Our fear of appearing biased is biasing our reality

The Tories have long been accused of acting as if they are “born to rule”. The arrogance that come with having been seen by themselves and others as the natural Party of Government for most of the 20th Century was little dented in the 13 years of Labour Government.

However, at the same time as exuding this arrogant confidence, they have developed an equally compelling victimhood narrative which speaks of lefty bias in high profile charity, civil society and media organisations.

When a prominent Tory takes a leadership role in any organisation, their attitude – quite rightly – tends to be “Yes, I’m a Tory – so what?” – that is if they think it worthy of voicing this at all. I’ve worked with some fantastic Tories in my time. Most of them took their politics for granted – even in organisations whose aims and values were not always in concert with Party policy. None of them felt the need to either declare or hide their political allegiances. They knew they would be judged on their job performance and were supremely confident that their politics would not interfere with that.

When a prominent Labour member does the same – almost invariably in my experience – their attitude is “Oh, I’m Labour, is that OK?” They spend time and intellectual effort fussing over how much they can prove they can work with the Conservative Party, rather than worrying about how to convince the Conservative Party to support their issues.

While this affects the way different political actors behave in the sphere of politics, it has also had a pernicious effect on our media, businesses and civic institutions. It pervades our national life, changing not just the way we behave as individuals, but also the way organisations behave. This affects what is campaigned on and why, what is talked about in what way, what is reported and what is ignored. Our national narrative is set by people deeply concerned in the short term with proving (and consequently over-proving) that they aren’t biased in favour or against one political party or the other.

Of course there is an additional political dimension to this and as usual, it boils down to money. The Tories, by the nature of their political philosophy, are inclined to cut state funding in the belief that most gaps can and will be more effectively filled by the private sector and by philanthropy. Labour, by the nature of their political philosophy, are more inclined to invest and to use the state and state funded actors to achieve their policy ends. So if you believe in the work your organisation is doing and want to ensure it continues, it makes perfect sense for you to protect it in the best way you see fit.

In businesses, pressure groups, charities and civil organisations, this narrative has led to organisations occasionally being unable to fulfil their roles effectively. Those involved feel damned if they do, fearing for their funding and reputation if they are attacked by the Government for being biased. They feel worried that if they don’t, they aren’t fulfilling their purpose. They aren’t able to campaign against measures they know are wrong or offer the solutions they know are right.

Bias is an incredibly difficult thing to prove and an incredibly easy thing to assert. I believe that the constant drumbeat of that assertion has in fact – whether by design or accident – been the cause of far greater change in behaviour than an internal bias could have been.

This is most obvious in the behaviour of the BBC. Accusations of BBC bias have been ongoing as long as I can remember. They lasted throughout the Thatcher years – where generally what was meant was simply that the News divisions were reporting what the Government would prefer them not to. It continues today – alongside increased question of the funding and exclusivity of access to licence fee funding.

The result of this has not been the BBC pressing hard a strong news agenda that proves its worth for all to see. It has not brought about a strength of resolve and a renewed sense of purpose ready to face their critics with a sense of self belief and strength of purpose that Lord Reith would have been proud of.

Sadly, instead , BBC News have allowed the criticisms to become part of an internal culture that has led to reorganising away from investigation towards reporting. The reporting of a news agenda set by the press, who themselves demonstrate a pro-conservative bias.

Equally they seem reluctant to report on key stories that might reflect badly on the Government, but might also put the BBC in the firing line. The under-reporting of the opposition to the Health and Social Care Act is a case in point.

I can see why this frightens the BBC Trustees. If the Government are willing to go after the beloved NHS, they surely have the BBC in their sights. It must feel better to keep heads down and try not to attract the attention – or wrath – of the Government.

But this is wrong. It has led to a denigration of the BBCs ability to report an unbalanced truth. Which in turn weakens the very brand they are trying to protect in the first place.

In the end, those of us who have and hold dear left-of-centre beliefs do so because we believe they are right (the same is true of those who hold right-of-centre beliefs – however wrong I believe them to be). But it is not our beliefs but our talents we are employed for. It is not, or should not be our relationships with external political parties that define us, but our passion and ability. We need to have the confidence to continue to do those jobs and manage these organisations to the best of our ability. We need to take the Tory cloak and throw it back. We need to say “Yes, I’m Labour – so what?” and follow it with “Now what minister are you going to do about my issue?”