Rishi Sunak’s call for the BBC to “cut its cloth” and find more savings will be greeted with a weary shrug by the 34 Newsnight staff set to lose their roles under cost-cutting plans that will end the flagship current affairs show as viewers know it.
Tory MPs are convinced that bashing the Beeb, and reining in its ability to compete with the likes of Netflix and Apple by saving households a few licence fee pounds a year, is a winner with Red Wall voters.
However, at Broadcasting House, executives insist there is no more fat on the bone.
A 30 per cent decline in the money the BBC is able to spend from the licence fee over the past decade, and superinflation in production costs fuelled by deep-pocketed streaming giants, mean the axe is now falling on much-loved shows and services.
From Newsnight to the BBC Singers to local radio, each cut prompts more anger.
In reality, polls show that support for the licence fee is stronger than Tories weaponising the culture wars realise.
Viewers value Strictly, Happy Valley, and a news service that aspires to impartiality in an age of partisanship.
Wise heads believe it’s time to kick the licence fee political football into touch.
Expect an incoming Labour government to consider creating an independent panel to set the level, removing the big stick Downing Street wields over the corporation.
Whether Sir Keir Starmer is willing to give up that influence over the national broadcaster is another matter.
