WE WANT #ABOLISHTHEBBC TRENDING ON TWITTER!
The BBC doesn't fear us specifically or our campaign, but DOES fear the idea behind our campaign: which is that the BBC can be abolished and dismantled like any other public institution. Our campaign is not the end of the BBC, but it is the beginning of the end - others will take up our idea and take up the baton. It is the idea that counts, not the people or organisations involved. One day the BBC, and the rest of the whole rotten Establishment in this country, will topple.
It is by spreading the idea - Abolish The BBC - that we will put fear into the BBC and the wider Left who depend on it.
Even if abolishing the BBC is not politically-possible, by spreading a meme that calls for this, we are helping to shift the parameters of debate. This may result in further reform of the BBC, but we want it to be shut down.
If the BBC is ever brought down, that will represent the biggest-ever reversal suffered by the Left in this country.
Our campaign hashtag embodies the idea: #AbolishTheBBC. It needs to become a popular meme that is repeated every time the BBC is criticised on social media. With that in mind, we today launch our #AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign.
The aim is simple: we want our campaign hashtag, #AbolishTheBBC, trending on Twitter by Thursday 18th. October 2018. It's a tall order, but even if we fail, we are confident that we will have started something - and that is the real point.
Today, 30th. September, has been selected purposefully. It is an important date in the BBC's history. It was the date in 1967 when Radio 1 was launched, and this year it is also the 89th. anniversary of the first television broadcast by the BBC.
Likewise, 18th. October is also historic for the BBC. It is the 96th. anniversary of the formation of the British Broadcasting Company on 18th. October 1922.
It would be poignant if, on that historic day, a major social media platform had #AbolishTheBBC trending. We doubt the BBC will report it, but it will be noted.
What we ask of our followers is that you include #AbolishTheBBC in your tweets at every opportunity - especially when your tweet is about the BBC. Please also make others aware of our campaign.
Showing posts with label campaigning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label campaigning. Show all posts
Sunday, 30 September 2018
Sunday, 23 September 2018
How You Can Help (Version VI)
YOU can help us.
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. Defund the BBC - stop paying the TV licence and boycott their programmes. You can safely ignore TVL (who enforce the TV licence): they can only take action against people who co-operate. Don't answer their letters. Ignore their letters. Don't telephone them. Don't go online to notify them. Just stop paying. Don't answer the door to them. Just ignore them.
4. Write to your local MP. If you're not sure who that is, you can search for your MP here. We also recommend you use the UK Parliament constituency search page to find your MP's exact contact details, once you know their name. Letters (snail mail) are the most effective, but e-mail is fine if that's all you have time for. It's best if you compose the letter in your own words, but if it helps, feel free to refer the MP to our website and key links such as the summary of our case against the BBC here. If you do e-mail, make sure you include your address within the constituency, as that ensures a reply. Do send us a copy of what you write and let us know if you receive a reply!
5. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
14. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. Defund the BBC - stop paying the TV licence and boycott their programmes. You can safely ignore TVL (who enforce the TV licence): they can only take action against people who co-operate. Don't answer their letters. Ignore their letters. Don't telephone them. Don't go online to notify them. Just stop paying. Don't answer the door to them. Just ignore them.
4. Write to your local MP. If you're not sure who that is, you can search for your MP here. We also recommend you use the UK Parliament constituency search page to find your MP's exact contact details, once you know their name. Letters (snail mail) are the most effective, but e-mail is fine if that's all you have time for. It's best if you compose the letter in your own words, but if it helps, feel free to refer the MP to our website and key links such as the summary of our case against the BBC here. If you do e-mail, make sure you include your address within the constituency, as that ensures a reply. Do send us a copy of what you write and let us know if you receive a reply!
5. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
6. Share our blog posts with others: click the social media links at the foot of each post.
7. Add your own comments to our blog posts to let us know you support us.
8. Visit and click 'Like' on our Facebook Page and invite others to do the same; 'Like' and share our Facebook posts.
9. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
9. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
10. Follow us on Twitter, add the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description, and press 'like' and 're-tweet' whenever you see one of our tweets.
11. Tell friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about our campaign and suggest they search online for our campaign #AbolishTheBBC.
12. Get in touch at campaigntoabolishthebbc@gmail.com, with messages of support, ideas, and suggestions.
13. Can you become a local contact for our campaign? We'd especially like to hear from people who live in the constituencies we are focusing on in Operation Target. Please check the list of the relevant target constituencies and get in touch with us if you're from one of those areas.14. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
We're Back!
We haven't gone away you know. We've always been here, but we've been busy with Operation Target, and now we're back. We've had some good responses from local communities, and we have a lot to report. We also see that the government have given their usual predictable and banal response to the petition. In the event, we decided not to write to the DCMS, as we realised that would be a waste of time - but we will be giving them our response to their response.
We also note that the petition sign-ups have slowed down somewhat, so further work will be required in that regard. Time to step-up a gear.
We also note that the petition sign-ups have slowed down somewhat, so further work will be required in that regard. Time to step-up a gear.
Monday, 10 September 2018
TARGET 20,000
THE NEW TARGET IS 20,000 SIGNATURES
Thank you very much for the support with our Campaign To Abolish The BBC, and thank you for all your support with the petition.
We don't have time for anything more than a short post as we all have regular work and also still have a large mass mailing to finish off for the campaign.
The petition is now at 10,000 signatures, which means a response from the government is required. We fully expect that the response will be dismissive, derisory, boilerplate rubbish. We will however be contacting the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport, the department we believe responsible for this, to outline the kind of response that would be helpful within the realpolitical parameters that exist at present. We hope they take some notice of us, but we don't hold out hope.
The target is now 20,000 signatures - a tall order, but let's see how near we can run!
Thanks again!
And just in case you haven't signed or shared the Tim Price Petition, here's a link.
Saturday, 8 September 2018
How You Can Help (Version V)
YOU can help us.
