Senedd and Scottish Parliament elections treated as ‘second order contests’ by UK-wide broadcasters, say researchers

Martin Shipton

Research carried out at Cardiff University has confirmed that UK-wide TV news gave limited attention to May’s elections in Wales, Scotland and England, often treating them as second order contests.

Between March 2 and May 6. BBC News at Ten reported 28 election items, ITV News at Ten carried 10 and Channel 4 News carried 34.

All network broadcasters broadly balanced the competing perspectives of the major political parties across England, Scotland and Wales. In UK-wide TV news, 56% (14 out of 25) items with a substantial focus on the Holyrood election referenced Scottish independence and 43.5% (10 out of 23) items with a substantial focus on the Senedd election referenced Welsh independence.

While independence is a significant issue, its prominence narrowed the space for discussion on UK news of devolved issues in areas like health and education.

In Senedd election coverage, broadcasters balanced the perspectives of the six main parties, particularly on TV News and Instagram. But this breadth did not always translate into scrutiny.

Scrutiny was limited in day-to-day coverage of policy and campaigning in coverage of the Welsh elections.

In TV news, items covering party policy, political claims or featuring interviews with candidates, 49% featured no scrutiny, 29% featured substantial scrutiny and 22% featured brief scrutiny. Or, put more bluntly, over 70% of claims by politicians on TV news received no or limited scrutiny.

Scrutiny was stronger in formats focused on one party, such as one-to-one interviews and manifesto launch coverage, than in items attempting to cover all six parties.

TV news allocated broadly similar levels of substantial coverage to Plaid Cymru, Labour, Reform UK and the Conservatives, with slightly less for the Liberal Democrats and Greens. Instagram followed a similar pattern, while online news was more concentrated around Plaid Cymru, Reform UK and Labour.

When immigration and asylum was discussed, broadcasters usually identified it as a reserved issue.

Constitutional context

This suggests that in many cases, coverage provided audiences with useful constitutional context about which powers sit with Westminster rather than the Senedd. Polling became more prominent as the campaign progressed, especially in the final week. On TV news, polling appeared in 27% of items overall, rising to 45% in the final week. Polling was also present in digital media coverage, though less dominant, appearing in 24% of online articles and in 14% of Instagram posts.

The ITV Wales Cymru YouGov poll dominated polling coverage, while seat projections remained limited but became more visible near polling day. Seat projections appeared six times on TV news and in 16% of online articles and 8% of Instagram posts, with most appearing in the final week.

Vox pops were prominent on Welsh TV news, but far less common online. Over a quarter of TV news items in Welsh bulletins featured vox pops (26%), compared with 12% of online articles and 14% of Instagram posts.

Vox pops captured public mood but offered limited depth. They highlighted voters’ concerns, particularly around health and social care, as well as recurring apathy and scepticism towards politics. However, their short format meant they were better at capturing snapshots of opinion than explaining why voters hold those views.

Since over a quarter of TV news items about the Senedd election featured vox pops (164 in total), the public featured far more than the perspectives of political candidates.

Broadcasters used digital platforms not only to report the campaign, but also to explain it. There were 39 explainers produced across broadcasters about the electoral system, devolved powers and practical voting information. Meanwhile, one-to-one interviews helped make Welsh party leaders more visible and accessible, combining in-depth interrogation of the party’s positions with more personal questions about their backgrounds and interests.

Scrutiny

Professor Stephen Cushion, who led the research at Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture, said: “Our new study suggests the UK’s current rules on broadcast impartiality limited the scrutiny of political parties across the English, Scottish and Welsh elections.

In day-to-day reporting the major broadcasters had to reflect a wide range of parties across three different contests – but the breadth of perspectives limited the depth of analysis, including the interrogation of specific policies and party political claims.

“In coverage of the Senedd election, for example, over 7 in 10 policy claims by politicians on TV news received no scrutiny or just some brief questioning. Scrutiny was much higher when coverage focussed on one party or in one-on-one interviews as opposed to coverage that tried to cover all six major parties in a single report.

“In an age of multi-party politics, our new research raises serious questions about whether the UK’s current due impartiality rules are fit for purpose during an election campaign period.

This does not mean impartiality should be abandoned in a Fox News style way, but the rules need to be rethought to give broadcasters the flexibility to provide greater scrutiny in day-to-day news reporting. The public expect broadcasters not only to cover political parties during a campaign, but to scrutinise their promises and challenge false or misleading claims.”