National Pensioners Convention fight 'ageism' in the BBC
03/06/2011
For over 18 months the National Pensioners Convention, the only national organisation run by pensioners for pensioners, has been campaigning for a seat on the panel of Question Time. In 2010 we were promised a place but since then there have been editorial changes, and then we were told our representatives wouldn't be able to cope with the lights and the stress of a live broadcast. As a result, the NPC called on its regional branches to stage protests at Question Time recordings.
As organiser of the demonstration at the Exeter recording of BBC TV's Question Time I was impressed by the staff of the Northcott Theatre, who treated us with impeccable politeness, and the many audience members of all ages who expressed their support for our campaign. My team of elderly supporters withstood the cold and rain outside as easily as they could have withstood the hot lights and studio pressure inside. To be fair, I understand that the BBC does not now recall making these ageist comments. As a senior citizen myself, I understand how easy it must be to forget these little details.
What I did find condescending was the BBC's statement that because the panel has included Joan Bakewell, David Starkey, Max Moseley, Ken Clark and Vince Cable, pensioner views are heard. I can guarantee that reading this list of famous or notorious media celebrities and politicians, in no case is the immediate reaction Pensioner!. One might just as well claim that by employing a spokesman who is capable of completely missing the point, the BBC expresses its disapproval of Edward IV, who banned the game of cricket in 1477 as it interfered with compulsory archery practise. No sir. Like most immature juveniles, it won't wash.
The next day the BBC spokespersons dropped the other septuagenarians from their explanations, and hung their hats on Dame Joan Bakewell. Joan Bakewell was appointed as a champion of the elderly by the government in 2008. She said she looked forward to "being one of many voices making it widely known what it means to be old". It would appear from the comments by the BBC that she will be the only voice, as far as Question Time is concerned. It is not entirely clear what experience or knowledge she has of the plight of pensioners on low incomes, but there is a great difference between a high media profile "appointed adviser" and the NPC, a 1.5m member organisation solely devoted to the welfare of pensioners in the UK.
Her ideas that Alzheimer sufferers should be left to die, and that pensioners should stay in work beyond the normal retirement age in order to relieve the pressure on pensions provision and public services, are entertaining and headline grabbing but, in the experience of the NPC, not shared by the majority of pensioners. Remember she was appointed as Government's "old people's tsar" by the same people that appointed Fred Goodwin as a financial adviser.
It was disappointing to learn the day after the recording that the explanatory leaflets we handed to the audience were confiscated as soon as they entered the theatre, on the orders of the Question Time production team. As an American audience member commented, "You don't have the freedom of speech in this country that you think you have."
This matter will come as a mystery to those who rely on the various BBC outlets to keep them abreast of the news. They all missed it, although independent radio stations, many newspapers and numerous websites ran the story. Googling "pensioners question time protest" the following morning produced 523,000 results. To help the BBC news department, the next recording of Question Time will be on the 2nd June in Wrexham. The National Pensioners Convention will be there.
Ageism within the BBC has a well documented history. It appears to me that the problem has not been stamped out, and that censorship has been added to the mix.
David Smith.
Chair, NPC Devon.