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The BBC has been embroiled in a fresh row after facing accusations of bias that suggested Brexit was hurting the economy. The broadcaster defended its broadcast on the issue in November 2024, which led to a complaint from listeners for breach of impartiality.
The company’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) disagreed and said in its ruling that the “consensus among economists” was that Brexit had a negative impact on the economy. Brexiteers accused the BBC of being “completely ignored by their groupthink”. So what do you think? Do you think Brexit hurts the economy? Vote in our poll and join the discussion in the comments section.
The complaint was made after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
The program featured interviews with Labour’s pro-EU former Undersecretary of the Treasury, Liam Byrne, and former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir John Gieve.
The previous day, Mr Bailey had given a speech in which he said Brexit was one of the main reasons why the British economy was underperforming.
Mr Byrne and Sir John agreed, and the interviewer, BBC Europe editor Katya Adler, did not dispute the claim. Telegram.
One listener complained that the clause did not comply with the Beeb’s strict neutrality rules, but the ECU backtracked, saying: “Whilst guests agreed with Mr Bailey’s observation that Brexit has had a negative impact on the UK economy to date, this was in line with the consensus among economists and, to the ECU’s knowledge, there was no significant economic opinion supporting the view that the economic impacts were positive or even neutral.”
The complaint was upheld in part over the lesser issue of Ms Adler’s “failure to accept the alternative case” of improving the economy by pursuing opportunities outside the EU rather than seeking closer alignment with the bloc as Mr Bailey and other guests claimed, The Telegraph reported.
ECU chief Fraser Steel reportedly said in a letter to the complainant’s lawyers that he saw “no departure from impartiality in that common assumption”. [Mr Bailey]“His diagnosis that Brexit would have a negative economic impact was broadly correct.”
Lee Anderson, chief executive of Reform UK, told The Telegraph: “It’s no surprise that the BBC has a completely one-sided view on Brexit; they’re completely blindsided by their own groupthink.”
A BBC spokesman said: “The BBC has no view on the economic impact of Brexit and there is nothing in this finding to suggest otherwise.
“The response sets out the context around the clause in question and explains the consensus among economists as one of the reasons why this part of the complaint should not be accepted.”
Later this month will mark the 10th anniversary of Britain’s vote to leave the EU.
