MINISTERS ARE GEARING UP FOR AN ALMIGHTY BATTLE OF THE BEEB
MINISTERS are preparing to take on the BBC in a battle that could help set the course for Boris Johnson’s prime ministership.
The looming wrangle over the corporation’s next Royal Charter, due to come into force in 2027, is likely to go far beyond the possible scrapping of the television licence fee floated by the Prime Minister during the general election campaign.
Senior figures in the Government would like to see the corporation drastically slimmed down to concentrate on public service broadcasting rather than pumping out entertainment programmes already produced by its commercial rivals. “I meet lots of young people who watch Netflix and other subscription channels on their computers, go to the cinemas for films, get their news from social media and never watch the BBC,” one senior minister told me.
“We really have to ask how long the BBC can go on producing so much when the changing nature of the media means its audience is dwindling.”Viewers need to be involved in decisions about the long-term future of the corporation, sayWhitehall’s most enthusiastic supporters of a radical broadcasting shake-up.
And ministers believe that discussion should be the start of a wider national debate about the size of the public sector as a whole.While theTories won the general election with promises of generous spending on transport infrastructure, the NHS, schools and the police, senior ministers insist the party is not lurching towards Labour-style big state socialism across the board.
“We need to start having a conversation about the kind of state we need,” the minister said.
“We can have a state that is focused on security, infrastructure and enabling people to get on in life or a nanny state that tries to do everything for everybody.”
Mr Johnson’s battle with the Beeb will help to define the type ofTory government he leads.
PARLIAMENT’S catering staff are embracing the meat-free “Veganuary” craze for the first month of the year. Plant-only meals are being served in all the palace’s eateries and “vegan guest beers” are on tap in the Stranger’s Bar. A handout tells MPs: “Look out for vegan recipe cards which will give you the opportunity to try some of our chef’s fantastic vegan dishes at home.”