Festine lente

Anyone else a bit knackered by Charter Renewal ?  The Culture Select Committee, under Whittingdale, J, set the ball rolling back in October 2013, by announcing an inquiry into the "Future of The BBC", and took evidence all through 2014, before issuing a report in February 2015.

George Osborne intervened in the first week of July 2015, stitching the BBC side into a deal specifically designed to make his Budget figures the following week look better.

BBC thought-leader James Purnell sounded a bit tired on last week's Media Show. He seemed to think the BBC has banked some reasonable stuff, including an 11-year Charter term. There are loose ends on the unitary board, and, I suspect, on giving Ofcom more of the licence fee to mind Auntie. Sharon White at Ofcom thinks legislation is needed for them to mind the BBC's online operation. John Whittingdale may chunter about distinctiveness, but he's admitted that's for the unitary board and Ofcom to sort out.

So why can't we have a Green Paper and get a move on ? Heaven forfend that Brexiter Whittingdale rather likes a BBC on tenterhooks while the referendum campaign drones on...