Jeanette Winterson
In 1985, Margaret Thatcher’s government commissioned a review of how the BBC was funded. Ideas to bring the corporation into line (the Thatcher line) included manufacturing TV sets that only showed ITV and Channel 4. Anyone owning those sets wouldn’t be obliged to pay the licence fee.
This was driven by a Tory perception of bias. The BBC could no longer be relied on to uphold Tory values—even though Thatcherism itself was a confrontation with the traditional Conservative bedrock of land and class. Love it or hate it, that shift of power, with the potential to affect all our lives, warranted more than cheering and flag-waving from the national broadcaster. Was the BBC really “biased” in applying scrutiny? Or was it doing its job?
Four decades later, here we are again. Another powerful Tory government is irritated by the BBC. Another determined attempt is being made to neuter, or ruin, what cannot be directly controlled by the state. It’s pathetic, but it’s also frightening because the threat is real.
Nadine Dorries is a culture wars enthusiast. She calls the BBC “unrepresentative” of Britain. There is no broadcaster in the world with a wider range of programming than the BBC. BBC radio alone is worth the licence fee. It’s all there: music, current affairs, politics, comment, history, nature, books, arts, science, plus the eccentricities the BBC is so good at, like when someone just talks about something that matters to them.
The BBC licence fee is populism at its best; we all pay a small amount—not much more than three quid a week—to conserve a world-class corporation that has endured for 100 years. Modern Conservatives are not much interested in conservation: destroying things is easier.
Dorries wants to destroy the BBC. She will have plenty of cheerleaders among the Murdoch press, and those interested parties who see pickings among the ruins. Whatever your politics, we should come together against this vandalism. Losing an independent BBC is bad for Britain.
Jeanette Winterson’s most recent book is “12 Bytes” ( Jonathan Cape)
We should come together against this vandalism. Losing an independent BBC is bad for Britain