Why are BBC prioritising non-native Scots audience on independence?
I find it slightly worrying that for a debate about Scottish independence the BBC are first and foremost looking for people who were born outside Scotland. They add a bit about how if you are not from elsewhere in the British isles we would like to hear from you too but it is obvious that the BBC is prioritising people who were born outside Scotland.
They are also asking a series of questions about whether they support Scottish National (sic) and whether they are pro or anti-independence.
I was a member of the audience in the televised Usher Hall Debate on independence which if I remember rightly happened around 1992. This was an open debate organised by the Scotsman which was overwhelmingly pro-independence.
If you pick the make up of the audience, pick the questions etc then as with Question Time you can present a debate which is not necessarily the one an audience would like to have.
There are of course plenty of people who are originally from England who identify with Scotland and support independence. Mike Russell has played a leading role in the SNP and those who identify themselves as English have a right to voice their opinions on independence.
Nonetheless I don't think the BBC should be prioritising those who were born outside Scotland unless they are deliberately trying to find people who don't (for whatever reason) identify themselves as Scots.
I have written before that the British state as currently configured does favour English interests over Scotland's. That is true on a population basis (England has 10 times more MP's than Scotland at Westminster and 20 X more than Wales) and also because every aspect of British rule has an English aspect to it. The flag, the Queen's Title, The anthem, the name of Britain (from Britannia), the Bank of England (despite it's name it's supposed to be a British institution but given the statements of the Chancellor George Osbourne he clearly believes England owns the bank and the lone right to print Sterling notes).
Given this situation it makes some sense for JK Rowling and others to say they prefer the status quo. Likewise if you have spent most of your career at Westminster (like Alistair Darling) and identify with London more than Scotland, which I think it is fair to say he does, even though he claims status as a Scot due to his residence here (which I don't dispute but I do dispute that he would ever put the Scottish national interest first).
The question is why is the BBC blatantly prioritising the opinions of people who are not from Scotland originally over the people who were born here? Unless they are trying to find people in Scotland who prioritise the British identity over the Scottish one and therefore are more likely to vote against independence.
If this is the case then the BBC is not acting in the interests of the people who live here and we need to have our own national broadcaster. Broadcasting powers should have came to Scotland in 1999 if Blair had not deliberately scuppered the idea. (The plans from the cross party constitutional convention included broadcasting but he removed it). Now we know why!
I was a member of the audience in the televised Usher Hall Debate on independence which if I remember rightly happened around 1992. This was an open debate organised by the Scotsman which was overwhelmingly pro-independence.
If you pick the make up of the audience, pick the questions etc then as with Question Time you can present a debate which is not necessarily the one an audience would like to have.
There are of course plenty of people who are originally from England who identify with Scotland and support independence. Mike Russell has played a leading role in the SNP and those who identify themselves as English have a right to voice their opinions on independence.
Nonetheless I don't think the BBC should be prioritising those who were born outside Scotland unless they are deliberately trying to find people who don't (for whatever reason) identify themselves as Scots.
I have written before that the British state as currently configured does favour English interests over Scotland's. That is true on a population basis (England has 10 times more MP's than Scotland at Westminster and 20 X more than Wales) and also because every aspect of British rule has an English aspect to it. The flag, the Queen's Title, The anthem, the name of Britain (from Britannia), the Bank of England (despite it's name it's supposed to be a British institution but given the statements of the Chancellor George Osbourne he clearly believes England owns the bank and the lone right to print Sterling notes).
Given this situation it makes some sense for JK Rowling and others to say they prefer the status quo. Likewise if you have spent most of your career at Westminster (like Alistair Darling) and identify with London more than Scotland, which I think it is fair to say he does, even though he claims status as a Scot due to his residence here (which I don't dispute but I do dispute that he would ever put the Scottish national interest first).
The question is why is the BBC blatantly prioritising the opinions of people who are not from Scotland originally over the people who were born here? Unless they are trying to find people in Scotland who prioritise the British identity over the Scottish one and therefore are more likely to vote against independence.
If this is the case then the BBC is not acting in the interests of the people who live here and we need to have our own national broadcaster. Broadcasting powers should have came to Scotland in 1999 if Blair had not deliberately scuppered the idea. (The plans from the cross party constitutional convention included broadcasting but he removed it). Now we know why!
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