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. To help further promote the petition, a very easy but important step you can take is to open a free account over at buffer, the social media tool, and schedule some automated messages for your Twitter and Facebook accounts with the petition link. If you're really keen to help, then for maximum effect you should schedule for 4 or 5 messages to be sent out each day and re-schedule these every couple of days. We appreciate that's something of a commitment, so if you can only manage to schedule one message for each platform per day, that would still help greatly, and would also mean that you only need to re-schedule the automated messages on a weekly basis. Each message needs to be worded differently (though the change in wording need only be very slight) and should include the petition link [https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/226446].
4. Write to your local MP. If you're not sure who that is, you can search for your MP here. We also recommend you use the UK Parliament constituency search page to find your MP's exact contact details, once you know their name. Letters (snail mail) are the most effective, but e-mail is fine if that's all you have time for. It's best if you compose the letter in your own words, but if it helps, feel free to refer the MP to our website and key links such as the summary of our case against the BBC here. If you do e-mail, make sure you include your address within the constituency, as that ensures a reply. Do send us a copy of what you write and let us know if you receive a reply!
5. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
14. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. To help further promote the petition, a very easy but important step you can take is to open a free account over at buffer, the social media tool, and schedule some automated messages for your Twitter and Facebook accounts with the petition link. If you're really keen to help, then for maximum effect you should schedule for 4 or 5 messages to be sent out each day and re-schedule these every couple of days. We appreciate that's something of a commitment, so if you can only manage to schedule one message for each platform per day, that would still help greatly, and would also mean that you only need to re-schedule the automated messages on a weekly basis. Each message needs to be worded differently (though the change in wording need only be very slight) and should include the petition link [https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/226446].
4. Write to your local MP. If you're not sure who that is, you can search for your MP here. We also recommend you use the UK Parliament constituency search page to find your MP's exact contact details, once you know their name. Letters (snail mail) are the most effective, but e-mail is fine if that's all you have time for. It's best if you compose the letter in your own words, but if it helps, feel free to refer the MP to our website and key links such as the summary of our case against the BBC here. If you do e-mail, make sure you include your address within the constituency, as that ensures a reply. Do send us a copy of what you write and let us know if you receive a reply!
5. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
6. Share our blog posts with others: click the social media links at the foot of each post.
7. Add your own comments to our blog posts to let us know you support us.
8. Visit and click 'Like' on our Facebook Page and invite others to do the same; 'Like' and share our Facebook posts.
9. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
9. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
10. Follow us on Twitter, add the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description, and press 'like' and 're-tweet' whenever you see one of our tweets.
11. Tell friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about our campaign and suggest they search online for our campaign #AbolishTheBBC.
12. Get in touch at campaigntoabolishthebbc@gmail.com, with messages of support, ideas, and suggestions.
13. Can you become a local contact for our campaign? We'd especially like to hear from people who live in the constituencies we are focusing on in Operation Target. Please check the list of the relevant target constituencies and get in touch with us if you're from one of those areas.14. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
The Push To 10,000
The Tim Price Petition is now approaching 10,000 signatures. We expect it to finally reach that target over the next couple of weeks.
If you haven't already, please sign the petition and please also share the petition link as widely as possible among your friends, family, business contacts and work colleagues, etc.
In the meantime, we are busy with Operation Target. Consequently, posts to this site will continue to be sporadic, though a further update to our How You Can Help page will be added today. We hope to resume normal service early next week.
If you haven't already, please sign the petition and please also share the petition link as widely as possible among your friends, family, business contacts and work colleagues, etc.
In the meantime, we are busy with Operation Target. Consequently, posts to this site will continue to be sporadic, though a further update to our How You Can Help page will be added today. We hope to resume normal service early next week.
Tuesday, 4 September 2018
How You Can Help (Version IV)
YOU can help us.
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
12. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Tell your friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about the petition and give them the link so they can sign it too.
3. Support our #AbolishTheBBC Challenge and help us take on the BBC live on-air. Click here for more details.
4. Share our blog posts with others: click the social media links at the foot of each post.
5. Add your own comments to our blog posts to let us know you support us.
6. Visit and click 'Like' on our Facebook Page and invite others to do the same; 'Like' and share our Facebook posts.
7. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
7. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
8. Follow us on Twitter, add the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description, and press 'like' and 're-tweet' whenever you see one of our tweets.
9. Tell friends, family, contacts and work colleagues about our campaign and suggest they search online for our campaign #AbolishTheBBC.
10. Get in touch at campaigntoabolishthebbc@gmail.com, with messages of support, ideas, and suggestions.
11. Can you become a local contact for our campaign? We'd especially like to hear from people who live in the constituencies we are focusing on in Operation Target. Please check the list of the relevant target constituencies and get in touch with us if you're from one of those areas.12. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help? Please e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
Operation Target
Posts to this site may be sparse over the next few days as we are in the process of completing Operation Target: a mass mailing to influential individuals and organisations in specific areas of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Below is a list of these areas - there are 396 in total, being the parliamentary constituencies in which we believe opposition to the BBC is strongest. This is based on various data we have collected from public sources.
We aim to reduce this list down to around 100 constituencies over the long-term, but for now if your constituency is listed below, we would especially welcome you getting in touch with us, as we would like to work with contacts in as many of these areas as possible.
Thank you!
