The Scoop

Siobhan Benita has received far more coverage than she deserves

Adam Bienkov | Tuesday 10 April, 2012 15:31

Independent mayoral candidate Siobhan Benita has received remarkable coverage in this election.

So far she has been awarded numerous TV and radio appearances, positive press from the nationals, and has been the subject of not one but two major interviews with the Evening Standard.

But despite her enviable reception by the media, Benita has spent much of the campaign complaining about not getting enough coverage.

Barely a day goes by without Benita or her team attacking the broadcasters for unfairly ‘excluding’ her from this or that debate, or this or that story.

But the question Benita and her supporters have failed to answer is why they think she should be getting any significant coverage at all.

Benita has never won a single election before, not even on her local council. More importantly she has failed to provide any evidence of a grassroots support base.

Having celebrity backers is nice, but Richard Branson, Peter Jones and Gus O’Donnell only count as three votes.

What matters is how the rest of London votes, and today’s Comres poll puts her support at less than half of one per cent. Below the Greens, UKIP and even the BNP.

Rather than unfairly excluding her, I’d suggest that the media have actually given Benita far more coverage than she really deserves.

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