Letters / Hustings ‘did no credit to the BBC’
Any pretence of fairness by the BBC was shattered by their handling of the hustings on Tuesday evening. I was cut short, not allowed to make my points and even excluded from some questions. Others, meanwhile, were allowed to ramble on to their heart’s content. This programme did no credit to the BBC.
What was interesting was that the party candidates, by complaining about what they couldn’t do because their hands were tied by one circumstance or another, all reinforced my argument that we need to retain power here.
We could accomplish all their policies in a month, which they are proposing to implement in the next five years. With a large salary and a small voice as one of 650 others, they are seriously expecting us to believe they are acting in our best interests.
However, I am buoyed up by the response I am getting on the doorstep. Once people realise that all the government has to justify its authority in Orkney and Shetland is a magazine article, and that its authority is only validated because we send a representative to parliament, they are incensed at the fraud that has been perpetrated on them.
For the first time, we have the choice – to send or not to send. If we elect an MP, of whatever party, we decide to willingly hand over our power for another five years. I have no intention of taking up the seat when elected.
This means that we wake up next Friday owning the land, and the seas and seabed out to 200 miles. It means that agriculture and fisheries are safe – they come off the Brexit negotiating table – and we have £82 million extra in our economy. The political parties can only offer wish-washy hopes and intents. Mine is a promise . The legal work is already done – we just have to put up our hands, say ‘No thanks’ and mark HILL on the ballot paper.
The government doesn’t want you to know all this and neither, apparently, does the BBC. They can ignore one man, but they can’t ignore a majority of the people.
The world is watching what we do here and people outside are taking me much more seriously. The New York Times recently published an article, I have has a Belgian film crew following me last week, an English one next week, and an Irish radio station is doing daily updates. The Orkney and Shetland constituency has the potential to lead positive change in the world – don’t waste it.
Stuart Hill
Independent candidate for Orkney and Shetland
Ocraquoy
Shetland
Response from John Johnston, senior producer of BBC Radio Shetland:
“Under the BBC’s election guidelines, independent candidate Stuart Hill was included in the debate but did not get the same level of coverage as the four candidates representing the larger parties. In taking into account the level of coverage to give Independent candidates, the BBC looks at past and current electoral support. Mr Hill was made aware of the guidelines before the BBC Radio Shetland hustings was recorded.”
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