BBC: the bastion of public service excellence

This more or less sums up the government's position

This morning the BBC radio news had two items that troubled me. First was the government's consultation paper on the future of the BBC and second the proposal to split up BT. Both proposals are indicative of the ascendency of neo liberal economics that has destroyed many of the services that we cherish in the UK. They have been systematically sold off or undermined by the Thatcher, Major, Blair/Brown governments and now even more vindictively by the Cameron government.

The Conservatives seem to be concerned that the BBC is both too popular and unwilling to kowtow to government. Many Conservative MPs think that the beeb should be reined in to provide a far leaner service and the market should be left to provide entertainment. All this comes just a week after the Chancellor told the BBC that it would have to pay for the free license for the over 75's; no negotiation was involved despite the BBC belonging to and paid for by the public not the government.

Apart from the fact that the BBC strives to be objective and is trusted by the public, it has a global reputation that is one of the main reasons why Britain still has some influence and presence in the world. We know that Murdoch and his ilk have been rapping on the the door of No10 in the knowledge that PMs are usually susceptible to his much exaggerated power. His abhorrence of the BBC is one of its most powerful justifications

Over the past 25 years the loss of some major events to pay-to-view broadcasters, most notably Sky, has not only removed the free-to-air broadcasting of many cultural and sporting activities but also has been responsible for the obsession with celebrity and the dumbing down of programme making. BBC will no longer televise the Open Golf when the contract expires in 2017 because the Royal and Ancient have accepted a bid from Sky Sport that is twice what the BBC pay for the existing contract. Add that to football, cricket, rugby and we are left with just tennis of the major sports that has not sold their soul to Sky Sport. The cricket authorities are now recognising that  the loss of BBC coverage may be the main reason for the loss of interest in the game than yesteryear.

The BBC is the last of the great public sector corporations that exemplify the importance and significance of the state retaining a stake in our physical and cultural infrastructure. Railways, water, electricity, gas, nuclear power, telephones and mail have all been hived off by government in the past 35 years. It is hard to argue that these have been moves that have enraptured the public with steep increases in charges and the loss of integrated operations. The solution to these criticisms, according to the government and the pernicious press, is to encourage us to compare prices and switch providers. This is usually a nightmare and, a few months later, your previous provider will undercut your new provider with a special offer that will probably be time limited.

The BBC license fee is less than 10% of the average Council Tax and only a third of the full Sky package, what a bargain. Why would anyone want to underfund or deflate an institution that is the very heartbeat of our culture and creativity. What's more it does not pepper us with adverts that interrupt the continuity of effective programming, that alone would make it worth a 50% rise in the license fee to £4.50 a week or half a packet of fags.