The BBC staff who cheat ...

... the little people of the taxes they refuse to pay, and the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) who have turned a blind eye to this new class of cheats, when decades ago they prevented the carpenter or mason of Manchester or Glasgow from doing exactly the same.

The story of the week is from The Sunday Times written by Dipesh Gadher

TWO BBC managers earning six-figure sums could have avoided paying thousands of pounds in income tax by being kept off the corporation’s books for up to three years.

The managers, who are involved in training other BBC staff, were left off the payroll and instead received more than £100,000 a year through personal service companies (PSCs). 

They were added to the Paye system only this month — days before the BBC’s finance chief was questioned by an influential committee of MPs. 

Workers who are paid through a service company can legally minimise their contributions to the exchequer. Instead of paying income tax at a rate of 40-50p, they can be liable for corporation tax at 20% on profits of up to £300,000. 

The arrangement also means that the BBC does not have to pay National Insurance contributions for the worker. 

Last week the BBC admitted that 467 of its broadcasters — including 148 news presenters — were paid through PSCs. Many are kept off the payroll even though the corporation is their main employer and they are regarded as the “face” of the BBC.  Presenters who have set up companies through which they are believed to channel their earnings include Jeremy Paxman, the host of Newsnight, and Fiona Bruce, the newsreader. Joanna Gosling, a newscaster who is married to Craig Oliver, the prime minister’s head of communications, is paid through a PSC. There is no suggestion that any of the stars have avoided tax. Among the 25,000 freelance contracts the BBC signs each year, 3,000 involve behind-thescenes workers being paid through companies. Margaret Hodge, the Labour chairwoman of the Commons public accounts committee, which examined the practice last week, said the tax arrangements used by the BBC did not seem “morally right”.

The BBC says that, like all other workers paid through PSCs, details of their fees and companies would have been passed to HMRC.

Those people who make their money from outing the tax avoiders are no better than those other wealthy people who decide not to pay their legal share of taxes.

Pot calling the kettle black, scum every one of them, time for a British Tax Spring ...........

........... or time to turn away from the programmes they host !


If it is not allowed for Mr Jones the carpenter of Cardiff or Belfast it shouldn't be allowed for anyone else !

What would Kier Hardy ...

... have thought about our wannabe emperor's new clothes lectern ?

Carwyn Jones needs a ...

... £1800 podium and the £4500 Welsh slate emblem on the wall together with flags, missing were the trumpets and soldiers at attention when he made a grand entrance ... 

... he, is it Mr President or Carwyn Jones these days, was reported by Betsan Powys as saying "We kept costs to a minimum".

On the other hand, a century ago Kier Hardy speaks to the people with little more than relevance ....

... whilst Carwyn Jones needs a lectern to speak to the press ( are they children to pump up the numbers in the audience I wonder) , he needs to grip the sides to stop himself from falling in excitement ...

... but he just doesn't cut it like President Obama, relaxed, at ease with himself and the world that knows who he is, with or without a lectern ...

... there can be no doubt our First Minister, how soon before he calls himself Prime Minister or President, has illusions of grandeur, to the little people of Wales he is the King who wears no clothes ...

What's next I wonder, maybe a limousine but to keep up with President Obama Wales would need its very own ...

... Secret Service Presidential Protective Division ...

It's a bit too much over breakfast ..........

Alwyn and Jack, opened the box ...

... to examine Schrödinger's cat only to find it wasn't alive nor dead, it had disapeared.

And is that "nationality" ?

To understand Alwyn and Jack it's necessary to read through their blogsto determine their very public statement of status relating to nationality, Alwyn here, and Jack here, but be warned those readers from beyond the shores of Britain, both Alwyn and Jack hold views that would be suppressed in many countries such as ............... , in Britain we have become somewhat tolerant, we generally accept the views of others as long as we are able to disagree without fear for our safety.

I left a comment with Alwyn who raised the question ...

Does Britain Mean the Same to You as Britain Means to Me?

... my comment reads:

Born in Wales I use "Welsh" and "British" as interchangeable labels, my English in-laws use "English" and "British" in much the same way, its a sense of equality, it means much the same ...

