Why we shouldn’t ban political ads on TV
by Stephen Tall on August 31, 2012
I was on the panel for Voice of Russia’s debate yesterday on whether political advertising on TV in the UK should continue to be banned. The debate’s been re-triggered following a legal challenge from Animal Defenders International, an animal rights group challenging a block on its ‘My Mate’s a Primate’ campaign featuring Alexei Sayle reporting on the abuse of performing apes.
You can listen to the debate here:
And if you just want to know my view in four sentences…
I believe in free expression and can see absolutely no justification for continuing to ban political advertising on television. I also believe in level playing fields in the market-place, though, and so any lifting on the ban would have to go hand-in-hand with a cap on the amount political parties/groups can spend pushing their point of view. As I’ve argued before, the existing cap on spending is already too high, creating very real barriers for entry for new parties. Lifting the ban while leaving party funding unreformed will simply allow those parties/groups with the deepest pockets to entrench further their market dominance.
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10 comments
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by Stephen Tall on August 31, 2012 at 12:15 pm. #
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by Stephen Tall on August 31, 2012 at 3:15 pm. #
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by Stephen Tall on August 31, 2012 at 6:15 pm. #
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by BexhillBattleLibDems on August 31, 2012 at 6:30 pm. #
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by Alan Muhammed on September 1, 2012 at 6:56 pm. #
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by Ellis Palmer on September 1, 2012 at 6:57 pm. #
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by libdemvoice on September 1, 2012 at 8:55 pm. #
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by MustBeRead on September 1, 2012 at 8:56 pm. #
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by Stephen Tall on September 1, 2012 at 10:19 pm. #
[...] how I summarised my view in four sentences when debating this very issue last [...]
by We should drop the ban on political advertising on TV on April 24, 2013 at 8:25 am. #