Labour has complained to the broadcasting watchdog over Sky News’s “unfair” and “slanted” decision to brand December’s snap poll “the Brexit election”.
The party told Ofcom that the branding gives undue weight to the Tories’ political agenda because it frames the election “in terms chosen by Boris Johnson and the Conservative party”.
The prime minister has made “get Brexit done” his key campaign slogan and sought to portray a battle with Labour’s promise of further delay to Britain’s exit from the EU to make time for a second referendum.
Corbyn meanwhile is seeking to widen the debate to cover issues such as health and austerity and Labour said the snap poll could be considered “the NHS election” or “the climate election”.
As reported by HuffPost UK earlier this week, the party said it was forced to complain to Ofcom, which has received at least 65 complaints about the branding, after exhausting complaints to Sky.
Insiders at the broadcaster have said there are “real worries” among staff about the broadcaster’s framing.
In a complaint to the regulator, Labour said the branding also includes part of the name of Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party, which is standing down in 317 Tory seats but fighting Corbyn’s party in its heartlands.
The complaint said: “If Sky had chosen the entirely reasonable branding of The Change Election, that could be argued to favour the Labour Party, which is using ‘It’s Time For Real Change’.
“We do not believe Sky is complying with the special impartiality requirements that must be applied during elections – with particular reference to sections 319(2)(c) and 320 of the Communications Act 2003.
“We believe this corporate branding represents unnecessary and slanted editorialising by Sky.
“It is the voting public who should decide what issues – and their range and balance – define the election for them. Voters might consider it to be The NHS Election, The Climate Election or The Foodbanks Election, depending on their priorities.
“We have raised the issue at a senior level with Sky News on numerous occasions since the branding first appeared. It has been made clear that Sky intends to continue to use the branding. We therefore believe we have exhausted our complaints with the broadcaster so we are asking Ofcom to investigate.”
Sky News has declined to comment. An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We are assessing these complaints against our broadcasting rules before deciding whether or not to investigate.”