... except possibly during the 6 nations (rugby championship).

So what is this nationality that might have a multitude of Schrödinger's possibilities, how is it possible to hold dual nationality, my "Welsh" and "British" .... Jack replied to me ...

John, I suggest - or hope - that for you those terms have distinct meanings. Whereas for your in-laws they are most likely synonymous.

Is Jack right, do my English in-laws use "English" and "British" as labels where the difference is only in the spelling ... should I be different and hold (a) nationality to be a distinct statement (of intent).

What is this nationality, is it a product of birth or could it be a product of adoption.  Emigrate to the USA and you will be encouraged to become a citizen, to make a public statement of allegiance, much the same if Australia is your preferred destination.

So do my in-laws make a statement of allegiance when they describe themselves as "English" and "British", possibly, but it is also a possibility that when they describe themselves in these terms that they apply a label to satisfy a need to temporarily identify with their neighbour(s), very few people in Britain (United Kingdom) carry their nationality on permanent public display, unless there is a personal or political need to do so.

Currently there are two groups that carry nationality as a permanent badge of honour, they are those who would break up the United Kingdom into its political constituent parts and those who would keep the status quo.

So where do I fit in, when I call myself Welsh I am definitely watching Wales play rugby, for the rest I prefer the family we call British, it's inclusive, its not perfect, it has infinite variety, it's welcoming whilst it can be forbidding, it has inequalities whilst at the same time it offers opportunity, in short it can mean anything to anyone, I think this is why I and the majority of people in Britain reject nationalism, whether Scots, Irish, Welsh, English or "British" ...

... sometimes we might even consider ourselves "Asda man and women" (Walmart in the USA), its just not important ...

So for the record ................. with ancestors from Cornwall, Devon, the Forest of Dean, the Vale of Glamorgan, with a preference for the BBC, fond regards of the USA, links to Australia, a love of Microsoft and McDonald's, what else could I be ...

... but human.

... Spring elections, a forecast ...

... from thereabouts.

It seems that the BBC's Betsan Powys has firmly nailed her pants to the nationalist cause in Wales, big buddy with Woody, the leader of Plaid Cymru.

He's got his knickers in ...

... a twist, no celebrity appearance at the Calcutta Cup yesterday for Alex "Jowls" Salmond, as reported in the Times today, he has completely lost the plot ...

Salmond fury at losing rugby punditry slot

Alex Salmond’s relationship with the BBC is under strain after he branded an official a “political gauleiter” for withdrawing an invitation for him to appear as a TV pundit for the Calcutta Cup.
The Scottish First Minister questioned whether the corporation could be trusted to remain impartial between now and the independence referendum in 2014.

He had been booked to appear on Saturday during coverage of the Six Nations match between England and Scotland at Murrayfield, which England won 13-6. However, the invitation was cancelled at the behest of Ric Bailey, a political adviser to the BBC, who felt that Mr Salmond’s appearance might “heighten tensions”.

Mr Salmond’s aides, according to e-mails released yesterday, undertook when he was booked to appear that he would make no reference to political or constitutional matters.

The corporation said that it would have been “inappropriate” to give undue prominence to any single politician, but Mr Salmond said: “The guy has just totally, utterly lost the plot. I would imagine people like Ric Bailey are in thrall to Downing Street and that is the worrying thing.”

Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader in Scotland, said Mr Salmond was using “bully-boy tactics” because he lost the chance to have his face on TV.

Mr Salmond will raise the issue with Lord Patten of Barnes, Chairman of the BBC Trust, in Edinburgh on Thursday.

Read it £ here .

This is the man who would lead Scotland ........... he has a vision I understand.

Perhaps, ...

Professor Sir Mansel Aylward said on today's BBC Wales Politics Show ...

"We're not going to get many more chances - in the past we had plenty of money and perhaps we spent it wrongly,"

If the NHS in Wales were a work of art, aesthetics might conclude it not worthy to be viewed in the worlds top galleries, The Louvre would say 'non' and The Deutsche Guggenheim might cry "nien";  whilst in Wales the public it should be serving is reticent in its public condemnation, and our political representatives are lounging at the Cardiff Bay club for useless rhetoric, oblivious to the reality of the situation.

