Complaint
A viewer complained an audience panel invited to discuss the state of British politics excluded working people. Β The ECU considered whether there had been a breach of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ’s standards of impartiality.
Outcome
The programme’s stated aim was to find voters who roughly represented how the country divided politically at the last election, as well as those interested in specific issues such as water pollution. Β Their number included a trade union representative and a GP, but also some who did not disclose their profession. Β In the ECU’s view it was therefore inaccurate to characterise the group as lacking those who work for a living, even if many were in what might be termed middle-class professions. Β The ECU also noted that class was also no longer the determinant it once was in deciding political allegiance ,which meant viewers’ perception of the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ’s impartiality was unlikely to have been affected by the social composition of the panel.
Not Upheld