Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg Should be Banned From TV Jobs, Say Voters
Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg Should be Banned From TV Jobs, Say Voters
Exclusive poll finds voters want MPs, like the former Culture Secretary and Brexit Minister, banned from hosting shows on GB News and Talk TV
In this week’s Bienkov Briefing:
EXCLUSIVE POLL FINDS VOTERS WANT MPs BANNED FROM TV JOBS
GB NEWS AND TALK TV INVESTIGATED FOR CONSERVATIVE HOSTS
71% SAY SECOND-JOBBING DORRIES SHOULD LOSE SEAT
GB NEWS AND TALK TV NOT TRUSTED BY VIEWERS TO TELL THE TRUTH
VOTERS REJECT CONSERVATIVE PLAN TO LEAVE ECHR
Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg, should be banned from their second jobs as news presenters, alongside all other members of Parliament, according to an exclusive new poll for the Byline Supplement.
55% of voters say all MPs should be banned from hosting TV news shows, with just 22% disagreeing, according to the poll conducted by pollsters Omnisis.
Dorries and Rees-Mogg are among a growing number of mostly Conservative politicians hosting shows on the GB News and Talk TV news channels.
Other senior MPs recently given jobs at these channels, include the Vice Chair of the Conservative party Lee Anderson, who is being paid £100,000 a year for his ‘second job’ on GB News.
Dorries, who was Culture Secretary in Boris Johnson’s Government, has been heavily criticised for hosting a show on Talk TV, for an undisclosed fee, despite her disappearance from Parliament since leaving Government in July 2022.
According to our poll 71% of voters believe MPs who fail to speak in Parliament for over a year, like Dorries, should be forced to lose their seat, with just 12% disagreeing.
Broadcasting regulators Ofcom are currently investigating the proliferation of politician presenters on these channels following a surge in complaints about alleged breaches of impartiality rules.
GB News is under investigation for a segment hosted by the former Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, in which he presented a breaking news story about a court case involving Donald Trump, as well as a separate incident relating to the MP.
Separate investigations are also underway into GB News shows hosted by the Conservative MPs Esther McVey and Philip Davies as well as into a Talk TV show hosted by the former Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.
GB News and Talk TV have grown in prominence since their launch, in part due to the controversy surrounding the regular appearances by Conservative MPs on the channels, clips of which are widely shared on social media.
However, TV audiences for both channels remain relatively low, with our poll finding that voters retain doubts about their credibility.
Asked which TV news organisation they most trusted to report the truth just 2% picked Talk TV, with only 6% choosing GB News, the lowest among all those listed.
The BBC remained the most trusted outlet, with 34% picking it as the most likely to report the truth.
However, while the BBC remained the most trusted TV news organisation overall, our poll also found views of it were heavily polarised, with 21% picking it as the TV news organisation least likely to tell the truth - higher than any other outlet.
VOTERS REJECT PLAN TO LEAVE ECHR
The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is currently under pressure from some Conservative MPs and Conservative-supporting newspapers to commit to Britain leaving the European Convention on Human Rights.
Sunak, who is reportedly considering pledging to leave the ECHR at the next general election, is being pushed to back the plan as part of his commitment to “stop the boats” carrying migrants and asylum seekers across the English Channel.
The proposal has been widely condemned by legal experts and human rights groups, as well as the Conservatives’ political opponents.
The former Education Minister and Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns claimed earlier this year that the “overwhelming majority” of voters wanted to withdraw from the convention.
However, although the plan has been promoted by its supporters as a ‘populist’ Brexit-style measure, our poll found little support for it among the general public.
According to our poll, conducted by Omnisis, 54% of voters want the UK to remain within the ECHR compared to just 23% who want to leave.