Friday’s BBC One O’Clock News featured a nice fluffy report about those nice fluffy Greens.

Here’s a full transcript, annotated with my thoughts as it went along:

Darren Jordan, 21’14” into the programme:

The Green Party says it has a real chance of winning its first parliamentary seat at the forthcoming General Election. The Greens have members in the European and Scottish Parliaments, as well as more than sixty local councillors, but they’ve never come close to winning a Westminster constituency. Well, our Political Correspondent, Vicki Young, is at the Party’s spring conference, in Chesterfield, Vicki…

That’s news to me. I wonder which constituency they have in mind?

‘Going Live!’ to Vicki Young:

That’s right Darren, the Greens are feeling very confident. As you say, they’re already represented in councils across the country, in the Scottish Parliament, in the European Parliament and in the London Assembly, but now they feel it’s time to move on, and they really want to have that breakthrough they so desperately need.

Yes Vicki, we heard all that from Darren already, and don’t we all want to have that breakthrough we so desperately need…

Start of Vicki Young’s ‘package’:

The Greens are keen to shake off any impression that they are a one issue party. Of course, debates on climate change still feature heavily at this conference, but there’s more emphasis on the public services, policies for a citizen’s pension and extra community policing. The Party’s predicting its best General Election results ever.

Tell us more Vicki, tell us about the Greens’ firm opposition to Britain joining the Euro! Oh, go on, they’re really not as loopy as everyone thinks – tell us about that!

Clip of Dr. Caroline Lucas, MEP, Green Party:

There is a political party with an intelligent, radical, passionate vision for politics. There is a party that offers a radical and credible alternative to business as usual, and that party, friends, is our party, the Green Party, [snippet inaudible, due to applause]

Yaaaaawn….

Back to Vicki Young, film of construction work:

The Greens say this construction project in Brighton is an example of how they make a difference. The Party has six councillors in the City, they’ve negotiated with developers and the unions to encourage vocational training projects for local people, as well as more energy efficient buildings.

Six Green councillors sitting on a wall council. Fancy that! Brighton & Hove has, er, 54 councillors. Gosh. I wonder if the other councillors were watching football or doing something else when the Greens sorted all that out. Looking on the bright side though, six is double the number of yellow LibDems on the council!

Councillor Keith Taylor, Green Party:

This is living as if we mean to stay, er, not actually throwing buildings up, erm, as quickly as possible, as cheaply as possible and, er, in an energy sense, as frivolously as possible.

Rrrright.

More of Vicki Young’s ‘package’:

Back at their conference delegates are confident that Brighton could produce the Party’s first Westminster MP. Their election campaign will focus on environmental issues and the public services, but they believe their opposition to the war in Iraq will be a vote-winner, especially with disillusioned Labour supporters.

At last! Now we know for sure it’s Brighton where they’re so confident. Let’s see, Brighton has two Westminster constituencies – Brighton Kemptown and Brighton Pavilion. Wonder which one’s the Green target. Let’s have a look at the results from last time: Brighton Kemptown – Lab 47.82%, Con 35.26%, LD 10.37%, Green 3.29%. Not that one then. Brighton Pavilion – Lab 48.73%, Con 25.05%, LD 13.13%, Green 9.35%. Well, not as bad as Kemptown, but still not a snowball’s chance in hell, eh Vicki. But I’m sure you knew that already.

Back to ‘Going Live!’ to Vicki Young:

Now, as one Green Party member put it to me today, he said “it’s no longer an off the wall idea that the Greens could have an MP at Westminster”, but they do know that the electoral system, the first past the post system, isn’t that kind to them, they need proportional representation really, if they are to realistically get an MP. And, privately they do admit that, really, this time around, it’s a bit of a long shot.

Yes, indeedy, just as the much missed Spitting Image lampooned the not-so-much-missed David Steel, “Go back to your constituencies and prepare for… a bit of a disappointment”, it’s not likely that Tony Blair (or anyone else at Westminster who isn’t as two-faced and yellow as Charles Kennedy and his cronies) is gonna change the first-past the post system, is it, after the kludge they’ve ended up with in Scotland with a lousy self-perpetuating Lib-Lab Flib-Flab coalition that’s an embarrassment even to Blair. Oh, and Vicki, you might have mentioned that if the Greens have their way with proportional representation then all sorts of kooks, commies, neo-Nazis and LibDems will be strutting around Westminster with them in no time.

