Tory ideology could end the BBC as we know it
On Monday I attended the launch of the music industry’s Let it Beeb campaign in support of the BBC’s music services.
The music industry recognises the incredibly important role the BBC plays in promoting new artists and providing exposure to songs not played on commercial radio.
Culture secretary John Whittingdale acknowledged the strength of the UK music industry when he observed at the Conservative party conference that ‘there are no French Rolling Stones, no German Beatles… no Dutch David Bowie’.
Yet it is he and his Tory government that presents a clear danger to the future of the BBC.
It could be the end of the BBC as we know it. We’ve got the government’s green paper, but with it we’ve had constant anonymous briefings to the press about how the BBC needs to be ‘cut down to size’ and the BBC’s remit changed, i.e. reduced.
Proposals include axing Radio 1 and Radio 2, stopping the broadcaster from making some of its most popular shows, potentially scrapping the licence fee, cutting the length of the charter, and reducing the BBC’s news output. Any of these moves would be a massive mistake.
Like the NHS, the BBC is one of the institutions that makes Britain great. There is nothing like it in rest of the world. And like the NHS it is public sector and successful.
Unlike the NHS it is successful in a global market, one of the world’s leading media brands, out-performing private sector companies across the globe in so many areas, from the high drama of Sherlock to the innovation of iPlayer to the popularity of the Great British Bake Off.
And that is why it under attack. Because it is public sector and successful it flies in the face of the Tories ideological dogma which says the state cannot do anything successfully and therefore must be as small as possible, slashed every year under a regime of perpetual austerity – Osbornomics.
The BBC undermines Osbornomics because it is public sector, successful and loved. Polling shows that the public view the BBC as good value for money and perceptions have been improving since the last charter was agreed.
BBC One, for example, now has the highest viewer satisfaction ratings of any channel in the world.
The BBC produces programmes for everyone and its output reaches almost the entire adult population of the UK every single week.
Now, of course the BBC is not perfect – far from it. It needs to change to become representative of 21st century Britain. I have strongly criticised the lack of diversity within the BBC and at times it can appear remote and complacent. That needs to change, but while maintaining the investment and the scope of the BBC.
Cutting down the BBC would be an assault on the very principle of public service broadcasting. It would not only be massively unpopular and a disservice to the British public – it would threaten the rest of the TV ecosystem and the UK’s entire creative sector.
The BBC doesn’t harm the wider industry. It fosters it and creates a competition for quality. A much diminished BBC would be bad for Britain. For every one pound of licence fee spent, two pounds is generated in economic activity.
According to a report, of the BBC’s £3.7 billion investment of the licence fee, £2.2 billion is invested in the creative industries.
Labour will campaigning to save the BBC. Shadow secretary Michael Dugher’s Culture, Media and Sport team will fight against any proposal by the government to weaken or cut down the BBC, and constantly highlight why certain sections of the media are so anti-BBC.
As part of this, we will work with the trade unions, like Bectu, and the creative industry such as great campaigns like Let It Beeb.
The BBC is a cornerstone of our cultural life. It is public sector, it is successful and it is under attack. Labour will fight to save it.
Chi Onwurah is MP for Newcastle and a Labour shadow minister for Culture, Media and Sport. You can follow her on Twitter @ChiOnwurah
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23 Responses to “Comment: The BBC is under threat because it is public sector and successful”
NHSGP
So let Sky operate on the same terms.
If people don’t pay a Sky subscription, then Sky takes them to court and they get a criminal conviction.
NHSGP
BBC’s £3.7 billion investment of the licence fee, £2.2 billion
So 1.5 bn more on the prices than in required. Why do you need to pay for non creation?
NHSGP
Why should we pay an organisation that has repeatedly failed to protect people from paedophiles like Stuart Hall and Jimmy Saville?
Mike Stallard
“And that is why it under attack. Because it is public sector and successful”
No.
It is because it is institutionally left wing. If you deny this you have not been watching. Did you see, to take one teeny example how Kirsty Wark treated the Conservative MP on Newsnight last night? Can you remember the Golden Jubilee reportage?
Rather than just assuming the Beeb is excellent, why not look at this website?
http://bbcinstitutionalbias.blogspot.co.uk
I can remember myself when the Beeb was cutting edge – Monty Python? the Goon Show? Not so any more I am afraid. I listen to LBC.
Barry Hearth
The Beeb is not under attack because it’s successful and publicly owned, it’s just because it’s publicly owned.
The tories massively downgraded our Tv output when they “freed” it up for US stations. Mamy Americans gave us dire forewarnings of what was to come, and they all proved right. Now they want to get their hands on the last thing BEFORE the NHS to rpivatise it.
Does anyone care? Not if those who made a submission to the consultation process, just 38,000 out of 60 million can be said to care.
Bottom line is this, unless you’re ready to fight for what you believe in, then walk away.
Silence gives consent.
Just remmember those words when the Beeb has gone and the NHS is about to become American.