Nigel Farage’s party featured in considerably more News at Ten bulletins than Lib Dems over six months, study finds
The BBC has come under renewed pressure over the amount of coverage dedicated to Reform UK after an analysis showed Nigel Farage’s party featured in a quarter of all News At Ten bulletins over six months.
Reform featured in 49 bulletins between January and July this year, whereas the Liberal Democrats – the third party in parliament with 72 MPs – featured in 17.9% of bulletins, with 35 references.
The Cardiff University study found Reform was referenced in just under a fifth of ITV News At Ten bulletins, compared with 6.2% for the Liberal Democrats, meaning Reform was covered three times more.
The study of the two bulletins also raised questions about the scrutiny of Reform. In just under a fifth of cases, there was no analysis of Reform’s policies or claims. They were rigorously scrutinised in just under four in 10 cases, and to some extent in another four in 10 cases.
