The major parties don’t get UKIP, and neither does the BBC

So, in the second debate between Nigel Farage and Nick Clegg the UKIP leader won by 69% to 31%, according to the post-debate polls. That, you would think, should be the top line of the story, but it was not the way in which the BBC News reported events. The corporation’s “package” of the debate showed Nick Clegg winning four-nil and the spoken introduction, at the top of the programme, simply stated that the debate had taken place. It is true that at the end of the sequence the BBC’s political editor, Nick Robinson, delivered a fair and honest assessment of proceedings.

There are plenty of reasons for me, at least, not to vote UKIP. But Nigel Farage is genuinely seen, and perhaps rightfully seen, by the vast majority of British people beyond W12 (and N1) as being “in touch” and speaking their language – not just regarding Europe, but also, I suspect, immigration and even the events in Ukraine. The BBC no more understands this than do the major parties.