Report Warns Against US-Style Political Ads
The Electoral Commission has urged the Government to uphold the ban on paid-for political advertising in the broadcast media.
In a new report into party political broadcasting the Commission argues that broadcasters should continue to carry free-to-air party political broadcasts, which should come under the authority of the new communications super-regulator, Ofcom.
According to the report, there have been calls, particularly from the advertising industry, for political parties to be given the freedom to buy advertising time. There has also been pressure from the Commercial Radio Companies Association to lift the ban.
This pressure is not surprising considering that US politicians spent a record $1 billion on pre-election advertising in 1.5 million ads last year, according to Media Analysis Group.
However, the Electoral Commission has warned of the dangers of any moves to auction off the right to free speech. The group has dismissed the idea that more advertising would be beneficial to voters and the report states: “Election campaigns in the US are characterised by very heavy spending on broadcast ad campaigns and yet turnout in US elections is typically even lower than in the UK.”
The report is likely to cause disappointment to advertisers, but will come as little surprise as the ban was signalled in the Communications Bill last year (see Government Finally Publishes Communications Bill). However, the proposed legislation may face problems as it is widely accepted to be a contravention of the Human Rights Act.
Despite this controversy the Electoral Reform society has welcomed the report. Chief Executive, Ken Ritchie, commented: “We are delighted that our airwaves are not going to become a free-for-all and elections will not be decided by who can buy enough airtime and throw enough mud. We do not want to follow the course charted by America where elections are dominated by advertising and where the costs of running for election have spiralled out of control.”
Electoral Commission: 020 7271 0529 www.electoralcommission.org.uk
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