The BBC’s addiction to the licence fee makes it an easy target for politicians seeking to off-load expenditure. But what does the latest deal mean, for the BBC and public service broadcasting? Image: Flickr/ Stuart Pinfold Five years ago, after the 2010 election led to the installation of a coalition government, it took George Osborne a full five months to secure ministerial agreement to a major public spending review. In the midst of it, after five days of shotgun negotiations, the BBC Trust found itself effectively forced to accept a swathe of additional spending obligations, as well as long-term freezing of the licence fee. The combined impact of those measures – as has just been...
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