Is the UK's two-party system mainly caused by legacy media treating insurgent parties unfairly?
Broadcasters in the UK must give parties "due weight" under Ofcom's Broadcasting Code, based on past and current electoral support, and Ofcom has not set fixed quotas. Newspapers are not bound by these impartiality rules. Reform UK and the Greens now poll well above their seat counts, and two-party dominance has weakened in polls. Research on BBC and ITV bulletins found Reform UK heavily covered relative to its MPs, while the Greens got limited airtime. Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced a commission on electoral reform on 29 September 2026, because the voting system is widely seen as a main driver of two-party dominance.
5 Opinions
The issue is our electoral system not media coverage
If the media was the main problem, Reform wouldn't be getting heavily covered on BBC and ITV despite having few MPs. The actual killer of insurgent parties is First Past the Post, which traps people into tactical voting. Both Reform and the Greens have surged in the polls despite any coverage gaps.
Perfect timing with ITV’s “undercover : a year in reform. All political parties should face the same scrutiny
No. Because my algorithm is somehow completely fudged up. I keep seeing the faces & hearing the voices of people I took a long time to test against my own conscience & have since come to... not like at all. Yet, they are forever in my face. Why can't I find an echo chamber to enjoy the obvious oblivious nature of sheep. 🤣 I also have to actively search for what Count Binface is up to most days!!! Pfft. Edited
I guess it's just an ingrained habit, and the fact that political correspondents get to know the two parties they're used to covering. But they cement the view that every other party is a wasted vote.