Given that John Whittingdale once described the licence fee as ‘worse than the poll tax’, the BBC were reported to be less than thrilled when David Cameron appointed the Tory MP as Culture Secretary ahead of the corporation’s charter renewal next year.
However, should the BBC be concerned about the impending decision, culture minister Ed Vaizey has at least offered an early pointer about the type of programmes the corporation ought to be commissioning. Vaizey took to Twitter to praise his old chum Andrew Roberts on his Napoleon documentary for the BBC.
He says that it is ‘just the kind of programme’ the BBC ‘should be making’:
Furthermore, the ‘great review’ he links to is written by none other than Vaizey’s mother, Marina. After all, we’re all in this together.
However, one man who may be keen to listen to Vaizey is Jeremy Vine. Nick Robinson reveals in his election diaries what the presenter said off air on election night after the exit poll predicted the Tories would take power:
Jeremy quips: ‘So Scotland will go independent and the BBC will be shut down.’
As if the saga of HS2 could not get any worse, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will reportedly announce today that, actually, the railway line will not be open by its latest proposed date of 2033, and that 2035 is now more realistic. But I wouldn’t book your ticket just yet. Some analysts believe the line
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