Parties join to oppose BBC cut in politics

The leadership of the Labour and Conservative parties joined forces yesterday in an attempt to stop the BBC "dumbing down" its coverage of politics.

Charles Clarke, the Labour chairman, and David Davis, his Tory counterpart, set aside their normal differences to issue a veiled warning that the BBC's plans to scrap some political programmes would make the BBC licence fee harder to justify.

The BBC is considering plans to revamp some political programmes after research suggested they were seen as "boring" and more about the Westminster village than the real world. Programmes that could be vulnerable include the late-night show Despatch Box and On the Record, presented by John Humphrys and shown at Sunday lunchtime.

But politicians are worried the shake-up could compound the problem of voter apathy, which saw the turn-out at last year's general election drop to 59 per cent, the lowest since 1918. They fear the move could create a "downward spiral" and say the BBC should make its political coverage more interesting rather than cut it.

In a joint letter to Gavyn Davies, the chairman of the BBC board of governors, the two party chairmen said: "We understand that a number of political programmes may be discontinued. We believe that such a fundamental downgrading of political coverage would not be consistent with the BBC's position as a publicly funded, public-service broadcaster, and that it is not the appropriate response to the issues which were covered at the seminar last November."

They asked Mr Davies for "urgent clarification" about the press reports, saying they "naturally prompt concern about the future nature of political coverage, and its contribution to the political process."

Mr Clarke and Mr Davis added: "We are both concerned to see high-quality coverage of political news and debate in this country, and to see the BBC providing the range of political programmes ... in order that issues can be aired thoroughly, and which allows the arguments of both the Government and the Opposition to be conveyed."

The BBC's review has been conducted by Sian Kevill, the former editor of Newsnight. It is expected to result in live coverage of party political conferences being switched to BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament. She has said there is a "generational split" in attitudes to the corporation's coverage, with over-45s interested in politics but younger people taking a very different view. "Broadly, under-45s are much more disengaged from politics, and it is not just boredom with party political coverage, but something more systemic ... The younger generation is disengaged, especially with politics as Westminster coverage."

The proposed changes have provoked a fierce debate inside the BBC and are being opposed by veteran broadcasters including Mr Humphrys and David Dimbleby, the presenter of Question Time.

Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, has urged the BBC not to "dumb down" its coverage. She said this week: "Just because people say they are turning away from politics, that is not a reason for the BBC to stop covering politics. The job of the BBC is to find new ways of engaging the public in democratic debate."