Dear Editor, I know that West Midlands MPs issued a statement a few weeks ago condemning the scandalous proposal by the BBC to further downgrade its presence in the Midlands, but the campaign I was expecting has not materialised.
This move will create a cultural desert in Britain’s second city, the most culturally diverse in the nation after London.
The West Midlands has roughly the same population as Scotland or, alternatively, the combined populations of Wales, Northern Ireland and the South West. Yet none of these areas are affected by the BBC’s cost reduction proposals to the same extent as the Midlands.
The point is that the licence fee is a quid pro quo. In return for my payment I expect an equivalent deal to everyone else in the country.
To its credit the BBC has recognised that its London-centric history was annoying to the majority who live outside the south east. But to create a Manchester-centric service in Salford Quays has actually made the position worse.
Already the irritating chippiness of the Mancunian approach has crept in to radio and TV broadcasts. If all the move to Manchester succeeds in doing is substituting a new self-appointed arrogant northern elite to replace the London one we were at least used to then it has already failed.
And those of us who live in the fascinating, beautiful swathe of country in between London and the north west – the home of Shakespeare, Elgar, heavy metal, British reggae, ska and two-tone, the Industrial Revolution and much more, full of the greatest mix of vibrant, talented, funny, warm, self-effacing people that I, as a native Londoner, have ever encountered – will just be ignored again.
We are already at an advanced stage of the consultation and I know that the desks of our representatives are full of important and pressing priorities at this festive season. My concern is that this proposal could easily be nodded through by default in the absence of any concerted campaign to retain and even increase BBC activity in this region.
Clive Firman, by email
