BBC bosses, including director general Tim Davie, have drawn up plans to win over voters of Reform UK, according to minutes of a meeting seen by Byline Times.
Top brass are reportedly concerned that their news and drama output is creating “low trust issues” with supporters of Nigel Farage’s right-wing party.
According to the minutes of the March meeting, BBC News CEO Deborah Turness gave a presentation in which she discussed plans to alter “story selection” and “other types of output, such as drama” in order to win the trust of Reform voters.
The committee also highlighted “the importance of local BBC teams” to the plan to win over Farage fans.
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Members of the committee, which controversially includes former GB News executive Robbie Gibb, discussed the presentation and agreed to give an “update on progress” towards their aim at a later date. Gibb was appointed to the board by former Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2021 and was identified by former Newsnight presenter Emily Maitlis in 2022 as an “active agent of the Conservative party.”
“The CEO, News and Current Affairs provided the Committee with a presentation on plans to address low trust issues with Reform voters” the minutes reportedly said. “The Committee discussed the presentation. Committee members recognised the importance of local BBC teams in the plan, given their closeness to audiences. Directors discussed how story selection and other types of output, such as drama, also had a role to play. An update on progress would return to a future meeting.”
Farage has repeatedly used his own GB News platform to attack the BBC, calling it a “political actor” and threatening to boycott the corporation. Conversely, way back in 2018 – before his current populist Reform Party even existed – research showed the the arch Brexiteer had set the record for most appearances as a guest on the BBC’s Question Time this century with 32, while a 2024 Cardiff University study showed he’d made a further 10 in the nine years to June of that year. Farage-led parties peaked in 2016-16, with 16 appearances in that single year despire having no seats in parliament. Reform currently has five elected MPs, all of whom only gained their seats in 2024.
A BBC spokesperson said: “Our Royal Charter requires us to reflect and represent all the communities of the UK, and our Editorial Guidelines require that we must take account of the different political parties with electoral support across the UK to achieve due impartiality.”
