BBC to axe 'boring' party conferences

The BBC is considering dropping live coverage of party conferences because young people find them boring and they are unimportant in the political process.

In a move which reflects the lack of relevance that the conferences are now considered to have on policy making, only the speeches of the three main parties' leaders will be screened live.

A senior BBC executive said: "The conferences are stage managed by spin-doctors.

"There is no real debate, or dissent and all the controversy is confined to the conference fringe long after the conference coverage ends.

"Even the MPs avoid conferences if they can."

The move came about after a departmental review by the BBC's political unit. It is believed that Richard Sambrook, the head of news and current affairs, is set to approve it.

Another review of the BBC's political output was undertaken at the same time by former Newsnight editor, Sian Kevill, on the orders of Director-General Greg Dyke after compelling evidence that the under-40s are not interested in politics.

The release yesterday of statistics compiled for the BBC, showing that political coverage is considered to be a white, middle-class, middle-aged subject and that the media is considered to be a part of the establishment, has compounded the organisation's concerns.

Live coverage could be replaced by edited highlights after five new teams were set up to find alternatives to current political programming.

The BBC executive said: "It would be a Match of the Day style programme with lively debate and well beyond the reach of spin doctors."

The conferences draw only about 700,000 viewers. Last year Tony Blair's speech attracted a peak of 1.8 million viewers, William Hague's attracted a peak of 1.1 million and Charles Kennedy attracted only 300,000.

Live coverage will continue on the BBC's digital, cable and satellite channels.

Ms Kevill's review of political programming is also thought to have put heavyweight political news programmes like On The Record in jeopardy.

The threat led to Labour's Charles Clarke and Conservative David Davis uniting earlier this month to urge the BBC to maintain its political coverage in the public interest.

But BBC research showed that 40 per cent of people made negative associations with politicians, regarding most as crooks or liars. Only figures like Mo Molam and Ann Widdecombe were praised.

The five new teams are also understood to be looking at dramas and documentaries as a means of dealing with political issues.