Broadcasting: Recent Developments

Lord Bailey of Paddington Excerpts

Thursday 8th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)]

My Lords, I rise to add a little challenge and contrast to what is going on in this debate; it reminds me of the first debate that we had in your Lordships’ House about the state of the BBC, its behaviour and its relevance. As always, I speak to people from diverse communities, poorer communities and younger communities, and the message they want me to send to noble Lords, I believe, is one of challenge. It coalesces around these few points that I am going to give.

The first is relevance. It is certain—if this debate is taken as a measuring stick—that people of a certain vintage have great reverence for the BBC, and we hear an awful lot about what went on in the Second World War, and the message of hope that this country rightly gave to the rest of Europe and to the world. But, of course, if you are a 16 year-old girl from Ladbroke Grove, that has absolutely no relevance to you, and the BBC has questions to answer around relevance. The group of young people I spoke to pointed out that, for those between 16 and 24 years old, less than 50% watch terrestrial TV, or even catch-up TV, yet that is a lot of what the BBC is focused on putting out. When I spoke to these young people of university age, they said they resented paying for a service that they do not watch and that has very little relevant content for them. So, while you are all in here celebrating how great the BBC is, ask yourselves how relevant it is to people who do not come from your background and do not share your very high level of success and education.

On the question of bias, 50% of all Britons feel that the BBC is biased. Even if you do not, there are two questions to ask. Is it because they support your view, or do you think that the 50% of people who think the BBC is biased are wrong? Because it is a deeply held view by those 50%. Some think the BBC is biased to the left and some think it is biased to the right, but they are all agreed that the BBC is biased. When it comes to why they believe that to be true, it is not just about political output: left/right, trans issues or Donald Trump. They think it is a class issue. They see the BBC as having a white, middle-class, London-based view of the world. A young black man by the name of Raymond said to me:

“It is patronising to young people, and particularly patronising to young black people. It is a very middle-class view of what black people think”.


I thought that was a very interesting view, coming from a young man who had absolutely no reverence for the BBC and believed that he should get his money back—despite the fact that he is not paying for a TV licence because he is only 16.

The point has to be made: what is the BBC going to do in the future? I have some warm feelings for it. They may not be as warm as those of many in the Chamber, but I do have some warm feelings for it and I believe that this question of relevance is important. The noble Viscount, Lord Colville, talked a lot about what the BBC could be doing around technical development and AI, and I think that that is something it really should pursue. It could be of great use to this country, and particularly to its young people going forward in the future.

The international BBC service is obviously of great quality and very meaningful. My parents are Jamaican and will tell you what a profound impact it had in the Jamaican community and continues to have to this day. But, unless we in this Chamber challenge the view that all noble Lords seem to hold—that the BBC is beyond blame—I think the BBC will fade and die away. You might get away with it for the next 10 years, but in 10 years’ time Raymond will be 26. He will be paying for his licence and he will “come for his money”—those are his words, by the way.

So, when we talk about the BBC, let us do it with some balance; let us challenge it to improve itself. And, if you do not believe it is biased, remember that 50% of Britons do. We are talking about the BBC as it used to be, not as it is today.