TELEVISED DEBATE:A JUDGE is to rule today on a demand by the Scottish National Party to have its leader, Alex Salmond, included in tomorrow night's final general election leaders' television debate, or else have the broadcast of the programme by the BBC blocked in Scotland.
Lawyers for the SNP argued before the Court of Session in Edinburgh yesterday that the BBC’s decision to exclude Mr Salmond was “unreasonable and discriminatory” and had damaged the SNP’s ability to fight for House of Commons seats in Scottish constituencies, particularly given the tide of support appearing for the Liberal Democrats. The SNP is especially angry with the BBC since it is a publicly-funded broadcaster and it raised £50,000 within days to pay for the legal action. However, prime minister Gordon Brown, speaking during campaigning in Stirling, rejected the party’s argument, saying: “I don’t think the SNP are claiming any one of their members can be prime minister of Britain after the general election.”
SNP deputy leader Nicola Sturgeon, speaking outside the court, said: “This is a simple argument for fairness. The debate cannot and should not be allowed to go ahead while it excludes one of the main political parties in Scotland. This is not just about the SNP, this is about the right of voters in Scotland to have the choice they have on May 6th accurately represented to them.”
Meanwhile, the Conservatives raised £2.2 million from donors to pay for its campaign during the second week of the campaign, according to official figures released last night by the UK Electoral Commission. The Labour Party raised £1.5 million, while the Liberal Democrats, despite its rise in opinion polls and sharply-increased media coverage, managed just £120,000.
The Conservative leader, David Cameron received a boost last night from the latest Times/Populus poll, which showed his party has 36 percentage points of support from those questioned, compared with the Liberal Democrats at 28 per cent and Labour on 27.
