The broadcasting regulator has rejected
Labour complaints about Sky News’s “Brexit election” branding.
The party had told Ofcom that the branding gave undue weight to the Tories’ political agenda because it frames the
election “in terms chosen by
Boris Johnson and the Conservative party”.
The prime minister has made “get
Brexit done” his key campaign slogan and sought to portray a battle with Labour’s promise of further delay to Britain’s exit from the EU to make time for a second referendum.
Jeremy Corbyn meanwhile is seeking to widen the debate to cover issues such as health and austerity and Labour has said the snap poll could be considered “the NHS election” or “the climate election”.
But Ofcom said it found “no grounds” to pursue the complaint, describing Brexit as an “important background contextual factor” in the election.Conservatives enjoy 14-point lead over Labour - poll https://t.co/8sm62Gn7jk— Sky News Politics (@SkyNewsPolitics) November 12, 2019“In addition, given that the current extension to the Article 50 process runs out on January 2020, the issue of what happens next in terms of the UK’s relationship with the EU will be determined by the election result and the make-up of the next parliament.
“Against this backdrop, we consider it a reasonable editorial judgment for Sky News to use the strapline ‘The Brexit Election’ to label its election programming.
“Further, we do not consider that the use of this strapline would in and of itself engage due impartiality considerations or indicate that Sky News is favouring any party or parties in the context of this particular election campaign.
“Given the above, we do not consider that Sky News’ use of the strapline The Brexit Election raised issues warranting investigation under the broadcasting code.”Related... How Do We Stop The Tories'
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