Letters - Monday, January 24, 2022

The Guardian suggests that threats to the BBC by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries, one of Boris Johnson’s most loyal allies, is being used to divert attention away from ‘partygate’ and important pieces of legislature currently being considered by the Lords and Parliament, including the Crime and Police Bill and Health and Care Bill.

It is suggested that the attack on the BBC has been orchestrated by the political far right to deliberately undermine public broadcasting, a long-term desire of Rupert Murdock, who wants to see the back of the BBC and has made his views known to the PM.

Rupert Murdock has for too long influenced the British media and it is time for us to say no.

The cost of the BBC licence is 43p per day, £13.13 per month and £157.50 annually per household – making the BBC good value for money.

The BBC is 100 years old this year, it is an important public broadcasting service, delivering news in an impartial way. If the BBC goes, it will be a mammoth loss to our country and the world.

The BBC provides a wide variety of programmes – from children’s services to the varied interests of adults, from drama, natural history, variety shows and sport to current affairs.

The BBC is highly regarded globally, with the World Services delivering impartial broadcasting in over 40 languages, throughout Africa, the Middle East, the Americas and Caribbean, South Asia, Australasia as well as Europe and the UK.

The World Service is a trusted global broadcaster in an uncertain world dominated by powerful governments and individuals, propaganda and lies.

We should be proud of the BBC and treasure the services it provides.

The BBC provides music on Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, 6 Music and Asian Network, as well as speech, drama, analysis and the arts on Radio 4.

There is classical music and jazz on Radio 3, News and Sport on 5 Live and 5 Live Sports Extra, and local programming from 40 stations – do we really want to lose all of this, because without a regular licence fee, it could all disappear and what would we be left with?

This Prime Minister is not interested in the disappearance of a much-valued public service, he is only interested in one thing, that is remaining in power.

Pauline ASllon

Address supplied

MISOGNY

This should be a hate crime

I have campaigned to make misogyny (hatred of women) a hate crime for a while now.

Still, the terrible cases keep appearing in the press.

The awful case of Ashling Murphy, murdered while she was out running in broad daylight last week, makes chilling reading.

A woman is killed by a man every three days, usually someone she already knows.

I have introduced motions to both the county council, and a district council where I am a councillor, to request that they write to the Minister of State for Crime and Policing, asking that misogyny be made a hate crime.

The district council voted to do this in December (with some councillors voting against or abstaining).

When I brought the same motion to the county council in October, the controlling Conservative group substantially amended it and instead requested that the Police and Crime Commissioner take action, without reference to a hate crime.

While this was disappointing, we had a good debate on the issue, the first time that it was discussed at the council.

The motion has also been presented to other district councils in Lancashire.

On the evening of Monday, January 17, the House of Lords supported the amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to make misogyny a hate crime.

If it goes into law, it would be another way of assisting women in their search for protection against domestic abuse, rape, and murder.

To make this happen, MPs need to pass the Bill, as amended, when it returns to the House of Commons.

This is by no means guaranteed.

Please contact your MP and ask them to support this amendment when the Bill comes back to the Commons shortly.

You can contact your MP by email or by post.

Please include your address so that they know you live in their constituency.

Thank you.

The women and girls of the district need your support.

Jean Parr

Lancashire

POLITICS

Put us out of our collective misery

Partying on the eve of a Royal funeral, a prime minister claiming that nobody warned him an event was flagrantly breaking the very rules he set, and now credible accusations against government ministers and whips that amount to blackmail.

Where will it all end? The country should not be dragged through an increasingly filthy gutter to preserve the career of a thoroughly dishonest man like Boris Johnson. Put us out of our collective misery, and let’s try to bring some decency back to public life.

Ian Richardson

Address supplied

POLITICS

Wisdom in old age and less naive...

It is said “the older one gets, the more cynical one becomes”. I prefer to think I am less naive and gullible to political clap-trap.

Peter Rickaby

Via email

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