One of our political system’s basic foundation’s is accountability and the prime minister is trying to opt out
Today it has emerged at the Tory party conference in Birmingham that Theresa May is dodging the long standing tradition of sit-down interviews with major broadcasters in order to save her voice for her big speech.
At best May’s answers to broadcast journalist’s questions are circular and dull, at worst they induce cringe-spasms so strong you’re incapable of changing the channel.
The @10DowningStreet press office have granted @theresa_may interviews to 20 @BBCNews journalists during conference; none for @Channel4News or @5_News and there is solidarity across broadcasters that this is a dangerous precedent https://t.co/Zx66NDdpMH
— Ben de Pear (@bendepear) October 2, 2018
This morning she provided the former. Speaking live on BBC Breakfast, she told Mishal Husain: “The important thing is that this is delivering on the vote of the referendum. It is going to bring free movement to an end once and for all, we are in control of our borders, we will be deciding who comes here, that decisions will be based not where someone comes from but the skills they can bring to the economy.”
Adding in response to a follow-up question: “We are able to bring free movement to an end by leaving the EU and making those decisions for ourselves. What we’ve done is said that in the future we want to ensure that that decision is based on the contribution people will make to this country.”
And again: “What this enables us to do is have control on those coming from the EU and outside of it and ending free movement. What we actually want to see is people here in the UK being trained to take on the jobs that are available, ensuring that we deliver for people here in the UK.”
This is a copy of the letter sent by national broadcasters to Robbie Gibb (head of comms at Number 10) protesting May's interview dodging.
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) October 2, 2018
Again: “We’re leaving the European Union, we will end free movement when we leave the European Union. I think it’s important for us to get a deal, but the ability of the United Kingdom government to make a decision about who comes in. It’s leaving the EU that allows us to bring freedom of movement to an end once and for all and set our own immigration rules.”
And one more time: “I want to get a deal with the European Union, I believe that a good deal is there to be done. We’ve put forward a proposal that delivers on the vote of the British people, that delivers the end of free movement.”
Husain was questioning the Prime Minister in detail about the country’s newly announced post-Brexit immigration policy, but in between every muddled response, she returned to the same phrase, over and over.
This is troubling because her refusal to engage in any meaningful way with questioning erodes the media’s ability to scrutinise the prime minister and hold her to account – fundamental aspects of any democracy
Following the interview, the May then pulled out of set-pieces with Good Morning Britain, Channel 4 News and Channel 5 News.
Veteran broadcaster, Jon Snow, has called out the prime minister in a video – declaring that in his entire career he has never been denied access to a party leader during conference.
Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown, Cameron, May. For 29 years at @Channel4News I have interviewed the @10DowningStreet Prime Minister of the day at their party conference – until today. @theresa_may has refused to appear on @Channel4News tonight; unprecedented & disappointing pic.twitter.com/jIc0FSN8Kg
— Jon Snow (@jonsnowC4) October 2, 2018
All UK national broadcasters have now written to the PM’s Director of Comms Robbie Gibb to formally complain about the “unprecedented circumstances” surrounding her lack of availability for TV interviews during Tory party conference.
Basic democratic principles are already being threatened across the Atlantic with the media increasingly treated as an enemy of the people. The prime minister should not even consider following President Trump’s lead, now is the time to engage with the country’s systems of accountability, ones she so often professes to be proud of on the global stage.
