We’ve seen some eye-opening figures in our time, but data coming out of Cardiff University this week highlights a disturbing trend at the state broadcaster. In the first six months of 2025, Reform – who boast just four MPs out of the 650 elected – received significant airtime on BBC News.
ALSO READ: Ed Davey met BBC boss to complain about too much Reform coverage
Why are Reform receiving such a high level of coverage?
The ‘Enhancing Impartiality’ study found that Reform were either featured or mentioned in MORE THAN A QUARTER of the bulletins aired on the 10pm broadcast. Though they currently hold the lead in various opinion polls, the scale of this coverage does appear to be disproportionate.
Take the Liberal Democrats, for example. They successfully challenged the Conservatives in a number of seats, and also made gains in Scotland during the 2024 General Election. Their haul of 72 MPs was a party record, and they became the third-largest organisation represented in Parliament.
Liberal Democrats say the numbers don’t add up…
But, despite have 18 times as many MPs as Reform in the House of Commons, the Liberal Democrats were only mentioned in 17% of these 10pm bulletins – a number substantially lower than the one attributed to Nigel Farage and his party.
This somewhat supports the latest course of action taken by the Lib Dems, who have raised a complaint with the BBC over what they see as a ‘threat to impartiality’ with their Reform-heavy coverage. Indeed, their 10pm news output does seem to lean frequently on the right-wing group
Reform was found to be ‘the protagonist’ in almost 40% they featured in. However, despite their numerical Parliamentary advantage, that metric revealed that fewer than 10% were led in the same way by the Lib Dems. What’s more, the BBC are not alone in their grand-standing…
University study says Reform ‘allowed to make claims without scrutiny’
The same study also found that Farage and co received three times as much coverage when compared to their centrist, pro-EU rivals. Reform were featured in 19.8% of these updates, with the Liberal Democrats only being mentioned 6.2% of the time in the same slot.
“While there are no specific due impartiality rules on how broadcasters report party leaders, Nigel Farage is benefiting from receiving far more coverage than other leaders. Broadcasters might want to consider the prominence and nature of the coverage of party leaders.”
“For example, is picturing Nigel Farage sinking a pint the most impartial way of political reporting? Furthermore, Reform was also allowed to make many claims without scrutiny because it was often featured responding to government policies.” | Enhancing Impartiality