THE LIST
1. Aldershot
2. Aldridge-Brownhills
3. Altrincham and Sale West
4. Alyn and Deeside
5. Amber Valley
6. Angus
7. Argyll and Bute
8. Arundel and South Downs
9. Ashfield
10. Ashford
11. Ashton-under-Lyne
12. Banbury
13. Barnsley Central
14. Barnsley East
15. Barrow and Furness
16. Basildon and Billericay
17. Basingstoke
18. Bassetlaw
19. Beckenham
20. Belfast East
21. Berwick-upon-Tweed
22. Beverley and Holderness
23. Bexhill and Battle
24. Bexleyheath and Crayford
25. Birmingham Northfield
26. Bishop Auckland
27. Blackley and Broughton
28. Blackpool and Cleveleys
29. Blackpool South
30. Blaydon
31. Blythe Valley
32. Bognor Regis and Littlehampton
33. Bolsover
34. Bolton North-East
35. Bolton West
36. Boston and Skegness
37. Bosworth
38. Bournemouth East
39. Bournemouth West
40. Bracknell
41. Bradford East
42. Braintree
43. Brecon and Radnorshire
44. Brentwood and Ongar
45. Bridgend
46. Bridgwater and West Somerset
47. Brigg and Goole
48. Brighton, Pavilion
49. Bristol East
50. Bristol South
51. Broadland
52. Bromsgrove
53. Broxtowe
54. Buckingham
55. Burnley
56. Burton
57. Bury North
58. Bury South
59. Bury St. Edmonds
60. Caerphilly
61. Calder Valley
62. Camborne and Redruth
63. Cannock Chase
64. Canterbury
65. Cardiff South and Penarth
66. Carlisle
67. Carmarthen East and Dinefwr
68. Carshalton and Wallington
69. Castle Point
70. Central Ayrshire
71. Central Devon
72. Central Suffolk and North Ipswich
73. Charnwood
74. Chelmsford
75. Chelsea and Fulham
76. Chichester
77. Christchurch
78. Cities of London and Westminster
79. City of Chester
80. City of Durham
81. Clacton
82. Cleethorpes
83. Clwyd South
84. Clwyd West
85. Colne Valley
86. Congleton
87. Copeland
88. Coventry North-West
89. Coventry South
90. Crawley
91. Crewe and Nantwich
92. Croydon Central
93. Croydon North
94. Darlington
95. Dartford
96. Daventry
97. Delyn
98. Denton and Reddish
99. Devizes
100. Dewsbury
101. Don Valley
102. Doncaster North
103. Dover
104. Dudley South
105. Dumfries and Galloway
106. Dundee West
107. Dunfermline and West Fife
108. Ealing Central & Acton
109. Easington,
110. East Devon
111. East Hampshire
112. East Lothian
113. East Surrey
114. East Worthing and East Shoreham
115. East Yorkshire
116. Eastbourne
117. Eastleigh
118. Ellesmere Port and Neston
119. Elmet and Rothwell
120. Eltham
121. Epping Forest
122. Epsom and Ewell
123. Erith and Thamesmead
124. Esher and Walton
125. Fareham
126. Filton and Bradley Stoke
127. Folkestone and Hyde
128. Forest of Dean
129. Flyde
130. Gainsborough
131. Gedling
132. Gillingham and Rainham
133. Glasgow Central
134. Gloucester
135. Gosport
136. Grantham and Stamford
137. Gravesham
138. Great Grimsby
139. Great Yarmouth
140. Hackney South and Shoreditch
141. Halesowen and Rowley Regis
142. Halifax
143. Haltemprice and Howden
144. Halton
145. Hammersmith
146. Hampstead and Kilburn
147. Harlow
148. Harrogate and Knaresborough
149. Hartlepool
150. Harwich and North Essex
151. Hastings and Rye
152. Havant
153. Hazel Grove
154. Hemel Hempstead
155. Hemsworth
156. Henley
157. Hereford and South Herefordshire
158. Hertford and Stortford
159. Hertsmere
160. Hexham
161. Heywood and Middleton
161. High Peak
162. Holborn and St. Pancreas
163. Hornchurch and Upminster
164. Hornsey and Wood Green
165. Horsham
166. Hove
167. Huntingdon
168. Ipswich
169. Isle of Wight
170. Islington South and Finsbury
171. Jarrow
172. Keighley
173. Kettering
174. Kingston and Surbiton
175. Kingston-upon-Hull North
176. Kingston-upon-Hull West and Hessle
177. Kingswood
178. Lagan Valley
179. Lancaster and Fleetwood
180. Leeds Central
181. Leeds North-East
182. Leeds West
183. Leicester West
184. Leigh
185. Lewes
186. Lincoln
187. Llanelli
188. Loughborough
189. Louth and Horncastle
190. Luton South
191. Macclesfield
192. Makerfield
193. Maldon
194. Manchester Central
195. Manchester, Withington
196. Mansfield
197. Meon Valley
198. Meriden
199. Mid-Bedfordshire
200. Mid-Dorset and North Poole
201. Mid Norfolk
201. Mid Sussex
202. Middlesbrough
203. Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland
204. Milton Keynes North
205. Milton Keynes South
206. Mole Valley
207. Montgomeryshire
208. Moray
209. Morecambe and Lunesdale
210. Morley and Outwood
211. Motherwell and Wishaw
212. New Forest East
213. Newark
214. Newbury
215. Newcastle-upon-Tyne Central
216. Newcastle-upon-Tyne North
217. Newcastle-under-Lyme
218. Newport East
219. Newton Abbot
220. Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford
221. North Aryrshire and Arran
222. North Devon
223. North Dorset
224. North Down
225. North Durham
226. North-East Bedfordshire
227. North-East Cambridgeshire
228. North-East Hampshire
229. North-East Hertfordshire
230. North Norfolk
231. North Shropshire
232. North Somerset
233. North Swindon
234. North Thanet
235. North Tyneside
236. North Warwickshire
237. North-West Cambridgeshire
238. North-West Durham
239. North-West Hampshire
240. North-West Leicestershire
241. North Wiltshire
242. Northampton North
243. Northampton South
244. Norwich North
245. Nottingham North
246. Nottingham South
247. Nuneaton
248. Ochil and South Perthshire
249. Oldham East and Saddleworth
250. Oldham West and Royton
251. Orpington
252. Pendle
253. Penistone and Stocksbridge
254. Perth and North Perthshire
255. Peterborough
256. Plymouth, Moor View
257. Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
258. Poole
259. Portsmouth North
260. Portsmouth South
261. Putney
262. Rayleigh Witford
263. Reading East
264. Redcar
265. Reigate
266. Ribble Valley
267. Richmond (Yorks)
268. Richmond Park
269. Rochdale
270. Rochester and Strood
271. Rochford and Southend East
272. Romford
273. Rossendale and Darwen
274. Rotherham
275. Rother Valley
276. Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner
277. Rutland and Melton
278. Saffron Walden
279. Salford and Eccles
280. Salisbury
281. Scarborough and Whitby
282. Scunthorpe
283. Sefton Central
284. Selby and Ainsty
285. Sevenoaks
286. Sheffield South-East
287. Sheffield, Hallam
288. Sherwood
289. Shrewsbury and Atcham
290. Sittingbourne and Sheppey
291. Skipton and Ripon
292. Sleaford and North Hykeham
293. Somerton and Frome
294. South Antrim
295. South Basildon and East Thurrock
296. South Derbyshire
297. South Dorset
298. South East Cambridgeshire
299. South Cornwall
300. South Holland and The Deepings
301. South Leicestershire
302. South Norfolk
303. South Northamptonshire
304. South Ribble
305. South Staffordshire
306. South Swindon
