The BBC has been accused of bias in their coverage of Reform UK councillor resignations as the party issued a bruising dressing down to the embattled corporation.
Nigel Farage’s party have claimed the broadcaster unfairly focused on losses and departures of its representatives from local authorities over Labour and the Conservatives.
By cross-checking BBC coverage with logs from Open Council Data UK, Reform determined the corporation had reported on almost every instance of its councillors leaving their posts.
This accounted for 95 per cent of all Reform departures, compared to just 15 per cent of Labour and Conservative losses.
Breaking this down further, Reform’s analysis suggests the BBC covered just 18 per cent of Labour’s departures.
The Tories appeared to receive even less coverage, with Reform’s data pointing to just 13 per cent of losses featuring on the national broadcaster.
Reform claims by-elections launched by Labour and Conservative departures cost the taxpayer £700,000 and £625,000, respectively.
Reacting to the findings, Reform UK’s Deputy Leader and Head of DOGE Richard Tice said: “These new figures are staggering and raise serious questions about the BBC’s impartiality.
Reform UK have accused the BBC of bias over their coverage of council resignations
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“The BBC must explain themselves urgently, otherwise they are putting another nail in their coffin,” he demanded.
“Whilst the Conservatives and Labour have fleeced local taxpayers out of £1.3million because of their poor vetting and candidate selection, the BBC have turned a blind eye in order to maintain their cosy establishment consensus.
“The Conservatives and Labour have a lot to answer for their incompetence at a local level. Losing almost 400 councillors in a six-month window is astonishing.
“Luckily, Reform has been picking up the pieces, saving local residents over £300 million in the councils we control and filling in more than 130,000 potholes.”
Deputy leader Richard Tice said the BBC must ‘explain themselves urgently’
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Responding to claims, the BBC cast doubt on the methodology used by Reform UK in their analysis.
“The methodology of this analysis is unclear, but you can’t measure impartiality by counting articles on one particular topic,” a spokesman told the People’s Channel.
Defending their record, the corporation said: “The BBC reports without fear or favour and holds power, and those who seek power, to account.”
“Anyone watching, reading or listening to our coverage can be in no doubt that we report, scrutinise and provide analysis on the current government and other political parties across a range of significant topics,” they assured.
Since the local elections, Labour has lost 207 councillors and the Conservatives have lost 182.
Over the same period, Reform UK has seen 36 of the 677 councillors elected in May resign or lose in by-elections.
However, they have also gained 124 local seats since the locals, more than any other party.
Reform’s allegations come as the BBC was forced to apologise to US President Donald Trump over the doctoring of a 2021 speech in its flagship current affairs programme, Panorama.
Director General Tim Davie was forced to resign over a bias row concerning the doctoring of a President Donald Trump speech
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Amid suggestions of misleading the public, BBC Director-General, Tim Davie, and head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned over the row.
The corporation is also facing other claims of bias over such as coverage of transgender issues, which were flagged along with the speech edit in a leaked memo by former BBC external adviser, Michael Prescott.
Speaking before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee investigating the matter, BBC Chairman Dr Samir Shah said: “I’d like to take this opportunity to apologise to all the people who believe in the BBC and care for it and wish it to survive and thrive.
“I’d like to apologise to the licence fee payer and to the thousands of people who work for the BBC who deliver the output we all enjoy so much. I regret the mistakes and the impact they have had.”