Man of the people

The BBC's UK Editor Ed Thomas has been sent out to vox pop twice this week, to provide some gritty Northern balance to coverage based in Downing Street. First he went up Blackpool Tower, because he could; there were no local elections in Blackpool. Yesterday, he went to Bootle. He didn't mention the local election results, where Labour hung on quite well on Sefton Council. How soon will a BBC reporter turn up in Makerfield ?  And will the reporting feature more than beautifully shot vox pops ? 

There seems a reluctance by the BBC's Political team to take us through the most likely scenario. First, all candidates seeking to replace Starmer have to wait until the outcome of the by-election. Streeting and Rayner have made it clear a contest without Burnham isn't going to satisfy the Party sufficiently; maybe even Streeting and Rayner campaign in Makerfield, for the 'good of the party'.  Then all three (or just two) agree on the mechanics of a contest.  If it's three, the one with 81 triggers it at a joint press conference (all fingers on the trigger). If it's just two (and I think that's more likely, cos Rayner will join the Burnham ticket), they'll probably both secure 81 to fire the starting gun. If it's three, Starmer may stand again, but I doubt it. If it's just two, and they both present with supporters' lists into three figures, he won't try.  

Back story ?

It may or may not be related. 

There's news this morning that the Comcast/Sky plan to buy the tv side of ITV is still progressing; one of the important loose ends is the future of ITN. ITV is a 40% shareholder in the news provider; the others are the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) 20%; Thomson Reuters 20%; and Informa plc 20%.  The Sky Newsroom is thought to lose £100m a year; ITN is just in profit, but carries a £100m pension fund deficit. 

Yesterday Rachel Corp stood down as ITN CEO. 

Radio by numbers

No enormous swings for BBC radio output in the latest quarterly listening figures, covering January, February and March. 

Reach for Radio 2 and Radio 3 was down 4% year on year - though Radio 3 Unwind may have taken some ears away from the mothership; it reached 388,000 in its first full quarter of figures. Classic FM fell 8% year on year.  In 'talk', Radio 4 and Radio 5Live were a tad down, 1.9% and 0.4% respectively. LBC was up 8.7% to 2.9m, a record. Times Radio fell 2.9% year on year. 

BBC Local Radio in England will welcome a fall of just 0.46% year on year; Radio Scotland was up 11%, but Radio Cymru was down 6%, and Radio Wales 8.5%.  Radio Ulster was down 8.7%. 

The press release for Sounds has them beating all sorts of records; but 65% of listening hours is to 'live radio'.  We note that Newshour from the World Service ranks No 4 in the BBC's worldwide podcast rankings; presumably BBC Studios will re-invested some of the consequent advertising revenue in preventing the unpleasant and unnecessary changes to the production team's rota. 

Safety first

Two new editorial advisers have been found for the BBC Board's revamped Editorial Standards Committee, and I think even they would admit they're not of the same profile as Michael Prescott, the former Sunday Times political editor whose stubborness brought down a DG and a Director of News. 

Alexandra Evans (BA Modern History, Oxford) pushed herself through law school before joining Mishcon de Reya as a solicitor, and taking an interest in public policy. She was an aide to Chairman Emeritus John Jackson for five years, followed by a move to a 'really cool job' with the British Board of Film Censors. 'Deadpool' got a 15 in the UK. Her creds increased with over three years keeping (?) TikTok safe in Europe. 

Her Linkedin promo: "I help people and organisations understand the impact of technology on people and society.  My research focuses on human agency: what it is, why it matters and how to nurture it."

Adam Baxter (MA Social and Political Sciences Cambridge; M Phil Politics Oxford; Postgrad Diploma in UK/Eu copyright, King's London) started off working for the Japanese Embassy, but moved through copyright roles into 'trust and safety' with Ofcom for eighteen years. He can presumably take his 'Open To Work' sign off Linkedin now. 

Liddle switch

We note, tangentially, that Lord Liddle, the Labour peer whose Kennington table hosted dinners for Morgan McSweeney and Lord Mandelson, has switched from Starmer to Streeting. 

The peer is currently chair of the centre-left think-tank Progress. He told the Church Times on Tuesday that he was “very sad about the situation..  but the plain fact is this: following the disastrous local elections, particularly the scale of the losses to Reform in the north and midlands, where Labour didn’t win a single seat in Angela Rayner’s Ashton-under-Lyne, the country and party are facing an existential crisis.

“Unless Labour dramatically raises its game in government, there is a real prospect we could end up with Nigel Farage as Prime Minister, with over 70 per cent of the country not wanting it to happen. I believe only Wes Streeting can lift the country and party out of this depression and torpor.”

Lord Liddle is married to the BBC Board's Senior Independent Director, Caroline Thomson. 

Off the top

Reform UK's principal supporter GB News fell back in the monthly rankings in April. BARB put the four week reach at 3,726,000, down from 4,229,000 in March. 

Comfy

We notice the interim DG is prepared to represent the BBC externally in leisure footwear. 

Space out

 

New balance

Very much looking forward to the casting of the first regular BBC1 Question Time post the 2026 elections. The secret calculations should influence a standard five person panel quite seriously. We anticipate whole editions without a Tory or even Labour politician; after all, that's what happened to the Libdems in 2025, on 17% predicted national share. And we presume there'll be regular weekly appearances from the Greens, and fewer Reform UK faces than booked in 2025. 

Available

2025 Businesswoman of the Year Rachel Corp is leaving her role as CEO ITN News rather abruptly, after almost exactly four years in post.  Has she been caught in conversation about the vacancy at the top of BBC News ?

Rachel, 53, (James Allen's Girls' School, Dulwich; Marlborough and Leeds University) worked on Leeds Student Radio, winning the NUS/Guardian award for Broadcaster of the Year. She travelled in Bosnia, making features for Woman's Hour as a freelance, before joining ITN as a trainee. She was part of the launch team for Channel 5 news, and did the network's Diana death announcement. 

She left ITN for a spell as the BBC's Moscow producer, then for a time worked for an online web-conferencing company before returning to Grays Inn Road, rising to editor, helping the introduction of the longer evening news, and supervising scoops on Partygate and the storming of the White House. Husband Laurence Lee is a former foreign correspondent, now coaching disadvantaged children in oracy.