Public Trust in BBC Nosedives as Voters say Gary Lineker Should Speak His Mind

Exclusive poll finds a surge in voters saying the BBC has a pro-Government bias

Gary Lineker. Photo: Jeff Gilbert / Alamy

In this week’s exclusive Bienkov Poll Briefing

• Surge in those saying BBC has a pro-Government bias

• Majority say BBC presenters should be free to express their views

• Budget poll finds voters feel Conservatives have made them poorer

• Brexit bad news buried in Budget

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There has been a surge in the number of people saying the BBC is biased in favour of the Government, following the suspension of Gary Lineker, according to an exclusive poll for the Byline Supplement.

Pollsters Omnisis asked voters whether they believed the BBC is generally biased in favour of the Government, biased against the Government, or impartial.

41% said they believed the BBC was biased in favour of the Government, compared to 35% who said it was impartial and just 13% who said it was biased against the Government.

When Omnisis last asked about BBC bias at the start of March, just 25% said the BBC’s reporting on the Government was biased in their favour, compared to 19% who said the opposite.

Today’s poll also found little public trust in the BBC’s management over its handling of the Lineker row. 

Asked who they trust the most to tell the truth out of Lineker, the BBC’s management, or the Government, 39% picked Lineker, with just 11% picking the BBC’s management and 10% picking the Government.

Voters also appear to have little sympathy with demands from BBC management that their presenters should remain impartial on social media.

60% said BBC presenters should be able to express their personal views on social media, compared to just 33% who said they should keep their views to themselves.

The findings come after the BBC were forced to withdraw their suspension of Lineker for Tweeting his views about the Government’s asylum policies.

BBC Director General Tim Davie was forced into a humiliating apology to the former England football star, after Lineker’s BBC Sport colleagues walked out in protest over the weekend.

The BBC came under heavy pressure to withdraw their suspension after comparisons were drawn between the treatment of Lineker and the treatment of other BBC presenters, who had previously tweeted in support of the Government, without sanction.

The poll also follows the release of leaked Whatsapp messages revealing how senior BBC editors pressured journalists at the corporation into avoiding covering certain stories critical of the Government.

Whistleblowers told the Guardian that headlines about the Government were routinely altered following pressure from Downing Street.

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Majority of Voters Say Conservatives Have Made Them Poorer

Omnisis’ poll was conducted yesterday in the wake of the Budget. Asked whether the measures contained within it would most benefit high-earners, middle-earners, or low-earners, 36% said the budget would benefit the wealthiest most, with 25% saying it would benefit middle-earners and just 19% saying it would most benefit low-earners.

However, when asked whether they generally felt better or worse off as a result of 13 years of Conservative Government, voters gave a very clear answer.