I am calling for the democratisation of the BBC which would give licence fee payers a greater say in how the organisation works.
Today, the House of Commons read my Private Member’s Bill.
The BBC is something the UK should be justly proud of. It is a great institution. I don’t even mind when it leans to the centre-left, from time to time, because it means Conservatives have to be that much better at presenting their case.
But the problem is that the BBC is run like a feudal monarchy.
It is unaccountable to the licence-fee payers who fund it, and its decisions are all made by the great and the good. When we are seeing elected police commissioners, e-petitions, and the Localism Bill, clearly the BBC is behind the curve. It must change.
My Bill would enable licence-fee payers to vote on the BBC's strategic direction and aspects of senior salaries and programming.
They would also elect members of the BBC Trust and a few members of the BBC Executive Board - which between them are responsible for operational management, programming, and budgets.
If the BBC had been more in touch with popular opinion, it might have avoided some of the worst problems of recent years, such as the decision to scrap Formula 1 - which at its peak is watched by over eight million viewers.
Critics of democratisation say that it would be bureaucratic. But the truth is that the BBC is fantastic at running elections on various phone-in shows, quizzes, and so forth: they are probably the most professional election-running body in the country - so I don’t accept that they lack the know-how.
I listen regularly to BBC radio, especially BBC Essex and Look East, and to the World Service, which is central to spreading liberal democracy around the world.
I do not object to the licence fee; I personally would be happy to pay double. But at the moment, the licence fee is taxation without representation. We do not tolerate that in our politics, and there is no reason why we should tolerate it in our public media.
Today, the House of Commons read my Private Member’s Bill.
The BBC is something the UK should be justly proud of. It is a great institution. I don’t even mind when it leans to the centre-left, from time to time, because it means Conservatives have to be that much better at presenting their case.
But the problem is that the BBC is run like a feudal monarchy.
It is unaccountable to the licence-fee payers who fund it, and its decisions are all made by the great and the good. When we are seeing elected police commissioners, e-petitions, and the Localism Bill, clearly the BBC is behind the curve. It must change.
My Bill would enable licence-fee payers to vote on the BBC's strategic direction and aspects of senior salaries and programming.
They would also elect members of the BBC Trust and a few members of the BBC Executive Board - which between them are responsible for operational management, programming, and budgets.
If the BBC had been more in touch with popular opinion, it might have avoided some of the worst problems of recent years, such as the decision to scrap Formula 1 - which at its peak is watched by over eight million viewers.
Critics of democratisation say that it would be bureaucratic. But the truth is that the BBC is fantastic at running elections on various phone-in shows, quizzes, and so forth: they are probably the most professional election-running body in the country - so I don’t accept that they lack the know-how.
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