Might we apply a criteria to politics as we do with a painting, could we call for quality ............

What did Bethan Jenkins mean when ...

... when she said:

Any major cuts in BBC Wales' provision will be a severe blow to attempts to increase public awareness of our national structures and democratic institutions.

... and:

The BBC's news coverage in Wales has particular importance due to the shortage of media sources here".

In regard to the shortage of media coverage, this is a "Cnut" moment,where Jenkins is attempting to hold back the waves of public indifference to her political preferences.  The shortage of media reflects a public rejection of what she sees dear to the political process, the public of our 21st century just wish to be entertained, who watches Panorama when there is "Mock the Week" being televised, people prefer to laugh than cry.

I have a certain sympathy with the apparent lack of awareness of structures and institutions by the public, it is manifest every election.  Rhodri Morgan might have had an answer to this particular issue through the Welsh Baccalaureate, but by choosing it as a senior qualification he lost the plot, if it had been part of education from senior year 1, almost every pupil would leave school with what could have been a meaningful qualification, and along the way, with careful teaching, an understanding of political Wales.

Australia might give Wales a snapshot ...

... of the future where politics controls the media, to wit ...

An Australian political satire has been condemned by monarchists and MPs after depicting the Prime Minister having sex on the floor of her office while draped in the national flag. 

Commentators and members of the public expressing their opinion on newspaper websites were also upset with the show with some saying its depiction of the home life of the country’s first female leader was offensive and sexist

“Rude, negative, abusive, disrespectful and now grubby,” a viewer named Andrea Moore wrote on The Australian national newspaper’s website.

 

A Liberal MP said the program degrades the office of the prime minister, and called for a rethink of funding of the national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

I cannot imagine a scene where Carwyn was similarly displayed, nor in fact the other political leaders of the Wales Assembly, all draped under the "Red Dragon", not necessarily together, what I can imagine are similar attempts to push political fingers in the media pie were it devolved;  there is sufficient evidence this type of activity has occurred between WAG and S4C in the recent past.

ABC responded with ...

“If it’s okay for others to drape themselves in our flag for all manner of occasions, I really don’t see why it can’t be draped over our prime minister as a symbol of love,” the spokesman said.

I wonder how a devolved "BBC Wales" would show the First Minister if a political sword hung over its head, not a pretty vision to contemplate.

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, in need of a ...

... reality check, the Public Bodies Bill currently going through Parliament lists those organisations that require public funding in its scope, including S4C.  An amendment tabled to exclude S4C from the Bill was defeated in committee, following the defeat Bethan Williams, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, was led out of the committee room shouting (in Welsh) "This vote is an insult to the people of Wales", how many in the room would have understood her.

Elsewhere the House of Commons passed an amendment which says that the secretary of state shall secure that S4C is provided with sufficient funds to cover the cost of delivering its television services, seemingly a contradiction.

As a public body S4C is not in any way exceptional, nor can it be made an exception where public funding is used, the public should expect scrutiny of the organisation and its funding by our members of parliament, for a decade or more S4C has benefited from a £ Billion without effective scrutiny, the current state of this organisation tells a story of ineptitude of almost biblical proportions.

If the language activists wish to have total control over S4C they must ask for it as a gift from government to do as they wish, becoming a private organisation much as Sky TV, I'm sure such a request would be met with a positive response.  The funding then could be arranged through the Welsh Assembly Government, on an annual basis, in public, competing with all the other demands for public funds.  An organisation such as Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg might consider buying the TV channel and making it a pay-per-view option of the airways, then they would be able to do as they wished.

The bottom line is scrutiny, if you want taxpayers pennies expect it, scrutiny is the only way in a democracy.

Notable that Leanne Wood A.M. has refused to pay her license fee in protest against good governance, she also wants to have control over all broadcasting in Wales, what would the audience do if politicians screwed up in the same way our Wales education and our young peoples futures have been effectively destroyed, switch to Sky is my prediction.

