After seeing these images, it’s difficult to maintain any kind of rosy view of the BBC.
Voter suppression?
Through its Facebook story, the BBC reportedly sent the following messages to young people on the last night they could register to vote:
BBC FB stories last night a few hours b4 voter registration deadline… pic.twitter.com/meyU43sFaE
— patten (@patttten) November 27, 2019
The images appear to encourage young people not to care about politics just as the deadline to register to vote approached. And this one could be even worse:
The BBC actively tried to put people off registering to vote by sharing shit like this. No wonder so many people are apathetic. What the actual fuck?! #bbcimpartiality https://t.co/lFPxhiFodM
— Lauren Townsend (@LaurenJTownsend) November 28, 2019
“Grotesque”
On social media, people were horrified:
https://twitter.com/DavidPaisley/status/1199994698238173189
This is anti-political propaganda that would make Putin proud.
The idea a public service broadcaster publishes this as waves of young people register to vote is sinister – and telling. #GE2019 https://t.co/12x9Ah49Ps
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) November 28, 2019
I used to try to view BBC as trying to be balanced, to give everyone a voice. I even called out the previous hashtag to sack Kuessenberg as unfair. But editing videos, using old footage of a wreath, editing out jeering, then letting Johnson free of scrutiny, no. #bbcimpartiality
— Kate Wilton (@KateWilton1) November 28, 2019
It’s not just the BBC, though. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn also pointed out that Boris Johnson hadn’t tweeted that people should register to vote once during the election campaign:
It's DEADLINE DAY and Boris Johnson still hasn't tweeted even once asking people to register to vote.
He doesn't want you to vote in this General Election.
Change this now. Register to vote and make sure your friends do the same.https://t.co/vYH9vXEezg #RegisterToVote pic.twitter.com/V3u9yrmkDA
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 26, 2019
And he noted that, as of 22 November, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson hadn’t either:
Jo Swinson hasn't tweeted a single time this election asking people to register to vote.
Is she worried people saddled in debt from university will remember?
Register to vote today: https://t.co/vYH9vXVPXQ #RegisterToVote pic.twitter.com/3141mepJw0
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 22, 2019
Tonnes of people have registered
But the anti-voter drive seems to have failed. Because in the final 48 hours, around a million people registered to vote in the 12 December election. 40% of those people were under 25.
And from the perspective of our democracy, it gets better. In total, over a million more people have registered for this election than they did in 2017. And in that election, Corbyn’s Labour increased its voteshare by more than at any point since 1945 and wiped out Theresa May’s majority. After calling that 2017 result way off, pollsters have faced criticism for allegedly systematically underrepresenting Labour’s performance this election:
1. Trust No polls
2. The media is lying to you
3. Labour can and will WIN!!!Dec 12th Vote Labour 🌹 pic.twitter.com/dJXP5SCZBH
— ARTIST TAXI DRIVER (@chunkymark) November 24, 2019
It seems the establishment is using every trick in the book to stop Corbyn. But the only thing that counts is the number of people who stand up on 12 December and say ‘enough is enough’.
Featured image via Tim Loudon/ Flickr
