Axe election watchdog, Tories urge
THE Electoral Commission should be abolished or radically overhauled because it has become “accountable to no one”, the Conservative Party has said.
Amid mounting concerns over the regulator’s performance and accountability, Amanda Milling, the Tory chairman, has claimed it is “not fit for purpose” and should not be allowed to hand itself the ability to prosecute parties and campaign groups.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the
Conservatives have now lodged a submission with the committee on standards in public life, which is reviewing the Commission’s remit and whether it should be handed more powers.
The Commission, which has faced accusations of bias against bodies that campaigned for Brexit – a charge it strongly denies – confirmed plans earlier this year to hand itself a “prosecutions capability”.
However, the Conservatives argue
ITV is to launch a rival to the BBC’s
Countryfile, hosted by Alan Titchmarsh and aimed at an audience tired of Sunday morning politics and cookery shows.
The show will go out in a mid-morning slot, as Countryfile once did before it moved to evenings, and will go headto-head with BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show. Love Your Weekend with Alan Titch
marsh is billed as a celebration of “all that is great about the British countryside, art, crafts, manufacturing and produce”. Titchmarsh said: “It seemed to me it’s such an obvious gap on a weekend morning, where it’s either politics or cooking and you might not necessarily want either at the weekend, good as they are.”
Countryfile has drawn criticism over its portrayal of rural issues, and the National Farmers’ Union has accused it of “inherent bias against farmers”.
ITV’s programme, airing from next Sunday, is unlikely to run into such problems, offering a lighter fare. It will run a Tree of the Week feature – the first of which sees Lesley Joseph, the actress, hailing the beech as “Britain’s sexiest tree”.
Titchmarsh said: “It’s a rather nifty way of inspiring people to get to know about trees. It’s rather fun, and it doesn’t take itself too seriously.”
Another feature follows the “slow TV” trend – footage of something meditative, set to classical music of Titchmarsh’s choosing. He said: “One of them is just a thatcher thatching a roof. I think if it gives people an understanding and an appreciation in a palatable way, that’s a really good thing. We need so much positivity at the moment because each day seems to bring its own woes.”
The show will also include gardening tips, and Titchmarsh said lockdown had introduced people to the delights of growing plants and vegetables.
“Being able to tend something is a basic instinct that we all have – it’s just covered up rather more deeply in some than others.”