Nobody will ever forgive the right if they destroy the BBC

Nowhere does the right show its isolation from its own country more vividly than when it demands the destruction of the BBC. The corporation is not like the telephone system, which you can pass into private ownership without anyone noticing. It is as integral to Britain as the monarchy and the NHS, which is why Scottish nationalists devote so much energy to denouncing it.

We are a small country, which is becoming smaller. In the world that is coming, Asian and African countries will have huge populations beside which Britain’s market of 70 million will seem puny.  Hence we subsidise culture that simply would not be produced in the private sector.

I like to imagine a right-wing columnist on this newspaper, or a Thatcherite minister, confronting their family the day after the BBC has gone. There will be no more Radio 4 or Radio 3, he will tell his partner. No more documentaries on British history, hardly any British dramas beyond soap operas and formulaic cop shows, no more Gardeners’ Question Time, Today programme, Antiques Road Show, Archers or Bake Off.

The family members would be appalled, because they understand what Conservatives in office and the right-wing media do not: the BBC is a conservative institution.