Rishi Sunak accuses BBC of left-wing bias over Spring Statement spending coverage
Andrew Neil ridicules Rishi Sunak's Spring Statement
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After delivering his Spring Statement amid a rising cost of living this week, the Chancellor is reported to have accused the BBC of toeing the line set by the Labour Party. He is understood to have told Cabinet the broadcaster would make use of any opportunity to criticise the Government’s tax and spending plans. A source told the sun Mr Sunak has been “deeply frustrated” by the BBC’s coverage of his decisions as Chancellor.
He is reported to have signalled there was no hope of getting the BBC on side – or, of course, the Opposition – when it came to his plans for the economy.
Mr Sunak, according to the source, conceded: “We won’t have the answers that Labour and the BBC want.”
Political historian Steven Fielding suggested Mr Sunak’s comments could have been made in an attempt to “shore up support among MPs”.
He wrote in a post on Twitter Mr Sunak did this by invoking a key theme of the “culture war”.
Writer Sian Norris of the Byline Times suggested that, either way, the problem is not the BBC’s coverage but the Chancellor’s economic measures themselves.
She posted: “The BBC covered the announcements [in the Spring Statement] and the analysis of the announcements.
“It’s not the BBC’s fault that the spring statement does so little to help poorest households.”
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Even the newspapers which are typically viewed as being more aligned to the Conservative Party led with unfavourable lines the day after Mr Sunak’s statement.
The front pages of both the Times and the Telegraph on Thursday quoted analysis Britain was suffering “the biggest fall in living standards since the 1950s”.
The Mail urged the Chancellor to “now slash taxes even further”.
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BBC Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg claimed two “eye-catching” cuts were “flourished” by Mr Sunak in his statement, adding these were introduced to demonstrate “he really is a tax cutter at heart”.
But she balanced this by noting: “As Chancellor, he has increased taxes massively more than he has just reduced them.”
The Government’s view of the BBC appears precarious enough as it stands.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said earlier this year the next announcement on the licence fee would be “the last”, raising questions over the future funding of the broadcaster.
This comes amid accusations of political bias at the corporation, including from Bow Group Chairman Ben Harris-Quinney who recently told Express.co.uk: “Much of what the BBC produces now, not just in its news output but across the board, amounts to little more than liberal propaganda.”
The BBC has been approached for comment.
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