Welcome to this week’s Media Watch!
It’s conference season at the moment with political party members and delegates packing out arenas up and down the UK to hear from key figures and pose questions on what the future might look like for their respective organisations.
Labour had theirs at the end of last month, the Conservatives are holding their conference as we speak and the SNP are preparing to hold their event in Aberdeen this weekend.
The Green Party of England and Wales also held their conference – the first since Zack Polanski’s landslide victory in the leadership contest – at the weekend, though if you only watch the BBC, you might not necessarily have realised.
Polanski posted on Twitter/X that he was not interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg on her BBC show during the Green Party conference despite other leaders getting this opportunity.
He said: “I'm Jewish. I'm also Mancunian.
“Every other national party leader was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg during their conference.
“Maybe the BBC thought as someone who also supports Palestine – I had nothing to say?”
His post followed a horrific attack at a synagogue in Manchester last Friday in which two men were killed.
I'm Jewish. I'm also Mancunian. Every other national party leader was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg during their conference. Maybe the BBC thought as someone who also supports Palestine - I had nothing to say? Let's keep growing: https://t.co/Q27Jy5fuX7 pic.twitter.com/FiqUHYRLA8
— Zack Polanski (@ZackPolanski) October 5, 2025
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch was on last weekend’s programme alongside Labour Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Labour MP Lucy Powell as she bids for deputy leadership. The week prior, Prime Minister Keir Starmer appeared on the programme.
It’s left us wondering – does the BBC have an issue with the Greens?
You could argue the apparent snub of Polanski is part of an ongoing trend. Green politicians slammed the BBC following the General Election last year when the party, despite recording its best Westminster result, received hardly any coverage.
Referring to MP Carla Denyer’s election victory, Green councillor Nate Higgins wrote on social media: “Waiting patiently for the BBC to mention Carla’s incredible win.”
Responding to that comment, Green MSP and now Scottish Greens co-leader Ross Greer wrote: “Lots of great people at the BBC but their coverage tonight was bizarre.
“In this case they didn't go live to a party leader's sensational win over a shadow cabinet minister.
“Instead they stayed with the lengthy speech from Suella Braverman.”
Denyer won more than 50% of the vote in her area while fellow Green MP Adrian Ramsay overturned a Tory majority of 22,000 in Waveney Valley, a rural constituency in the east of England. Neither victory was shown on BBC coverage.
Higgins complained to the BBC about the lack of coverage and the large amount of time it devoted to Reform UK.
Earlier this year, another formal complaint was filed with the BBC regarding “bias” by the Glasgow Greens.
It came after there were no representatives from the Scottish Greens on a “Glasgow Special” episode of Debate Night, despite the party having seven MSPs at Holyrood and often holding the balance of power.
The Greens have repeatedly influenced Scottish Government policy, even since the Bute House Agreement came to an end, such as when the Scottish Government voted to implement a package of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the state of Israel – a policy that came from a Green amendment. The abolition of peak rail fares was also a Green proposal and has now been implemented by the Scottish Government.
The Scottish Greens also have 11 councillors on Glasgow City Council compared to just one Tory, making the Debate Night move even more puzzling.
Given the Green Party of England and Wales is the largest it has ever been with more than 20,000 new members gained in recent months, surely something is going to have to change fast.
Whether or not you have reservations about whether the Greens can turn their popularity into votes – which is what a piece on the BBC website questions within the first few paragraphs – this surge in interest in the party cannot be ignored, not while Reform UK are getting so much spotlight when they have the same number of MPs.
The LibDems have shed serious light on the lack of coverage they have had on the BBC compared to Reform, raising the issue in the Commons and with Ofcom. How long before the Greens do the same?
A BBC spokesperson said: “Zack Polanski has been interviewed across various BBC News programmes across the course of the Green Party Conference – during which he has been asked for his thoughts relating to the horrific attack at the synagogue in Manchester. He has been offered the chance to be interviewed on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in the coming weeks – the invitation remains open.”
