Russell has repeatedly dodged not only the STV debate earlier this week but also local hustings and radio interviews during the campaign. The BBC have been approached for comment.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
BBC Scotland news, interviews and updates on the broadcaster
BBC Scotland, the country's main public broadcaster, produces and airs Scottish culture programmes. Headquartered in Glasgow, this division of the BBC caters specifically to Scotland's diverse cultural landscape. Read on for all the latest BBC Scotland news, interviews and updates. As reported by The Herald, here is a selection of the latest BBC Scotland news stories. Scotland's Home of the Year star filming new island show Scotland's Home of the Year finalists - who to watch out for Finalists for Scotland's Home of the Year 2025 revealed BBC Scotland broadcasts every night from 7pm until midnight. The channel, found on Freeview, Sky, Freesat, and Virgin Media, began in February 2019. It can be found on channel 9 or 108 on Freeview and YouView, 115 on Sky, 106 on Freesat, and 108 on Virgin Media. It is also available on BBC iPlayer. BBC Scotland can be watched in England. The channel is available on BBC iPlayer, and on Sky, Freesat, and Virgin Media satellite channels. Sky viewers can find it on channel 187, Freesat on 108, and Virgin Media on 162. BBC Scotland's Debate Night will be in Inverness next (April 23). EYou can apply to be in the audience at Catch up with the latest BBC Scotland news – from football gossip to updates from Glasgow – on the BBC Scotland website. Want to follow Scotland's fixtures on BBC Sport? Head to BBC Scotland can be contacted by letter, phone, and in person. People can write to BBC Audience, PO Box 1922, Darlington, DL3 0UR, or phone 03700 100 222. There are offices at The Tun, Holyrood Road in Edinburgh, and Pacific Quay, Glasgow, which can be contacted on 0131 557 5888 and 0141 422 6000 respectively. BBC Radio Scotland is broadcast on 92 to 95 FM and 810 MW frequencies. It joins other BBC stations, each having distinct FM frequencies throughout the UK. Radio 1 is on 97-99 FM, Radio 2 on 88-91 FM, Radio 3 on 90-93 FM, and Radio 4 on 92-95 FM and 103-105 FM, with local variations for Scotland.
The National
29-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
BBC Debate Night row erupts over 'racist' Reform UK ad
Last week, Nigel Farage's party was accused of 'not so much a dog whistle as a foghorn' after it was found to have promoted an advert on Facebook and Instagram which claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would 'prioritise the Pakistani community'. The advert, which Reform UK falsely attributed to Sarwar, included selected clips from a video which had been spread by far- and alt-right agitators on social media the previous month. The National revealed how Reform UK have spent thousands of pounds promoting the advert online, despite sparking outrage from across the political spectrum. And on the BBC's Debate Night programme on Wednesday evening, politicians once again condemned the advert. READ MORE: Kneecap correct BBC headline after TRNSMT show cancelled Wednesday's programme featured Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Reform UK councillor Thomas Kerr, Scottish Tory MSP Craig Hoy, Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie, Scottish LibDems leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Scottish Greens co-leader Lorna Slater. The SNP's Forbes hit out at Kerr over the party's claim that the advert was simply publishing "the exact words" spoken by Sarwar. She said: "You've heard the rhetoric. You've got to cut through the rhetoric to understand the reality. "It was racist, but there's something else that's troubling. It was dishonest. "If you want to restore trust in politics, you need honesty. "If you want to ensure that we move forward together and cut any division that you're talking about, that has to be based on honesty and trust." She added: "The reason why people feel let down is because they were promised change last year by Labour, it wasn't delivered, and you've got another party now coming in saying 'we're different, we're the anti-establishment party', and the first thing they've done is broken trust." 'It was dishonest… if you want to restore trust in politics, you need honesty' 'This is all a deflection' 'You put that out there knowing it would create a political row' The panel debate alleged racism in Reform UK's advert featuring Labour's Anas Sarwar#bbcdn — BBC Debate Night (@bbcdebatenight) May 28, 2025 Baillie also called on Kerr to apologise for the advert. "I will not apologise for showing Anas Sarwar's own words," the Reform UK councillor told the audience. "The speech that Anas Sarwar gave is very clear. "I would encourage anybody to go and watch the speech themselves rather than the spin that we're hearing. READ MORE: Andrew Tate and brother Tristan both charged with rape by UK police "This is all a deflection, you are hearing lies. This is a deflection tactic from a Labour candidate who's had a car-crash of a by-election." Tory MSP Craig Hoy responded: "This is straight out of the Farage playbook. "I'm not going to pass comment on what was said, because actually if I do that, we're playing into Nigel Farage's hands here. "What he did and what you probably did, Thomas, you put that out there knowing it would create a political row and draw attention to your politics."
