Time to Settle a Democratic Disgrace

There are two days to change the election. Alex Salmond has said the BBC must either include an SNP politician on Thursday’s debate or organise a fourth debate with the Nationalist voice heard.

At last, game on.

The SNP leader has now launched an appeal for £50,000 from ordinary members and supporters, which he says is required to pay for the Court of Session action. If a ruling goes in favour of the SNP, the courts would impose an interdict preventing the debate being broadcast in Scotland.

Salmond said last night: “The decision by the BBC, who are meant to be Scotland’s national broadcaster, paid for by our licence fees, not to have the country’s political make-up properly represented next Thursday is a democratic disgrace.”

He added: “Elections, to be democratic, have to be fair. And it is not fair to Scotland – or to Wales – to exclude the governing parties of our countries from TV debates which are now totally dominating all the election coverage. The legal papers are being drawn up and if a financial appeal is successful, we propose to lodge papers at the court first thing on Tuesday morning, seeking justice and fairness.”

He went on: “The court action we plan means we are asking that Scottish interests are properly represented when the final leaders’ debate is held in Birmingham on Thursday – or that a further and fair leaders’ debate is organised before polling day. We want Thursday’s BBC debate to go ahead, but we also want Scottish viewers to be given a fair picture of the choices on offer to them at the ballot box on May 6th. And in Scotland that picture includes the SNP.”

We can expect the unionist media and politicians to describe this as ‘censorship’ and it will feature heavily in this mornings SKY debate.

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