The culture secretary’s recent attacks on the BBC – freezing the licence fee for two years, promising a dire funding vacuum when the royal charter rolls around in 2027 and the TV licence isn’t renewed – lack the power to terrify. Nadine Dorries, clueless and inconsistent, is not a serious politician. More saliently, I can’t see this government in power in 2027.
However, the debate has one unsettling element: it reminds me of Brexit. I’m aware of the new common sense, that serious people have moved on, and that it is a childish or hysterical thing to harp on about. But in this case, the parallels are too insistent.
