Comment: F1 decision shows the BBC is out of touch

Friday, 25 November 2011 11:52 AM

The BBC's decision to scrap Formula One is a sign of how unaccountable it has become.

By Robert Halfon

The BBC is out of touch and run like a feudal monarchy. Take its outrageous decision to scrap Formula One - even though a Grand Prix can attract audiences of 8 million viewers. I accept that this was done to save money. But the truth is, almost one billion pounds is being spent on the BBC's move to Salford. The problem is the BBC is unaccountable to us - the licence-fee payers who fund it - and its decisions are all made by the great and the good. Enough is enough. We need change.

That is why I am campaigning to democratise the licence-fee. Today, the House of Commons will read my private member's bill on this subject, for a second time. 

First, I am not a "BBC basher". I love Radio 4, BBC Essex, iPlayer, and much of the BBC programming that I grew up with. The corporation is something that the UK should be justly proud of. It is a great institution. I don’t even mind when the BBC leans to the centre-left, occasionally, because it means that Conservatives have to be that much better at presenting their case.

But when we are seeing elected police commissioners, e-petitions, and the localism bill, clearly the BBC is behind the curve. It must change. It cannot go on scrapping things that are hugely popular - such as Formula One - and ignoring the licence-fee payers who have no say and no means of redress.

If my bill is successful today, it would enable licence-fee payers to vote on the BBC's strategic direction and aspects of senior salaries and programming. We would 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.

Critics say that this would be bureaucratic. But the truth is that the BBC is fantastic at running elections when it wants to - on various phone-in shows, quizzes, and so forth. Ironically, the corporation is probably the most professional election-running body in the country - so I don’t accept that they lack the know-how.

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, either.

Robert Halfon is Conservative member of parliament for Harlow.

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