4 minute read
Politics
Perhaps the BBC is doing something right?
Culture minister and Johnson loyalist Nadine Dorries recently did her utmost to deter the BBC from reporting ‘Partygate’ by attacking the BBC itself, declaring the ‘days of state-run TV are over.’ Firstly, yes this is the same Dorries who was suspended from her own party for ditching her constituents to appear on I’m a Celebrity. Perhaps no one had explained to her at the time what the rules were? Now we’re led to believe she cares less for her own profile and more about the cost of living crisis. It’s true the license fee freeze in cash terms will save us all approximately £1 a month. Whereas abolishing VAT on energy bills, as Labour has proposed, would save an average bill payer at least £6 a month. ‘Oh, but you can’t do that!’ cry the government. ‘That would indiscriminately benefit everyone,’ we are told. Whereas freezing the license fee… does exactly the same thing. Contradictions? Hypocrisy even? Heaven forbid. Two things going on here. Firstly, the Tories believe they are subject to unfair BBC bias. The reality is every party thinks its treatment at the hands of the BBC is negative. Many Labour supporters still believe Corbyn was undermined by unbalanced BBC coverage. Liberals believe they don’t get enough air time. If everyone is angry, perhaps the BBC is doing something right? Secondly, the Conservatives still believe that anything publicly owned is bad. Hence the threatened privatisation of Channel 4 too. If they were really that adverse to state control, why don’t they give up their control over the BBC’s funding? Decouple the BBC from state interference altogether. In a world where subscription TV is the norm, I agree it’s fair to look for alternatives to a license fee which criminalises nonpayment. But that future should be debated free from a Johnson government using the corporation as a dead cat to distract from its own malaise and to placate its libertarian fringe. Local journalism needs the BBC. Does anyone remember Jeremy Hunt’s ultra-local TV stations? One company bought 20 of the licenses and filled the schedule with Judge Judy, teleshopping and a mere 10 minutes of local news a day. In radio, Global has replaced over 40 local breakfast shows across its networks with just three nationwide programmes. This all shows we need a funded BBC free from political interference, and with its commitments to local broadcasting enshrined and even expanded.
Greg Williams, on behalf of Dorset Labour
Endemic everywhere, but not what you think
Have you noticed the increasing use of the word “endemic”? We’ve gained new words over the last couple of years. So many of them have been medical. Our armchair GP chat now turns on whether we’ve moved from pandemic to endemic. Just living with it. We try to follow the government’s shopping trolley direction. We listen to the science and try to sift out those who gleefully misrepresent it. We dare to hope that the bug may fade into the background. As liberal democrats we urge people to exercise their personal judgement and rationality and be vaccinated. We dare to hope. Many other things seem also to be endemic. Has anyone noticed that political satire that’s indistinguishable from real life is now endemic too? I’m especially fond of the Rosie Holt online video where she plays an MP who doesn’t know whether she attended a Downing Street party; her mocked up exchanges with Sky News have fooled far too many that Rosie is a real Conservative MP. Life it seems is far more bizarre than art. Ministers blaming officials rather than taking responsibility themselves is now endemic. Talking about levelling up is also endemic but doing something about it seems as in short supply as an N95 mask in a mid-2020 care home. Endemic also is the concern at rising prices for food and heat. The things that we need to become endemic are thus far in short supply. The three L’s: leadership, levelling up, and the cost of living. On leadership I think we know what we’re talking about here. Ducking, diving and dodging and leading a dysfunctional culture, must stop. Levelling up! Our bit of Dorset needs it too. We’re blessed in our county, but we need better quality jobs, better broadband and a bigger share of the investment funds that can protect our environment here and power our local economy. On living costs the the national insurance rise needs to be re-assessed. We need a different way to deliver sustainable social care while shortening NHS waiting times. From local to national we’ll continue to argue and work for these things. The snowdrops are pushing through the grass all around us in our part of Dorset, and I’m thinking that Spring will be here before we know it. Hope springs eternal … endemic even.