'Britain's greatest gift to the world' faces budget cuts.

This is a blog on the current Con-LibDem Coalition's governments approach and attitude to the BBC World Service whose budget was cut by 16% whilst the 'Foreign Affairs' (the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) budget was reduced by 24%  and which is from the policy/guiding principles agreement reached days after the Coalition was formed. (The Guardian, Comprehensive Spending Review, 21/10/10)

It should also be mentioned that the soft power influence of the BBC World Service was harmed by change made to their funding. The BBC will have to fund the world service themselves not the FCO. This will lead to a diminishing of service and influence. A thousand jobs are expected to go at the BBC after cuts to the World Service and BBC Online. Five language services will go;  Albanian, Macedonian, Portuguese for Africa and Serbian, and cuts to the Carribbean service. The BBC World Service will be lose 16% of their budget over the next 4 years. It is estimated that 30 million listeners will lose their coverage out of a world wide audience estimated at 180 million listeners world wide. (p.14,The Guardian, 26/01/2011)

"It is an unwise move at a time when Britain's influence in the world is waning as new actors -China, India, Brazil- emerge" said Daya Thussu, professor of international communication at the University of Westminster, to the Independent newspaper (p16, The Independent, 27/01/2011). It is hoped however that online services will prove to be more cost effective and contact will still be possible.

It seems ridiculous to ignore the fact that not everyone in the world has ready access to the internet. A great many people all over the world have pocket radios tuned into the BBC World Service which is a British quality marked brand with influence and an impressive record of diversity in action. While Aung San Suu Kiyu was under house arrest she listened to the BBC World Service to keep herself informed. Kofi Annan described the World Service as 'Britain's greatest gift to the world'.

I spoke to a former diplomat to the Lebanon from 1957-1961, Christoper Everett, who was surprised at the cut to the service and was concerned at the impact of the cuts. ' The BBC should have been allowed to seperate the World Service from the budget arrangements. There is a very good argument for the World Service being treated as seperate and distinctive with an identity all of it's own'.

My own belief in the efficacy of a certain old fashioned but effective use of British soft power has taken a blow. In a world in need of the softer elements of subtlety in diplomacy it seems to me to be a poor decision and ridiculous that a current Tory Foreign Secretary could not see the worthiness of maintaining and developing the World Service. The Coalition will regret this decision.

(15. FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Government believes that Britain must always be an active member of the global community, promoting our national interests while standing up for the values of freedom, fairness and responsibility. This means working as a constructive member of the United Nations, NATO and other multilateral organisations including the Commonwealth; working to promote stability and security; and pushing for reform of global institutions to ensure that they reflect the modern world.

•                      We will take forward our shared resolve to safeguard the UK’s national security and support our Armed Forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere.

•                      We will push for peace in the Middle East, with a secure and universally recognised Israel living alongside a sovereign and viable Palestinian state.

•                      We will work to establish a new ‘special relationship’ with India and seek closer engagement with China, while standing firm on human rights in all our bilateral relationships.

•                      We will maintain a strong, close and frank relationship with the United States.

•                      We want to strengthen the Commonwealth as a focus for promoting democratic values and development.

•                      We will work to promote stability in the Western Balkans.

•                      We will support concerted international efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

•                      We support reform of the UN Security Council, including permanent seats for Japan, India, Germany, Brazil and African representation.

•                      We will work to intensify our cultural, educational, commercial and diplomatic links with many nations beyond Europe and North America to strengthen the UK’s relations with the fastest-growing areas of the world economy.

•                      We will never condone the use of torture. )

I will explore this further.