The BBC is supposed to belong to you – now's your chance to be heard

This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.

Joni Mitchell’s folk-pop song Big Yellow Taxi has always been one of my favourites. It contains that immortal line, "You don’t know what you’ve got 'til it’s gone". I wonder if we might soon say that about the BBC?

Even if it does survive, will it become just a different sort of BBC, just a Big British Company and not the main deliverer of public service content? Is the BBC safe at the hands of the politicians, or even the present management? Remember that the Corporation is supposed to belong to you. "It’s Your BBC." Well, now you have a chance to be heard.

The Government consultation about the Corporation ends on 10 March. The online survey is long, it might seem tedious, but it may be your last chance to influence the future content of what you have to pay for. Because change is coming – and, if we are not careful in the rush to be digital first, the Corporation may leave the digitally deprived with blank screens if the Government does, as is currently being suggested, turn off the linear transmitters in 2034. The BBC Charter, which states what the Corporation should be doing, is being renegotiated as we speak.

What do you think should be in it? What public service obligations should the Beeb have in future? There are also more cuts coming as well – 10 per cent or £700 million spread over three years. Who decides what goes, what stays? Should we, the licence fee payers, have no say at all? We are in danger of losing some programmes we love while still having to pay for those we do not want. Who decides? It should not be left just to the management or their political masters. "No taxation without representation!"

This is your chance to present your arguments, and they should not only be about content, but also about its governance and how it can achieve the greatest freedom possible from Government intervention, while being publicly accountable. Your contribution need not just be confined to this consultation. Lobby your MP, deluge the BBC Board with your thoughts (they are meant to represent you), arrange citizen assemblies in your locality.

What is missing from the present debate is a vision of the possibilities of public service content in the future. Where is the discussion about local and regional coverage, about foreign reporting, about kids’ programming – which is more than American cartoons – about the arts, science and religion? What about whether the Corporation should stop trying to compete with Netflix et al and concentrate on original British dramas about us, with a responsibility to develop new talent? The Corporation should be initiating a national debate about public service programming, as well as about its own role in providing it, in conjunction with others. The BBC can’t do it all, but it can lead, it can inspire, it should collaborate.

The BBC should be a place where we come together to learn about each other and the world, and offer our children and grandchildren exciting possibilities for learning and ideas for their future; a true community for the many different communities that make up our United Kingdom. We should decide what we want the BBC to be before deciding how to pay for it. This is your chance to have a say. Don’t miss it.

The government is seeking public views on the future of the BBC as part of its Royal Charter review, ahead of the current agreement expiring in 2027. You can respond by completing the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) online consultation survey, emailing your answers to bbccharterreview@dcms.gov.uk, or requesting a postal or accessible version if you cannot respond digitally – in which case you should contact the review team for submission details and include clear answers and contact information. Submissions close at 11:59pm on 10 March 2026.

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