Former BBC Director General Mark Thompson has told how the Liberal Democrats in coalition government secured a “different and better” settlement for the BBC. Now that the Conservatives are unmoderated, things are not so good for what many feel is the highest quality public service broadcaster in the world.
Giving his his first interview about the BBC since he left in 2012, after eight years at the helm, Thompson said the broadcaster was having to pay for government policy. “It’s welfare … It’s totally inappropriate to use BBC to support social transfer in this country.”
When George Osborne tried to impose the same cost on the BBC during negotiations in 2010, Thompson started writing his resignation letter, along with several BBC Trustees. This July the current director general, Tony Hall, agreed to shoulder the burden in return for relief from other costs.
“In 2015 the political circumstances are very different and it is much tougher for the BBC. In 2010 it was the coalition government and the Liberal Democrats … played a very big part in securing a different and better settlement. That recourse has not been available to the BBC this year.”
We’ve seen the Liberal Democrat Press Office Twitter account get quite sassy of late. I loved this response to a tweet sent to them complaining about Christmas repeats after they’d reported Mark Thompson’s comments:
@Ted_Macc you obviously haven't iPlayer-ed 'Sun, Sex and Suspicious Parents'
— Lib Dem Press Office (@LibDemPress) December 24, 2015
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4 Comments
On the subject of the Tory Party’s hostility to the BBC – I notice that a Councillor Joe Otten has re-tweeted the following item from a Conservative Party website which is more than just a little hostile to the BBC. It appears on this page at the side of the LDV website. I quote below :
“ⒷⒷⒸ Spin Room @BBCPropaganda
The North is suffering the worst flooding in 15 years and where is Jeremy Corbyn? On a beach in the Med plotting against Blairites.
Retweeted by Joe Otten”
Could Councillor Otten please explain why he has done this and does he agree with it ?
I ask because I have been helping to clean up flood damage at my 90 year old father-in-law’s house in Appleby-in-Westmorland. It’s true I didn’t see Mr. Corbyn – but then I didn’t see Councillor Otten either.
Correction to Mr Otten’s tweet copied from a so called BBC site. Apparently, according to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Corbyn is actually in the UK, and he has tweeted,
“Heart goes out to the tens of thousands affected by the floods and huge gratitude to incredible efforts of army, firefighters and volunteers”.
It really is too bad when Liberal Democrat Councillors simply transmit incorrect information from a Conservative Party site.
Not plural, David. Just one.
Tony
One’s too many, Tony. I hope you’re right ,…………………. tho’ funny things have been known to emerge from Southport.