Forked

Today's Times story, that the BBC will get a licence-fee settlement lower than the rate of inflation over the next five years, will hardly have come as a surprise to BBC strategists. In March, they handed in the usual three-pronged paper. Prong One: look at all the marvellous things we can do with an inflation-plus deal, helping the creative economy, fixing education, bashing fake news, defending the UK against American cultural dominance.  Prong Two: a deal that matches inflation can do most of those things. Prong Three: here's the waving shroud of what will close if the deal is less than inflation - your voters really like many of these services, and will be upset. 

It's a ritual dance. Since the OBR decided to count the licence-fee as a tax in their calculations on Government spending, Chancellors aren't interested in increases, and certainly not Prong One. They say the BBC should face the same efficiency/cuts challenge as any other Government department.  They also believe that a BBC on the back foot is a Good Thing, and you have to say, from a Johnson point of view, that's worked for them over the past couple of years. How long ago was it that Eddie Mair posed the question "You're a nasty piece of work, aren't you ?"