Welsh poltroon or pudding, ...

... the crème catalana gets our vote, another superb recipe of Bill Granger, one of Australia’s top chefs.

To serve 6

Ingredients: 

625ml cream

170ml milk

2 tsp natural vanilla extract

2 cinnamon sticks

Peel from 1 orange

Peel from 1 lemon

6 egg yolks

4 tbsp caster sugar

2½ tbsp soft brown sugar

Method
 

Preheat the oven to 140C/Gas 1. Put the cream, milk, vanilla, cinnamon, orange and lemon peel in a saucepan over a medium heat and bring just to boiling point, then remove from the heat. 

Whisk together the egg yolks and caster sugar in a large bowl. Strain the cream and pour slowly over the yolk and sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Skim off any foam that rises to the top. 

Put six 125ml ramekins or dariole moulds in a large roasting tin and spoon the mixture into the ramekins. Pour hot water into the tin to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins and cover the whole tin with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until just set. Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin and leave to cool before chilling in the fridge for 2 hours. 

Preheat the grill to its hottest temperature. Put the ramekins on a baking tray, sprinkle brown sugar over the chilled creams and then place under the grill for a couple of minutes until the sugar is melted and dark golden (if you have a chef’s blowtorch, this is the time to use it). Leave for a few minutes for the sugar to cool and harden before serving.

 

Why poltroon you might wonder, Plaid MEP Evans is calling for a mass refusal to pay the TV licence fee (backed by the Plaid machine).  Plaid politicians are encouraging people to replace the £145.50 licence fee with a fine of £1000.  Now I'm sure that an MEP earning close to a hundred thousand pounds can afford such a gesture, it is unlikely she will share a cell with a drug-addict, but the rest ...... 

... this Plaid largess, largess with the earnings of those on minimum wage, might extend to words of encouragement thrown over the jail walls ... it remains for many a choice ...

A choice between a cynical protest advocated by politicians or the antipodean pudding, Australia wins the day, it's no contest .......

It was a big mistake when Margaret Thatcher ...

... caved in to Gwynfor Evans, it's always a mistake to capitulate to a bully, and today there is a similar set of circumstances in Wales concerning the TV channel created in the wake of Evans threat to starve himself to death.

Today Plaid Cymru has voted in its annual Autumn conference to support those people who choose not to pay their TV license fee, in protest at the reorganisation of S4C and its funding.  In perspective, the basket case that is S4C has wasted 10 years and a £ Billion of taxpayer funds producing a second rate service that few people are attracted too, it is in desperate need of reform.

But this is not the big issue, S4C is a side-show, for Ms Evans (Wales’ Plaid MEP) it is alternative government brought about by demonstration and protest, and it is a precursor for the real Jewel in the Crown, the BBC, in particular, BBC Wales.  Listen to the "separatist agenda" shouting the odds, calling for the management of BBC Wales and broadcasting in general to be brought under the wings of politicians in Wales, a parasitical relationship between politics and media as found during the life of S4C (where politics include pressure groups).

And the $ million question, "why is it so important to Plaid Cymru to gain control over broadcasting in Wales ?"

... it's the only way the separatist agenda can peddle their wares at minimal cost, that is subsidised by the taxpayer, and the pot of gold they see at the end of their particular rainbow, the TV licence fees paid by households west of Offa's Dyke.

So when the protest begins in earnest, fine the protesters the maximum, then send them to jail when the fine is not paid, and the BBC, the peoples of Wales do not want the broadcasting vision of the separatists, we are quite happy with that modernity, liberalism, and democracy that the BBC brings into our homes each day.

What is the point of meaningless ...

... questions, dreamed up by BBC staff searching for bad news ?


... to wit ...

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HOURS LOST DUE TO HOSPITAL TURNAROUNDS ABOVE 20 MINUTES. TURNAROUND BEING WHEN A&E NOTIFIED BY AMBULANCE CREW THAT PATIENT HAS ARRIVED TO PATIENT BEING HANDED OVER.

... and the bad news ...


