Ofcom ruling means Nigel Farage’s party given same status as the Tories, Labour and Lib Dems, but Natalie Bennett’s party will be guaranteed just one slot

Ukip has been awarded a second party election broadcast on commercial TV and radio but the Green party’s bid to be elevated to “major party” status alongside Nigel Farage’s party has been rejected by media regulator Ofcom.



Ofcom has guaranteed Ukip a minimum of two broadcasts in England and Wales on ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, alongside the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats.



But it said the Greens, led by Natalie Bennett, had not shown sufficient electoral support to justify elevation to the top tier of political parties who are guaranteed at least two election broadcasts.



It means the Greens are likely to get just one pre-election broadcast on commercial TV, but they may be handed more at the discretion of broadcasters.



Farage said: “This confirms that Ukip is now a major party in British politics. Voters should now know that despite what all the other parties are going to tell them, the truth is self-evident: if you believe in Britain, and want to vote Ukip, you’ll get a Ukip MP. It’s great news.”

Despite polling only 3% in the last general election, Ukip was given approval for a second broadcast on the basis of its strong showing in opinion polls over the past few years, as well as its performance in local elections and the 2014 European Parliament elections, in which it scooped first place with 26.6% of the vote.



The Green party, in its submission to Ofcom, said the regulator had underestimated the strength of election support for the Greens and said it would be wrong to promote Ukip to major party status without also including the Greens.



It said Ukip’s wins in two byelections were “as likely to represent confidence in the individual elected based on their past record as a local MP as it is to reflect strong support for Ukip’s policies”.



The party, which currently has one MP to Ukip’s two, added: “Ukip did not win any seats in the 2010 general election.



“The Green party received more than twice as many votes as Ukip in the 2012 London mayoral elections and London assembly elections. The Green party’s membership (UK wide) is higher than that of Ukip.”



It said there was “strong public desire” for the Greens to be given equal opportunities as Ukip.



Commercial broadcasters must offer at least one party election broadcast to parties standing candidates in at least one-sixth of the seats at the general election, likely to include the Greens.



Ofcom deals blow to Greens’ election debate hopes – but boosts Ukip’s Read more

The Ofcom rules are a minimum requirement for broadcasters which are able to allocate more election broadcast to parties, as they did in 2010.



The Ofcom rules do not apply to the BBC where election broadcasts are regulated by the BBC Trust, which treats the Greens as a “smaller party”.



As in previous elections, Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats have been awarded a minimum of two Britain-wide broadcasts, with the SNP getting two in Scotland, Plaid Cymru two in Wales and the Alliance party, the Democratic Unionist party, Sinn Fein, the Social Democratic and Labour party, and the Ulster Unionist party two in Northern Ireland.



Ukip is the only party granted a minimum of two across England and Wales. Following a consultation starting in January, Ofcom rejected a second broadcast across Britain for the Greens – including the Scottish Green party – and for Traditional Unionist Voice in Northern Ireland.



The decision has no bearing on the vexed question of whether there should be live TV debates between the major party leaders, which are an issue for negotiation between the broadcasters and parties.