307. South Thanet
308. South-West Bedfordshire
309. South Devon
310. South Thanet
311. South-West Bedfordshire
312. South-West Devon
313. South-East Hertfordshire
314. South-West Norfolk
315. South-West Surrey
316. South-West Wiltshire
317. Southampton, Itchen
318. Southampton, Test
319. Spelthorne
320. St Albans
321. St. Austell and Newquay
322. St. Helens North
323. St. Helens South and Whiston
324. St. Ives
325. Staffordshire Moorlands
326. Stalybridge and Hyde
327. Stockton North
328. Stockton South
329. Stoke-on-Trent North
330. Stoke-on-Trent South
331. Stone
332. Streatham
333. Stretford and Urmston
334. Stroud
335. Suffolk Coastal
336. Sunderland Central
337. Surrey Heath
338. Sutton and Cheam
339. Sutton Coldfield
340. Swansea East
341. Swansea West
342. Tamworth
343. Tatton
344. Taunton Dean
345. Telford
346. Tewksbury
347. The Cotswolds
348. The Wrekin
349. Thirsk and Malton
350. Thornberry and Yate
351. Thurrock
352. Tiverton and Honiton
353. Tonbridge and Malling
354. Torbay
355. Torridge and West Devon
356. Totnes
357. Tunbridge and Falmouth
358. Tunbridge Wells
359. Twickenham
360. Tynemouth
361. Vale of Clwyd
362. Wakefield
363. Wansbeck
364. Wantage
365. Warrington North
366. Warrington South
367. Warwick and Leamington
368. Washington and Sunderland West
369. Watford
370. Waveney
371. Wealdon
372. Weaver Vale
373. Wellingborough
374. Wells
375. Welwyn Hatfield
376. Wentworth and Dearne
377. West Bromwich West
378. West Dorset
379. West Lancashire
380. West Suffolk
381. Weston-super-Mare
382. Wigan
383. Winchester
384. Wirral South
385. Whitham
386. Woking
387. Wokingham
388. Wolverhampton North-East
389. Wolverhampton South-East
390. Workington
391. Worthing West
392. Wycombe
392. Wyre and Preston North
393. Wyre Forest
394. Yeovil
395. Ynys Môn
396. York Central
Monday, 3 September 2018
A Big Thank You! and Social Media Update
A quick word to say Thank You! to all those who participated in our #AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign Dry Run yesterday.
Very importantly, we also want to make a point here of thanking those of you on social media who always 'like' and share our posts. We really appreciate your efforts!
The next important date for our social media strategy is Sunday 30th. September 2018, when we will be kicking-off our #AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign for real. Details to follow.
30th. September has been selected purposefully. It is an important date in the BBC's history. It was the date in 1967 when Radio 1 was launched, and this year it is also the 89th. anniversary of the first television broadcast by the BBC.
Very importantly, we also want to make a point here of thanking those of you on social media who always 'like' and share our posts. We really appreciate your efforts!
The next important date for our social media strategy is Sunday 30th. September 2018, when we will be kicking-off our #AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign for real. Details to follow.
30th. September has been selected purposefully. It is an important date in the BBC's history. It was the date in 1967 when Radio 1 was launched, and this year it is also the 89th. anniversary of the first television broadcast by the BBC.
Saturday, 1 September 2018
#AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign - Dry Run
On Sunday 2nd. September 2018, we're organising a 'dry run' for our #AbolishTheBBC Twitter Campaign.
Our ultimate aim is to get our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC trending, but for now, we just want to give some ideas a try and also promote the Tim Price Petition.
On Sunday 2nd. September 2018, YOU can help promote our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC on Twitter by doing the following:
STEP ONE
Please add our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description on Twitter as we have done (and add it to your profiles elsewhere if you have other social media accounts like Gab and Facebook):
STEP TWO
Then re-tweet each of those tweets, adding the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to these new tweets:
Our ultimate aim is to get our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC trending, but for now, we just want to give some ideas a try and also promote the Tim Price Petition.
On Sunday 2nd. September 2018, YOU can help promote our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC on Twitter by doing the following:
STEP ONE
Please add our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description on Twitter as we have done (and add it to your profiles elsewhere if you have other social media accounts like Gab and Facebook):
STEP TWO
On Sunday 2nd. September 2018, please send the following two tweets [the difference between the
tweets is due to Twitter spam controls]. Remember to include in both tweets the petition link [https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/226446]:
PLEASE SIGN AND RE-TWEET THIS PETITION TO #AbolishTheBBC https://t.co/zZ9OylUbSP— Campaign To Abolish The BBC (@AbolishTheBBC) September 1, 2018
STEP THREESign and RT this petition to #AbolishTheBBC https://t.co/zZ9OylUbSP— Campaign To Abolish The BBC (@AbolishTheBBC) September 1, 2018
Then re-tweet each of those tweets, adding the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to these new tweets:
— Campaign To Abolish The BBC (@AbolishTheBBC) September 1, 2018
— Campaign To Abolish The BBC (@AbolishTheBBC) September 1, 2018STEP FOUR
It also helps if can like and RT any other tweets you happen
to see around Twitter that have the #AbolishTheBBC campaign hashtag.
STEP FIVE
If you're really keen, include the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC in all your tweets on Sunday 2nd. September 2018.
THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!
Friday, 31 August 2018
Have You Received An E-mail From Us?
Thank you for reading the e-mail we sent you, and thank you for visiting our site.
We'd like to stress that the most important thing you can do to help bring about change at the BBC is to sign the latest petition. Here's the link. Please share that link with your friends, family and contacts - thank you very much.
More About Us
We appreciate you taking the time to find out more about our campaign. Here we will explain things a little bit and also set out why this issue may be relevant to you and your local community.
We know you are busy, so we will try to keep this relatively brief.