BBC Wales health correspondent Arwyn Jones concludes that because there has been a notional rise in the time it takes ambulance staff to hand over patients to hospital staff there is a burdensome cost to the NHS in Wales, his research is published here, check the table, the average handover time from ambulance is ....


.... less than 20 minutes, I believe there should be an applause at this point for the ambulance service staff, but not from the buffoons at BBC Wales, the reporter has written ...

... the total number of hours lost in Wales due to hospital turnarounds above 20 minutes has increased from 37,712 hours in 2008-2009, to 54,476 hours in 2010-2011.

What is he implying, a level of incompetence possibly, or are the staff on a go-slow, it's a bullshit story from a bullshit organisation, the NHS in Wales hasn't an additional cost of  £10 million, what it has in reality is ...


... additional effort by the ambulance and A&E hospital staff to meet the demands of the public, and I say this with a certain confidence, because everyone gets treatment.


Maybe the reporters at BBC Wales should get out more, sit alongside people who actually work for a living rather than looking for a story where a story doesn't exist, paid for by the very same people they look to criticise.


They might also consider reading Robert Pirsig's MOQ, and pass it around the political reporters, they are in dire need ...

Our very own Wacky Races, with our very own ...

...  Dastardly and Muttley, one from Westminster the other from Cardiff's Bay of Plenty, both are agitating for something that already exists, something that is funded to the gunnel's by the poor taxpayer, but unlike Pobol y Cwm there isn't an audience big enough to suit their political egos, ...

Ego is a Latin word meaning "I", cognate with the Greek "Εγώ (Ego)" meaning "I", often used in English to mean the "self"

... not satisfied with the current Radio Cymru, not satisfied with the £80+ million annual budget of S4C, what exactly does the first of this dynamic Plaid duo want, to quote Bethan Jenkins ...

WELSH language current affairs programmes should be as important to the BBC as output in Hindi and Arabic, Plaid Cymru AM Bethan Jenkins has urged.

... I'll let others decide whether she is "Dastardly" or "Muttley", myself I would suggest the minorities she uses as examples would be very pleased to have a dedicated channel with the funding S4C currently receives, indeed the £billion spend on S4C during the last decade should have produced a world class welsh language service, it didn't.


What the desperate duo want is a soap box for free, but there's no such thing as a free lunch, someone might let them know.  Who is the other half of our very own wacky race duo .............

When Jonathan Edwards, Plaid MP and Westminster rabble-rouser ...

... calls for greater investment in existing Welsh TV services, he is calling to the nationalist faithful.  He is saying ...

"That means stopping the cuts being made to S4C and BBC Wales and giving ITV Wales the scope for improvements.  Wales must have a national television service worthy of the name, with quality programming that represents us as a nation."

He continues the rhetoric ...

"Welsh is an everyday language amongst audiences across Wales, and this must be reflected in the television services which they receive.  Our priority here in Wales, though, must be improving and developing the level of Welsh news and current affairs rather than furthering the ill considered agenda of a Westminster minister."

This ill considered agenda is no agenda at all, Westminster believes the UK would benefit from local TV coverage, and the envisaged TV has to be self financing ... and that could be a problem, who wants to sponsor current affairs on "TV Swansea" when there is an opportunity to sponsor "Four Weddings and a Funeral" ... on ITV.

The bottom line for the separatist at work at Westminster is he wants three terrestrial channels ported to a Welsh platform working at the behest of and directed by the politics of Welsh Nationalism. Not once does the man offer a financial model to pay for his proposed extravaganza, he would like his scheme paid for by the taxpayers of Britain ....

.... in a world of shrinking budgets, the nationalists would expect a larger share, in the world of television they would like a louder voice, but only if it in Wales ...

... democracy Peter Black, a reminder ...

... from the great political thinker de Tocqueville.

"Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom," he said. "Democracy attaches all possible value to each man," ............ "while socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude".  Said in 1848.

... and today in his blog Peter Black, I thought him the voice of the liberal tradition in Wales, became a tyrant when he wrote ...

