BBCQT panellists have been mostly from the right, study finds

  • Post last modified:June 17, 2024
  • Reading time:8 mins read


Damning new research from Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media, and Culture suggests the BBC has been hugely biased in its panellist selection for Question Time (BBCQT). It has continuously platformed right-wing voices and largely, ignored those on the left.

BBCQT: what we suspected was right – literally, to the RIGHT

As the official ‘British public service broadcaster’, the BBC has a duty to be impartial. According to its own website:

The BBC is committed to achieving due impartiality in all its output. This commitment is fundamental to our reputation, our values and the trust of audiences

It continues:

We must always scrutinise arguments, question consensus and hold power to account with consistency and due impartiality.

The new research, published in the Conversation analysed how BBCQT chose its guests over the last 10 years. For anyone who has actually being paying attention, the results were not surprising at all:

Although BBCQT producers did broadly balance the main political parties, Cardiff University found that they:

frequently relied upon a small number of rightwing guests to provoke entertaining debates.

Most of the repeat guests who are not politicians have been from the political right. Usually, these were opinion columnists who contribute to right-leaning media outlets such as the Mail or Telegraph, or who often appear on GB News or TalkTV:

The Spectator seems to have an alarming level of influence, with the top five most frequent panellists all writing for the magazine. The Conversation pointed out that there is no comparable influence from leftwing publications.

Historical Bias

Back in 2023, an open letter to the BBC published in Byline Times demonstrated how the majority of panellists were from:

foreign, non-dom, or overseas-based billionaire-owned or multimillionaire-funded explicitly right-wing media organisations, including: Rupert Murdoch’s Times, Times Radio, TalkTV and TalkRadio; Frederick Barclay’s Telegraph and Spectator; Jonathan Harmsworth’s Mail; Dubai-based investors’ GB News; and the opaquely funded Spiked (totalling 28 panellists during 2022–2023).

In stark contrast, during 2022 and 2023 there have been just six panellists from ‘centrist’ or left-leaning media organisations (Vice, Private Eye, Guardian, Mirror, and Novara Media).

The letter also pointed out that since 2000, Nigel Farage has appeared on BBCQT 35 times. This is despite failing disastrously every time he has attempted to stand as an MP. It’s a shame all he has going for him is a couple of racist ideas an a loud mouth:

Clearly, the bias also extends to audience members. Certain people – namely British nationalist and failed UKIP candidate Billy Mitchell – have made it into the audience four times:

People therefore highlighted the similarities between the BBC and fascist state media:

As one person rightly pointed out, BBCQT repeatedly gives airtime to people who already have large platforms. The people who’s voices actually matters are ignored and silenced. Instead, we hear from people who will shit-stir and create some controversy:

While to those of us with a brain this is not new information, the data clearly shows that on its key debating programme, the BBC is sacrificing impartiality to make way for controversy. Where BBCQT should be facilitating political discussion, it is instead using contentious rightwing guests to shit-stir.

It is dangerous for the BBC to continue to present itself as impartial – when the evidence clearly shows the opposite.

Featured image via BBC iPlayer





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