As explained in the e-mail, our campaign is for the abolition of the BBC.
We summarise why we oppose the BBC in this link. The issues we take are both with the concept of a state broadcaster and with the way the BBC itself operates. It is clear to us that the BBC cannot be reformed. Reform has been promised in the past and little or nothing has been achieved.
We demand nothing less than the total shutdown and closure of the BBC and its disposal by asset sale. In doing so, Britain would become perhaps the world's first country other than the United States without a state broadcaster - a major step forward for civil liberties and an example to the international community.
What Does 'Abolition' Mean?
In practical terms, abolition of the BBC means:
- all BBC transmissions, radio and television, to cease on a specific date and at a specified time to be decided by Parliament;
- the shutdown and closure of all BBC operations;
- revocation of the Royal Charter under which the BBC operates as a so-called 'public service broadcaster'. This can be done by a government minister (under Crown prerogative), with approval by Parliament;
- dissolution of the statutory Corporation (this requires an Act of Parliament);
- receivership, break-up and sale on the commercial market of all the BBC's assets;
- the proceeds of this sale to be placed under the custodianship of a legacy trust (two government ministers as the trustees, and administered by civil servants), which will meet all continuing contractual, statutory and legal obligations whatsoever of the BBC (including commercial debts, redundancy payments, pension commitments and so on);
- for the avoidance of doubt, abolition of the TV licence in Britain (each of the Crown Dependencies, where the TV licence also applies, would make their own decisions according to local circumstances);
- the refund of TV licence money to licence payers through time-limited claims at branches of the Post Office (and perhaps other government-approved outlets); and,
- any surplus from the legacy trust to be paid annually to support community-based broadcasting and other non-state media initiatives that Parliament may wish to assist.
What Are The Aims Of The Campaign Itself?
Our primary aim is to persuade a major political party to adopt abolition of the BBC as its policy.
Through this campaign, our further aims are to raise awareness of the problems with the BBC and build popular momentum for the cause of abolition - both to address what we regard as the evils of the BBC itself and also to abolish state media in this country for good, in the interests of all.
How Is All This Relevant To Local Communities?
The BBC is relevant to local communities in the following ways:
(i). Individuals and households are often the subject of aggressive, harassing and intrusive inquiries from the BBC's TV licence enforcement arm, TVL. The BBC can and does criminally prosecute individuals - resulting in fines, and occasionally imprisonment when the fines are not paid. This causes needless worry and distress, often for innocent people or people who simply cannot afford a TV licence.
(ii). There are consequences for the taxpayer in that the BBC's enforcement costs money, and the BBC is also subsidised in this regard by the involvement of the police (to keep the peace both during the execution of search warrants and when ensuing criminal fines are enforced through levy and seizure of goods), and through the involvement of lawyers, the courts, social workers and prisons, and others. Some of these costs - mainly the police and social services - have to be met from local budgets.
(iii). The BBC plays an important role in news gathering everywhere in the country. Stories from the BBC cascade down to local and regional press, and often local and regional journalists will pick up on and pursue the narrative set down by the BBC. This helps set the political tone in society. We believe the BBC's bias is generally towards the political Left and towards metropolitan concerns. Even if you are politically of the Left yourself, the concern we are asking you to consider here is that the bias results in important issues that affect the public being omitted and censored from public debate.
(iv). The BBC's coverage is generally London-centric and reflects metropolitan preoccupations. This bias, together with the sheer massiveness of the BBC, helps to stifle discussion and debate of problems and issues in the rest of the country. Furthermore, when the BBC does discuss parts of the country outside London and the south-east, it tends to be in a way that is negative and focuses on problems. Of course, there are problems and they need to be discussed, but the negativity reflects a patronising attitude that BBC people have to the rest of the country. The regions, whether in England, Scotland or Wales, do not have their own inimitable broadcasting. BBC regional operations are mere cost centres and branches of the BBC, and mostly, if not entirely, fronted by a series of journeymen presenters who are not from whatever is the relevant county or region and who are believers in the narrow social dogmas that prevail within the BBC institutionally.
(v). The BBC does not, or does very little to, celebrate and highlight the regional cultures of Britain and its heritage. Instead, the BBC has pursued a bland, anodyne, multi-cultural attitude to Britain and often presents white British cultures and ethno-nations in particular as 'problems' to be dealt with rather than unique and distinctive aspects of British life to be celebrated.
How You Can Help Us
If You Agree With Us, then please sign the latest anti-BBC petition. Please also share the petition link widely with family, friends, contacts and work colleagues. Please also consider assisting us in other ways, as explained in this link.
If You Want Change At The BBC, Not Abolition, then please sign the petition anyway, as that will help put pressure on the BBC. Please also share the petition link with family, friends, contacts, work colleagues, etc.
If You Disagree With Us, that is fair. We know that the BBC does have support and we obviously appreciate that not everybody will agree with us - in which case, thank you for your time.
Questions? Comments?
If you have questions or comments for us, or if anything is unclear, please feel free to e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
We'd like to stress that the most important thing you can do to help bring about change at the BBC is to sign the latest petition. Here's the link. Please share that link with your friends, family and contacts - thank you very much.
More About Us
We appreciate you taking the time to find out more about our campaign. Here we will explain things a little bit and also set out why this issue may be relevant to you and your local community.
We know you are busy, so we will try to keep this relatively brief.
As explained in the e-mail, our campaign is for the abolition of the BBC.
We summarise why we oppose the BBC in this link. The issues we take are both with the concept of a state broadcaster and with the way the BBC itself operates. It is clear to us that the BBC cannot be reformed. Reform has been promised in the past and little or nothing has been achieved.
We demand nothing less than the total shutdown and closure of the BBC and its disposal by asset sale. In doing so, Britain would become perhaps the world's first country other than the United States without a state broadcaster - a major step forward for civil liberties and an example to the international community.
What Does 'Abolition' Mean?