"... that raises questions over Murdoch and his company being fit and proper people to own any media in this country. The Americans may be content with Fox News setting the agenda and targeting individual politicians but such practises are anti-democratic and need to be stamped out." ............... restraint and servitude of the left leaning politicians.

... it was the "fit and proper ... and ... stamped out" that quickened my pulse, a term that might be expected from a dictator but not the Welsh Assembly, or is PB taking notice of arch-dictator Edwina Hart.

I'm afraid any media organisation that might bring to book politicians and their associated party is a welcome addition to our fragile pseudo-democracy, such action is not anti-democratic, it is part of democracy, holding to account our elected representatives, if there is a problem  ...

... it is a question of monopoly in the UK media, as has been ably demonstrated by the Murdoch tribe, but monopoly is the enemy of both economics and democracy, and as such can be discouraged through strong monopoly legislation that also encourages competition, good legislation could cover all economic activity

Fortunately for the electorate PB is not involved in this particular legislative arena, else he might "stamp out" other freedoms we value so much.

If the monopoly question is addressed without fear or favour what happens to the BBC .....

Returning to "fit and proper", PB might like to consider the question of "requests for information", by and large ignored by certain ministers, would a WAG minister refuse a request from the Sunday Times I wonder.

One story, two pictures ...

... from BBC Wales, the dour Secretary of State for Wales ...

From Wales online, its good news week ...

The story is the Conservative Liberal Democrat coalition comes up trumps for Wales.

BBC Wales news, or Western Mail.

The nationalist carpetbaggers want BBC Wales for themselves, the news is they probably have it but nobody is saying it in public.

Love him or loath him ...

... yesterday his words were the clear water in the middle of a pond covered with scum.  He wrote:

I am interested in Mr Miliband’s radical idea that we might need tighter rules on media ownership and market shares. It will be interesting to see how he defines unacceptable levels of control, as it appears  that the BBC has the largest share of the TV and radio market, and also has a very powerful position in web provision and related publishing. Rules that he thinks of in connection with News International could not be hybrid or company specific, and would have to be fair about any concentration of media power. Thoughts on what constitutes too much media power and if it should be regulated better would be welcome.

They were the words of John Redwood found here.

We would have a similar issue if government became sponsor of a Wales media start-up as suggested by the less democratic voices found hereabouts.  Can you imagine BBC Wales dominated by the far left ably supported by its political editor Betsan Powys, Romania of the 1960's springs to mind.

Pay as you go for all media would be a first step, just as I must chose what newspaper to buy at the news-stand, so it should be at the media-stand.

... all the better to see you, said ...

... Little Red Riding Hood, no not Miss Hood, but the public;  not for many a year has so much been spent without proper scrutiny by so few.

What do I refer to, not our Assembly Government, though there are certain cases for the historians to chew over, the current electorate have little chance to examine in detail spending during the last decade, the hot potato is S4C.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) said: "The government is committed to the future of Welsh language programming and to the future of S4C as a strong and independent Welsh TV service.

"We fully recognise the iconic status of the channel and the contribution it makes to the cultural and economic life of Wales.

"The S4C model is not sustainable in its present form, which is why government concluded that the best way to secure S4C's future while delivering a better service is through a partnership with the BBC.

"DCMS, S4C and the BBC Trust are working on the governance structure which will ensure that S4C will remain as an independent service, retaining its brand identity and editorial distinctiveness."

The message is simple, it is broken, it's going to get fixed, and in our judgement the BBC offers a way forward based upon excellence.

And the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan wades in with ...

When S4C was first established, it was protected by legislation from political interference.

Dr Morgan is of course blinkered by the holy grail that is S4C, this monstrous cash consuming sacred cow of broadcasting is at present using £100 million of taxpayers hard earned salaries,a consumption with very little scrutiny, unless you consider the published viewing figures, statistics that have been consistently ignored by S4C management.

Well the worm has turned, for S4C to continue to exist it needs to reinvent itself so that taxpayers (license fee payers) feel the service contributes to the whole public; no longer should it be seen as Margaret Thatchers cave in to the linguistically marginalised in Wales, but as a public service.

