Lib Dems call for permanent BBC charter to protect it from a future Reform government

EMBARGO: 22:30 Fri 13th March 2026

Lib Dems call for permanent BBC charter to protect it from a future Reform government

The Liberal Democrats will today (Saturday 14th March) call on the government to act now to protect the BBC from a future Reform government, by bringing in a permanent charter that can only be overturned through a two thirds “super majority” in Parliament.

The BBC in the last year has been under siege from all directions, most of all from Nigel Farage and Reform UK,  who have repeatedly attacked the BBC’s independence and backed Donald Trump’s attempts to sue it.

In a speech today to the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference in York, Liberal Democrat Culture Media and Sport Spokesperson Anna Sabine will call for a permanent charter to enshrine the BBC’s core mission and mandate for generations to come. The BBC Charter is renewed every 10 years, with the current charter expiring at the end of 2027.

Under the Liberal Democrat plans, the BBC’s core principles, public broadcasting mission and fundamental structure would all be protected through a permanent charter. Political appointments to the BBC board would be banned to protect the broadcaster’s impartiality. Any changes to this charter would require ratification by a supermajority in the House of Commons and by the devolved Parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Anna Sabine MP will also take aim at the rise of politicians profiting from division and disinformation, and raise the serious question of who stands to benefit from the demise of our national public broadcaster.  It comes as analysis by the Liberal Democrats reveals that Nigel Farage has earned £750,000 from his role as a host on GB News, while Reform MP Lee Anderson has made £100,000 from the right-wing news channel - with all Reform MPs media appearances totalling nearly a million pounds.

She will also raise concerns around the BBC World Service funding cliff edge, calling for a guaranteed budget to be drawn from the FCDO to counter the misinformation and disinformation of Britain’s foes.

Liberal Democrat Culture, Media and Sport Spokesperson, Anna Sabine MP, said:

“Nigel Farage wants to undermine our BBC and its ability to hold a future Reform government to account. We cannot let him.

“We’ve seen how Farage egged on Donald Trump’s attacks against the BBC, all while pocketing £1 million in his role as a presenter on GB News. It is a massive conflict of interest but it’s just a taster of what’s to come if Reform were to gain power.

“A Reform Government would undoubtedly pack the BBC board with spineless yes men, stripping the broadcaster of an effective ability to hold them to account.

“Keir Starmer needs to act now before it’s too late, by introducing a permanent BBC charter and banning political appointments to the BBC board. This should be protected through a legislative lock requiring a two thirds majority in Parliament and ratification by all devolved nations to overturn it to protect from a future Conservative or Reform government.

“We cannot let Farage do to the BBC what Trump has done to the independence of the media in America.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

A declaration of MPs' earnings can be found here.