In practical terms, abolition of the BBC means:
- all BBC transmissions, radio and television, to cease on a specific date and at a specified time to be decided by Parliament;
- the shutdown and closure of all BBC operations;
- revocation of the Royal Charter under which the BBC operates as a so-called 'public service broadcaster'. This can be done by a government minister (under Crown prerogative), with approval by Parliament;
- dissolution of the statutory Corporation (this requires an Act of Parliament);
- receivership, break-up and sale on the commercial market of all the BBC's assets;
- the proceeds of this sale to be placed under the custodianship of a legacy trust (two government ministers as the trustees, and administered by civil servants), which will meet all continuing contractual, statutory and legal obligations whatsoever of the BBC (including commercial debts, redundancy payments, pension commitments and so on);
- for the avoidance of doubt, abolition of the TV licence in Britain (each of the Crown Dependencies, where the TV licence also applies, would make their own decisions according to local circumstances);
- the refund of TV licence money to licence payers through time-limited claims at branches of the Post Office (and perhaps other government-approved outlets); and,
- any surplus from the legacy trust to be paid annually to support community-based broadcasting and other non-state media initiatives that Parliament may wish to assist.
What Are The Aims Of The Campaign Itself?
Our primary aim is to persuade a major political party to adopt abolition of the BBC as its policy.
Through this campaign, our further aims are to raise awareness of the problems with the BBC and build popular momentum for the cause of abolition - both to address what we regard as the evils of the BBC itself and also to abolish state media in this country for good, in the interests of all.
How Is All This Relevant To Local Communities?
The BBC is relevant to local communities in the following ways:
(i). Individuals and households are often the subject of aggressive, harassing and intrusive inquiries from the BBC's TV licence enforcement arm, TVL. The BBC can and does criminally prosecute individuals - resulting in fines, and occasionally imprisonment when the fines are not paid. This causes needless worry and distress, often for innocent people or people who simply cannot afford a TV licence.
(ii). There are consequences for the taxpayer in that the BBC's enforcement costs money, and the BBC is also subsidised in this regard by the involvement of the police (to keep the peace both during the execution of search warrants and when ensuing criminal fines are enforced through levy and seizure of goods), and through the involvement of lawyers, the courts, social workers and prisons, and others. Some of these costs - mainly the police and social services - have to be met from local budgets.
(iii). The BBC plays an important role in news gathering everywhere in the country. Stories from the BBC cascade down to local and regional press, and often local and regional journalists will pick up on and pursue the narrative set down by the BBC. This helps set the political tone in society. We believe the BBC's bias is generally towards the political Left and towards metropolitan concerns. Even if you are politically of the Left yourself, the concern we are asking you to consider here is that the bias results in important issues that affect the public being omitted and censored from public debate.
(iv). The BBC's coverage is generally London-centric and reflects metropolitan preoccupations. This bias, together with the sheer massiveness of the BBC, helps to stifle discussion and debate of problems and issues in the rest of the country. Furthermore, when the BBC does discuss parts of the country outside London and the south-east, it tends to be in a way that is negative and focuses on problems. Of course, there are problems and they need to be discussed, but the negativity reflects a patronising attitude that BBC people have to the rest of the country. The regions, whether in England, Scotland or Wales, do not have their own inimitable broadcasting. BBC regional operations are mere cost centres and branches of the BBC, and mostly, if not entirely, fronted by a series of journeymen presenters who are not from whatever is the relevant county or region and who are believers in the narrow social dogmas that prevail within the BBC institutionally.
(v). The BBC does not, or does very little to, celebrate and highlight the regional cultures of Britain and its heritage. Instead, the BBC has pursued a bland, anodyne, multi-cultural attitude to Britain and often presents white British cultures and ethno-nations in particular as 'problems' to be dealt with rather than unique and distinctive aspects of British life to be celebrated.
How You Can Help Us
If You Agree With Us, then please sign the latest anti-BBC petition. Please also share the petition link widely with family, friends, contacts and work colleagues. Please also consider assisting us in other ways, as explained in this link.
If You Want Change At The BBC, Not Abolition, then please sign the petition anyway, as that will help put pressure on the BBC. Please also share the petition link with family, friends, contacts, work colleagues, etc.
If You Disagree With Us, that is fair. We know that the BBC does have support and we obviously appreciate that not everybody will agree with us - in which case, thank you for your time.
Questions? Comments?
If you have questions or comments for us, or if anything is unclear, please feel free to e-mail us.
THANK YOU!
Tim Price Petition & General Campaign Update
The Tim Price Petition is going respectably, but - as we expected - sign-ups have slowed-down after the initial novelty wore off. At just over 7,000 signatures, the petition has reached the natural limit of what can be achieved based on low-intensity effort. In particular, we noticed that over the last two days there have been virtually no new sign-ups without our active intervention. We are not aware of any other organised efforts to promote this petition. Taking these points together, any further progress will depend entirely on our own exertions and those of our supporters.
As of this morning, we've stepped-up our sign-up efforts and we're starting to get lots of interest again. Certainly, we want the Petition up to 10,000 signatures at some point in September, if we can. Given the radicalism of the Petition, even just 10,000 signatures overall would be respectable, though we do hope to exceed this.
We're also slowly building-up our campaign in other ways:
1. From tomorrow, we will be sending our a mass mailing to key contacts and influencers in local communities where support for the petition is strongest. This will be an e-mail in which we raise awareness of our campaign and the issues with the BBC, and ask that recipients sign and spread the word about the latest petition.
2. We intend to get our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC trending on Twitter. Over this weekend, we will be bringing together the tweeps who want to help us with this for a 'dry run' and to formally launch this aspect of our campaign.
3. We will also be developing our web and social media presence further and hope to improve the look and professionalism of our 'brand'. Some tentative steps will also be taken towards putting our campaign on a more 'legal' footing.
4. We will also be looking at ways to hone our social media strategy and work with other campaigners on lines of attack.
5. We will be expanding our presence online and looking at avenues to spread our message to a wider range of people as well as improve communication with our existing contacts and supporters.
6. We will be looking at how we can reach out to other pressure groups with similar interests, not just in broadcasting-related matters but across the spectrum of issues. Some of these, we hope, will help spread the word about our campaign and the petition; others may assist our campaign in other ways, and possibly vice versa.
7. If the petition sign-ups continue to climb, we will consider making a surgery appointment with one or more of our activists' constituency MPs in order to begin pressing our case at a more formal level. We know the reception we are likely to receive in some quarters, but we also know that at least a few MPs, especially in the Conservative Party, are (to some degree or other) quietly sympathetic to campaigns such as ours.
