THE need for a public broadcasting network that prioritises “facts over partisanship” has “never been more vital”, the Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, has said.
He was speaking on Thursday in a House of Lords debate on broadcasting.
The motion, “That this House takes note of recent developments in relation to broadcasting within the United Kingdom,” was moved by Lord Fowler (crossbench). The debate was held after the Government’s publication of the Green Paper on the BBC Royal Charter review on 16 December. The charter, which comes up for renewal every ten years, will expire in December 2027 (News, 19 December 2025).
Dr Walker said that broadcasters operated “in a world context of accelerating polarisation, against a background where the best global political powers are retreating rapidly into levels of imperialist control and expansionism not previously seen in most of our lifetimes”.
In such a context, he said, “truth is subservient to expediency and honesty is sacrificed to non-public or political advantage.” Many broadcasters lacked the interest or incentive “to do aside from collude with the political masters of the age”, he said.
“In such a world, the place of broadcasters who seek to supply a balanced range of perspectives and prioritise facts over partisanship has never been more vital. Public-service broadcasting — and, within the UK, that does mean particularly the BBC — with a funding mechanism not wholly depending on courting advertisers or placating the federal government of the day enables a level of impartiality, and thereby public trust, that exists each here and beyond these shores.
“Moreover, the BBC, uniquely amongst mainstream broadcasters, continues to afford a spot for the religious and ethical input vital to support our British values.”
As the subsequent stage of the charter renewal process ensued, those involved must make sure that the BBC maintains “transparent operational independence from government”, he concluded.
The part played by radio in the long run of broadcasting could be “vital”, he said, since “radio brings a level of immersive intimacy that even 3D movies fail to attain”.
Lord Hall (crossbench) described the BBC as “the nation’s storyteller”. He said that viewing the BBC as “not only as one other media organisation but as a cultural organisation, and part our social infrastructure, is crucial”.
Discussing the licence fee, Lord Hall said: “Let us be sure that we’ve a properly funded BBC that reflects and celebrates who we’re in all our wealthy diversity.”
Baroness Stowell (Conservative) said: “There is far that’s great concerning the BBC and I need it to be a part of our future, but as things stand — this can be a big ‘but’ — we and BBC bosses are kidding ourselves if we imagine the BBC is the answer to a divided society.”
Lord Hannay (crossbench) spoke about for Panorama and the “BBC’s major editorial blunder” within the editing of President Trump’s speech on 6 January 2021 (Comment, 14 November 2025). He also asked whether it “is sensible to impose on the director-general the alternative between financing the BBC’s domestic programmes and its overseas ones”.
Viscount Colville (crossbench) spoke about development of artificial intelligence (AI). He said: “Now, we’ve a probability to develop digital technology imbued with ethical public-service values. . . Public-interest AI may very well be rolled out across the country to construct trust in other services, corresponding to secure age verification.”
Lord Grade (non-affiliated), who chairs Ofcom and described himself as a “veteran” of a previous BBC charter review, said that the charter review “all the time starts on the mistaken point. . . That point is governance and funding.
“I due to this fact beg that the query concerning the way forward for the BBC is concentrated on what we would like from it on this modified world. Parliament and the regulators must create the conditions to assist them to sustain their investment. Part of that shall be serving all parts of the nations and regions, and a part of that shall be to preserve a plurality of trusted news and current affairs throughout the nations and regions.”
In her closing speech, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Baroness Twycross, said that “the BBC fulfils a significant public service role, telling the story of who we’re: our people, our places, and giving cultural definition to our communities.”
She also agreed with Baroness Stowell: “The BBC must own its problems and failings to be able to rebuild trust.”
