Election survey
Just thought I’d share my responses to questions asked in a survey canvassing opinion for the benefit of my local MP, Stephen Williams (LD):
(I provided my e-mail address, pointing out I wasn’t interested in his fortnightly email newsletter, but that if he fancied discussing any of my suggestions by all means give me a shout)
“How important are environment issues to you?”
Neutral - it’s already too late to save the environment, thanks to the dithering of politicians like yourself.
“Stephen Williams objected to plans to expand Bristol Airport. Do you agree with this position?”
I’ve only flown once in the last four years and it wasn’t from Bristol. Knock yourself out.
“Stephen Williams wants to get more trains on the Severn Beach Line. Do you support this campaign?”
I would if the line actually went anywhere useful, like the town centre. But it doesn’t.
“Which local buses do you use regularly”
8 & 9
“How could these services be improved”
Free doughnut with every journey. It’s just nice to feel appreciated sometimes.
“Stephen Williams has discovered that Bristol has fewer police per head than other major cities. Which would you rather see money spent on? (tick boxes for “More police” or “ID cards”)
I created my own box marked ‘neither’ and ticked that. Talk about a loaded question.
“What one thing would most improve local schools?”
The eradication of all governmental interference, except the provision of free school meals for the poor kids.
“Please use this space to let us know of any other issues you feel important”
Politics is dead. MPs are all greedy careerists who now only exist to make people’s lives more miserable whilst claiming five grand on expenses for office stationery. Any ideological distinction between parties has been erased. Turns out Ronald Reagan was right all along in his own befuddled little way: government is not the solution to the problem. Government IS the problem.
“In Bristol West it will be a close contest between the Lib Dems and Labour. If there were an election tomorrow, who would you vote for?”
No one. (No such box existed, so I created one marked ‘The None of the Above Party’)
“Can you help Stephen and the Lib Dems win? (put up a poster, deliver leaflets etc)”
Probably not…
The Joy of Six
Few people listen to BBC 6 Music. Most people have never even heard of it. Partly because the folks running it don’t really attempt to appeal to a wider audience. They’re not that likely to invite Robbie Williams in for a guest DJ appearance. Or get JLS to host a celebrity ping-pong tournament in the studio. Instead they provide a safe haven for those who really care about music in its myriad of weird and wonderful forms; hiring insightful and knowledgeable DJs, playing eclectic and unpredictable setlists, and providing an outlet for new and unsigned acts that otherwise wouldn’t have had a chance of being heard on the airwaves.
And it is now, in the infinite non-wisdom of BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, set for the chop. Its emphasis on quality over quantity and distinctive programming is completely at odds with the agenda set by Thompson and his cohorts, which instead stresses the importance of, um, quality over quantity and distinctive programming. It’s a bit like announcing you’re going to add variety to your diet by cutting out all fruit and veg and just living on chips. It’s hypocrisy cubed.
Then again should we really be surprised by their intentions? Delve a little under the surface and a particularly murky and sinister netherworld reveals itself. What is immediately apparent is that the BBC have already decided the Conservatives are a nailed-on certainty to win the election in May, so they have proffered to start wilfully chopping off pieces of their anatomy to please the incumbents-to-be, who have already made it palpably clear that they do not approve of any expansionist BBC policies.
But just why are the Tories so anti-Auntie, as it were? Could it be that their antipathy is bolstered by the influence of a powerful lobby group? A group that perhaps owns a popular red-top newspaper that has recently altered its allegiances in favour of Cameron & co? There is certainly compelling evidence that the Murdochs and their media empire are playing a pivotal role here. After all, the BBC in their eyes merely represent the final hurdle for NewsCorp to overcome before they can attain near-monopoly status in the UK media. So ol’ Rupert gets to set Tory party media policy, as well as the opportunity to trim the claws of his enemies, in return for promising the Tories favourable coverage in the election run-up. Backs thoroughly scratched all round. This is how democracy works now. Makes you proud, doesn’t it?
The Times, in a small article in today’s edition, played the angle that the BBC may freeze any licence fee increase as a result of the proposed cuts. They offer a sweetener to the reader, swaying opinion by suggesting that the cuts must be a good idea if they result in no licence fee hike. The commentary also uses phrases such as ‘reckless expansion’ to describe the BBC’s actions in recent years. Their stance is in no way related to Cameron’s repeated calls for a licence fee freeze. No way at all.
This is all of course just reason #873 why politics just stinks. The concerns of the general public simply no longer set the agenda. It’s massive media conglomerates with bones to pick that dictate party policy. The rest of us are just shouting into the breeze, straining in vain to make ourselves heard.
Probably a good reason for me to shut up now. But I’ll just leave one more morsel for thought:
People all too easily make demands on the BBC to stop producing programmes they’re not interested in, often shouting that they want ‘value for money’ or some such lazy slogan. But the BBC does not exist to pander to the bovine majority. If it did that it’d be just like every other cable/satellite channel pumping out endless hours of palliative mulch for the herd to chew on. The BBC has always been about taking chances. Think of the amount of creative talent over the years that got their big break at the Beeb. Remember also that Radio 1 at its inception was considered a daring venture. Of course Auntie is more than a little averse to taking risks these days, after the furore surrounding Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross. Suddenly the corporation seems to be hedging its bets in the face of some of the most virulent criticism it has ever faced.
Let’s just make this clear: 6 Music and the Asian Network need to be saved, if only for what radio stations such as this represent. Namely one of the fundamental principles of public service broadcasting - to provide something of value to all sections of society, rather than forever pandering to mainstream tastes. As Jonathan Freedland wrote today in the Guardian, “6 Music exists partly because if it wasn’t there, the market would never invent it: a specialist channel offering not the hamster’s wheel of a repetitive play list but curated, eclectic music.” This inclusive agenda has served us well for decades. Let’s not abandon it now.