8. Another major aspect of our campaign at this stage is related to policy work. We intend to write to every political party and campaign group registered with the Electoral Commission, and any non-registered parties and groups of which we are aware, with a series of questions regarding their policy on broadcasting and the BBC. This is the first stage of our Green Paper process, which we hope will culminate in a consultation to be circulated among our supporters and any other interested parties.
9. Finally, we will be filing a complaint with the House of Commons' Petitions Committee regarding the handling of our original petition application. We are of the view that our own petition, which explicitly called for abolition of the BBC, was wrongly rejected. Nothing can be done about that now, but we want to seek assurances from the Committee about the handling of any such applications in the future. We also believe there are flaws in the petition process, which should be drawn to the attention of the Committee and on which we will be seeking a response and comment.
As of this morning, we've stepped-up our sign-up efforts and we're starting to get lots of interest again. Certainly, we want the Petition up to 10,000 signatures at some point in September, if we can. Given the radicalism of the Petition, even just 10,000 signatures overall would be respectable, though we do hope to exceed this.
We're also slowly building-up our campaign in other ways:
1. From tomorrow, we will be sending our a mass mailing to key contacts and influencers in local communities where support for the petition is strongest. This will be an e-mail in which we raise awareness of our campaign and the issues with the BBC, and ask that recipients sign and spread the word about the latest petition.
2. We intend to get our campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC trending on Twitter. Over this weekend, we will be bringing together the tweeps who want to help us with this for a 'dry run' and to formally launch this aspect of our campaign.
3. We will also be developing our web and social media presence further and hope to improve the look and professionalism of our 'brand'. Some tentative steps will also be taken towards putting our campaign on a more 'legal' footing.
4. We will also be looking at ways to hone our social media strategy and work with other campaigners on lines of attack.
5. We will be expanding our presence online and looking at avenues to spread our message to a wider range of people as well as improve communication with our existing contacts and supporters.
6. We will be looking at how we can reach out to other pressure groups with similar interests, not just in broadcasting-related matters but across the spectrum of issues. Some of these, we hope, will help spread the word about our campaign and the petition; others may assist our campaign in other ways, and possibly vice versa.
7. If the petition sign-ups continue to climb, we will consider making a surgery appointment with one or more of our activists' constituency MPs in order to begin pressing our case at a more formal level. We know the reception we are likely to receive in some quarters, but we also know that at least a few MPs, especially in the Conservative Party, are (to some degree or other) quietly sympathetic to campaigns such as ours.
8. Another major aspect of our campaign at this stage is related to policy work. We intend to write to every political party and campaign group registered with the Electoral Commission, and any non-registered parties and groups of which we are aware, with a series of questions regarding their policy on broadcasting and the BBC. This is the first stage of our Green Paper process, which we hope will culminate in a consultation to be circulated among our supporters and any other interested parties.
9. Finally, we will be filing a complaint with the House of Commons' Petitions Committee regarding the handling of our original petition application. We are of the view that our own petition, which explicitly called for abolition of the BBC, was wrongly rejected. Nothing can be done about that now, but we want to seek assurances from the Committee about the handling of any such applications in the future. We also believe there are flaws in the petition process, which should be drawn to the attention of the Committee and on which we will be seeking a response and comment.
Tuesday, 28 August 2018
How You Can Help (Version III)
YOU can help us.
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
Here's how:
1. Sign the latest anti-BBC petition. [Note: UK Parliament will send you an e-mail with a link that you need to click on to confirm your signature to the petition. If it doesn't appear in your Inbox, please check your Spam/Junk folder].
2. Share our blog posts with others: click the social media links at the foot of each post.
3. Add your own comments to our blog posts to let us know you support us.
4. Visit and click 'Like' on our Facebook Page and invite others to do the same; 'Like' and share our Facebook posts.
5. If you use Facebook a lot, add our campaign banner to your profile photo. Just save the .png image below to your computer [right-click, then Save as...], then go to the Facebook frames page and follow the instructions.
6. Follow us on Twitter, add the campaign hashtag #AbolishTheBBC to your profile description, and press 'like' and 're-tweet' whenever you see one of our tweets.
7. Tell friends, family and work colleagues about our campaign and suggest they search online for our campaign hashtag: google #AbolishTheBBC
8. Get in touch at campaigntoabolishthebbc@gmail.com, with messages of support, ideas, and suggestions.
9. We're especially keen to hear from anybody who can promote our campaign and spread the word. Perhaps you have a network of contacts or influencers who can help?
THANK YOU!
Monday, 27 August 2018
Resistance News 001
At least in Scotland they dont send BBC TV Licence evaders to prison like they do in England & Wales. 📺@BBCNews pic.twitter.com/ebqxbz9s0U— JobCentreSUCKS (@DWPscumbags) August 23, 2018
The #AbolishTheBBC Challenge
Our challenge to the BBC:
1. Mention, just once, our campaign hashtag, #AbolishTheBBC, live on one of your shows, so that the BBC's own viewers and listeners can seek us out and decide for themselves about the BBC.
2. In addition, or in the alternative, we are happy to put forward one of our number for an interview on a live broadcast of yours - radio or television. On the simple condition that we can speak freely and mention our campaign, you can ask us whatever you like. All you need to do is e-mail us to make the necessary arrangements.
*********************************************************************************
Further Comment
To the best of our knowledge, nobody at the BBC has taken us up on 1 above, and certainly the BBC has not taken us up on 2 above. This is puzzling - what could the BBC possibly have to fear by informing its own loyal viewers and listeners of our campaign? Ipso facto, viewers and listeners should be dutiful supporters of the BBC rather than us.
The Reithian Principles and the BBC’s own notional commitment to 'impartiality' require that all viewpoints are heard. Replying to us on social media (which several BBC personalities have done) is not enough, the BBC is a broadcaster. So we await contact from somebody at the BBC - either they mention our campaign hashtag or they invite us on air. They can contact us at any time.
We expect to be issuing this challenge to everybody we encounter from the BBC.