Darren Jordan, 23’40” into the programme:

Vicki, thank you.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no objection to fringe parties, all those with a reasonable electoral base, getting a look-in on the BBC’s news coverage from time to time, but could we please avoid the manufacture of stories like “The Greens are gonna get a seat at Westminster” leading ever so anti-climactically to an utterly predictable conclusion where even the Greens admit “Oh no they’re not!”. Straightforward, realistic facts will do fine, thank you.

Earlier in Friday’s One O’Clock News we were treated to an even more ridiculous than usual ‘Going Live!’ two-way interview when we ‘Went Live!’ to “our media correspondent, Torin Douglas” who, yes, you guessed it, “is outside Television Centre now”! I guess the BBC management wouldn’t let Torin inside to tell Darren personally about the BBC’s massive payout to lifelong criminal Brendon Fearon

You can view it all in glorious Realplayer 256Kbps format if you wish. Just so they don’t feel left out, BBC News Online got in their own me-too the Greens are gonna make it big at Westminster puff-piece too.

Bookmark the permalink.

11 Responses to Friday’s BBC One O’Clock News featured a nice fluffy report about those nice fluffy Greens.

  1. Bernard says:

    Let me forecast now that other minority parties not deemed to be within the BBC fold will receive much less sensitive and unchallenging treatment. Guess which. It’s not hard!

       0 likes

  2. Blimpish says:

    OT

    Did anybody see the News 24 coverage of the Lib Dem conference yesterday? Was very bad: typical uncritical parroting of Chuckie’s lines like “we’re the real Opposition, we’re the real alternative.” Lots of high-profile clips of him lambasting the Tories. When Liam Fox was allowed a reply half an hour later, it was a standard “so, when did you last beat your wife?” interview.

       0 likes

  3. dan says:

    for instance the Lib Dems, who are encouraged by the BBC to claim that their tax proposals will only soak the rich.

    The main losers from their local income tax proposals will be working families living cheek by jowl with their working sons & daughters, who will all pay LIT.

    Meanwhile, by abolishing fees, they benefit better off families sending their offspring away to university.

       0 likes

  4. dan says:

    Sorry back again. I withdraw from thinking that the Lib Dems are given an easy ride by the BBC. Jeremy Vine has just ripped Kennedy apart on the “Politics Show”, exposing the multitude of Lib Dem policies that charlie wants to ignore.

       0 likes

  5. Peter says:

    Jeremy will be in trouble for being so beastly to Kennedy!
    What are the chances of UKIP getting 23′ 40” of sympathetic coverage on BBC 1?
    Come to that what are the chances of a member of the BNP getting £4,500 to appear on an investigative BBC TV programme?

       0 likes

  6. Andrew Bowman says:

    It wasn’t 23’40” of coverage – that was the elapsed time since the beginning of the show, for those seeking to view it online – the correct running time is actually quite short – 23’40” – 21’14” = 2’26” running time for this piece. Worth having all the same, if you’re the party in the spotlight!

       0 likes

  7. Blimpish says:

    dan’s right about Jeremy Vine screwing over Kennedy – was hilarious, watching him run for cover. My Dad reckons Vine has it in for the Lib Dems (speaks volumes for him) – apparently he skewered them during the week on his R2 show.

    On the other hand, the Politics Show slot on the Tory health policy was typical slanted bilge.

       0 likes

  8. Pete_London says:

    I caught the Vine’s BBQ-ing of Kennedy too. The real lesson is that although Kennedy is a party leader, a slick politician and well versed in the art of the political interview he was well cooked by a man who simply wouldn’t accept the usual lies, evasion and political spin of his subject. It demonstrated that an interviewer who has done a little homework and clamps his jaw tight will have his prey. A good lesson to learn when you next see an interviewer fall lamely (Today programme, anyone?)

       0 likes

  9. Michael Gill says:

    The transcript of the Vine interview with wannabe Prime Minister (stop laughing at the back) Charles Kennedy can be read here:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/4314039.stm

    (Scroll down)

    Very amusing.

       0 likes

  10. JohninLondon says:

    Now why isn’t Charles Kennedy treated like that as a matter of routine ? Why is he usually given such an easy ride ?

    Couldn’t be bias, perhaps ? No, perish the thought !

       0 likes

  11. Neil Craig says:

    The Greens certainly get far more coverage per vote & FAR more friendly coverage than UKIP or the BNP. However the real leader in the no voters-much coverage stakes is Veritanned. The Lib Dems on the other hand are going to get 75%+ of the vote the Tories get on much less coverage. Granted they will get fewer seats but thats democracy …. or not as the case may be.

       0 likes