Demos Comment: Cross-party MPs back a stronger, more independent BBC, but the public must have the final say

The Culture, Media and Sport Committee has today published its report on the BBC’s Royal Charter. Chaired by Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, the Committee makes a bold case for the critical role the BBC plays in our democracy.

Responding to the report, Hannah Perry, Director of Demos Digital, said:

MPs from across political divides have agreed. The BBC should be easier to find on social media, free from political appointments and safe from the 10-year Charter cliff-edge. The Committee’s strong backing for prominence of trusted news on social media is endorsement that people should be able to find reliable journalism at the top of their feeds, rather than having it buried by unaccountable algorithms. Together, that’s a BBC that is more visible, more independent and more secure for future generations.

But the job isn’t finished. If the BBC belongs to the public, the public should hold the keys. That means a public lock, so no government can change the BBC without public consent, and a representative Citizens’ Panel with real power to hold it to account. Parliament has listened to the public. Now the government must do the same: legislate for prominence, end political appointments and put the BBC’s future in the public’s hands.

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS

Demos is home to the Epistemic Security Programme, a five year, £5m programme to work on policy to secure the information supply chain to UK democracy.

Key Committee recommendations referenced above:

1. Legislate for a prominence regime for trustworthy news content, including from the BBC, on social media (Recommendation 129), with the definition of “trustworthy news” transparent, independent and free from political influence. 
2. End political appointments to the BBC Board and consider the ability to remove Board members (Recommendations 112). 
3. Move to a permanent Charter with a formal structure for public and stakeholder engagement every ten years (Recommendation 116).
4. Give the BBC a public purpose on countering mis- and disinformation, and one on innovation and technology (Recommendations 124 and 144).
5. Open iPlayer to content from other public service broadcasters (Recommendation 153).

Demos has previously recommended both in published reports and via written and oral evidence to the Committee:

1. Legislating for a prominence regime for public interest’ news sources on social media, with strong safeguards for media pluralism, independence and accountability 
2. Ending political appointments to the Board, creating an Independent Appointments Commission and installing a Conduct Panel to investigate and address complaints
3. Moving to a permanent Charter with a ‘public lock’ on a proposed fundamental changes to the Charter:  any amendment threatening the BBC’s future would require supermajorities in all four UK legislatures and deliberation from a Citizens’ Assembly.
4. Embedding a standing Citizen’s Panel (100-120 people) in the governance of the BBC -providing an alternative centre of gravity that articulate the public interest independent of the government of BBC leadership
5. Reintroducing a public purpose from the 2007-16 Charter that the BBC should “deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services”, with the amendment “and infrastructure, to enhance the quality and sovereignty of our democracy”.

For further information on Demos’ recommendations to fortify the BBC’s institutional and operational independence and facilitate meaningful citizen participation in order to strengthen its democratic legitimacy, please see this report, this short summary of our recommendations and our submission to the committee. 

Further information on Demos’ prominence recommendations can be found in Demos’ report Fairer Feeds, our FAQ and in our submission to DCMS’ Watch This Space Green Paper, here.

Media Contact: Azzurra Moores, Associate Director (Information Ecosystems). Email: [email protected]

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