*********************************************************************************
How You Can Help
If you support our campaign:
1. Send the BBC a link to this page and ask them why they haven't taken us up on The #AbolishTheBBC Challenge.
2. Issue the BBC with your own #AbolishTheBBC Challenge along the same lines - and if you make it onto the air, or the BBC mention you, let us know!
THANK YOU!
Sunday, 26 August 2018
A Word For Infogalactic
We agree with Alt Right figure Vox Day that those of us who in some way oppose the present dispensation need to create and support independent structures and digital platforms. It's a message that coheres with an important aspect of our central case against the BBC: that the era of state information and broadcasting must come to an end. We want to practice what we preach, and we can begin by supporting and highlighting the work of those who already do.
For this reason, where possible we now use Infogalactic as our baseline
source for referencing and fact verification. Infogalactic is an excellent information source, and we like that it is decentralised, rejects dogma, and opposes the censorship practiced by Wikipedia. Infogalactic is truth-driven and focused on reliability and verification. For more information, refer to Infogalactic's Seven Canons.
You will find links to Infogalactic in many of our articles. We
encourage our readers and supporters to visit Infogalactic whenever possible, and we have added a permanent link in the
right-hand column.
We wish to add that we have no commercial affiliation or association with
Infogalactic or its backers, and we do not gain by promoting their site and
resource here - we just believe strongly in what they are doing.
Saturday, 25 August 2018
Non-Payment Is A Tactic, Not A Strategy
The clip is valuable for the information and perspective it offers, and we must credit the BBC with allowing such a debate on its own airtime. Nick Ross is quite knowledgeable and articulate on the subject. He argues against the TV licence, calling it "anachronistic", "increasingly archaic" and heading for redundancy, and assumes that the BBC want to keep it.
Ross is right on the first point (with the caveat that the TV licence is already redundant), but we think he is wrong on the latter point – the BBC’s senior management want to get
rid of the TV licence, if anything more than the non-payers and protesters/campaigners do. They are not afraid
of competition. Why would they be? They have eight decades of public investment
in a world-class brand behind them and (generally-speaking) world-class journalistic and
broadcasting talent at their immediate disposal. Really, the idea that the BBC is afraid to lose the TV
licence is completely ridiculous. Commercialisation? Subscriptions?
Privatisation? These don't scare the top people at the BBC, whatever they may say in their press releases. There is no lack of vision and no "risk aversion".
The real reason we still have the TV licence is, oddly enough, down to politics: it
gives the government political control over the BBC, without the downside of
accountability and answerability for its output that there would be if the BBC were funded out of general taxation. That, in one sentence, is what this is all
about. The BBC is, properly-understood, a state broadcaster, and
the TV licence is the perfect arrangement for politicians.
The solution is abolition and closure of the BBC for
good. Anything less plays into their
hands and will just leave us stuck with a hybrid Channel Four/LBC-style
left-wing media conglomerate with a super-dominant market position. In that scenario, the BBC will go on
forever.
Bring down the BBC by not paying for your licence? We can almost hear the laughter at
Broadcasting House. “Go ahead!” will be
the response. Myoptic personal tactics like non-payment are fine as far as they go, but not
enough. On its own, that will drag us into a scenario similar to Australia, which ended its TV licence, only to continue with state broadcasting but funded out of general taxation - a much worse system. Or it will lead to commercialisation, which will put the BBC in an unassailable position, free to continue with its campaign to undermine and destroy Britain under the guise of a prestigious brand with a "public service remit".
We need a political strategy for complete abolition, and
it needs to start now, not 10 or 15 years down the line – otherwise the end of
the BBC will be like Brexit: another stitch-up. As Ross says in the clip, the private sector providers, ITV and Channel Four, are quite able to fulfil the necessary public service obligations, so far as they are commercially practicable. We have no need for the BBC. It has completed its mission and should now be dismantled.
Friday, 24 August 2018
So You Think Petitions Are A Waste Of Time?
Some people are understandably sceptical as to the effectiveness of petitions, and even think they are a waste of time.
(vi). Critics sometimes argue that petitions are a sham intended to fool us into believing that we somehow have a say in government and laws, but we are not so fooled. We have never laboured under any such belief. We know that petitioning is simply a campaigning method and nothing more.
Here's what we think:
(i). First, we must be clear that petitions are just one tool among many for campaigning, and we have plans for other campaigning styles and methods which we hope and expect to make use of in the future.
(ii). Petitions are a campaign 'tool' in three respects: first, they are a means to an end and can, directly or indirectly, bring about the realisation of the political goal; second, the campaign to promote the petition itself can lead to gains that promote the eventual realisation of the political goal; and, third, the petition itself must also be acted on in some way. The first two points are obvious. Regarding the third point, a petition normally implies that somebody will engage in petitioning of the relevant authorities, which normally involves engagement with law-makers and decision-makers. This engagement is in and of itself valuable and useful, even if it doesn't directly or immediately lead to realisation of the goal sought.
(iii). A petition itself and its promotion is also a form of propaganda in its own right and raises awareness of the issue among people, keeps the issue in the public eye and on social media, lets people know that others agree with them about the issue and that 'something' is being done about it, and also lets people know that there is a campaign they can join and contribute to if they wish. It also offers encouragement to others who may want to run their own campaigns independently of us but towards the same or a closely-similar goal.
(iv). It is true that UK Parliament petitions are a rather cosmetic exercise, but that should not lead us to dismiss petitions as a campaign method. Voting and the secret ballot were initially a cosmetic exercise too. Mass enfranchisement was a concession to the burgeoning industrial working class in the (not unfounded) belief that it could be used to
manage and control the masses, yet voting has turned into the ruling class’s Achilles' heel. It's all about how we make use of the tools available to us.
(v). It is said that petitions to the UK Parliament have not led to any legislative changes, but even if that is the case, it should be remembered that, first, petitioning is not an automatic law-making process; second, the effectiveness of any petition depends on a range of favourable factors that are often absent in amateur petitions, such as: the popularity of the issue, the underlying campaign and momentum behind it, how well-crafted and worded the
petition itself is and - crucially - whether the petition covers a matter that is actionable by the government and Parliament respectively; and, third, petitions have influenced debate and can lead to changes in the law over time. The change we want will not happen overnight.
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