Nationalist are calling for broadcasting to be devolved, including S4C, such a notion is at best regressive, at worst it is an attempt by politicians to gain control over a machine that could be turned to a political advantage, the viewing public have quite a different notion as to what is worth watching, sheep farming, albeit a fine occupation, is no match for the preferred public appetite for the celebrity.

S4C has declined to comment, says it all really.

Do you know the Lord Peter ...

... who comments at WalesOnline, his latest can be found here where the discussions are regarding BBC cuts.

He writes ...

What’s all the fuss about? BBC Wales and S4C will have to merge .With the BBC Wales funding and now the burden of S4C set to being picked up through the licence fee, Wales will have a disproportionately large amount of money given to broadcasting.

If certain a sports programme or broadcasts in Welsh don't attract audiences, so what? Scrap them! It isn't rocket science.

The Boneheaded remark from shadow minister Owen Smith that “Our broadcasters must have the resources to properly reflect our distinct culture, history and heritage.” Is complete tosh.

On no they don’t, that is not what broadcasters are there for, and it is that sort of politicising everything in Wales that has ruined our education and health services as well as burdening the whole of the U.K. with the £100millon + bill for the doomed, unnecessary, and pointless S4C in the first place.

The days of the Welsh speaking TAFFIA elite having influence over the vast majority of people in Wales will have to come to an end, with the tail wagging the dog no more.

This Government is giving the whole of the U.K. a long overdue wakeup call in many respects, and BBC Wales joining the real world is just one of them.

A different point of view to our local politicians, Bethan Jenkins for example has written here about the great damaging impact it will have, unfortunately it is in Welsh, the Google translation is not particularly good, maybe she should present an English translation as she used to, or maybe not, there is sufficient Plaid propaganda in the world.

Then Mathew Rees continues ...

I mostly agree with Lord Peter. I am a Welsh speaker and worked for BBC Wales and the idleness and complacency there is SHOCKING.

If Wales wants its own TV channel, that's fine but you can't expect the rest of the UK to prop it up when virtually nobody watches the channel. It should either be an online-only thing paid for by subscription or 3-4 hours of quality programming every night similar to BBC Alba.

I am proud of Wales and to be Welsh but from what I saw, people in that building would be stacking shelves if they didn't speak Welsh, while Welsh people who don't speak the language have little hope of getting a foothold on the media career ladder.

This is a long time coming and a long time deserved, I'm sorry to say.

... at First Minister’s Questions Bethan Jenkins continued her whinging and whining, she said:

“Given the shocking news of cuts this morning from London to BBC Wales’ budget and to the programmes of BBC Wales as well as the uncertainties facing S4C, would you now ask DCMS [the UK Government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport] to devolve broadcasting to Wales so we can protect programming here in Wales.”

Can you imagine the tripe that would come from devolved broadcasting if it became the prerogative of political guidance, sorry Ms. Jenkins, you would need to convince the majority that your ideas of broadcasting could in any way be described as wanted, and of course there is the question of finance, would the number of households in Wales generate sufficient funds to satisfy the foibles of politics at the Assembly.
 

A trivial comedy for serious people ...

... is how The Importance of Being Earnest has been described, its high farce and witty dialogue have helped make it Wilde's most enduringly popular play.  In Wales on the other hand we are fed a diet of the ridiculous from a certain Assembly Member, Bethan Jenkins, Plaid South West regional list, one who has no direct mandate from the electorate, is proposing a "federal" structure for local BBC, with money for Wales etc ....

Her problem, a simple issue, she needs, along with her separatist friends, a platform for propaganda, a platform paid for by the licence fee payers. Her words ".... believed in devolved broadcasting "because we have seen how [UK Culture Secretary] Jeremy Hunt has treated S4C with contempt"."  It's not our Culture Secretary she should be concerned with, it is taxpayers like myself who would back a call to create a pay to view S4C so the viewers become the final arbiters on its future.

Carwyn Jones, on the other hand, said he had written to Mr Hunt, saying, "We must ensure that the BBC gives the people of Wales the service that they should receive in order to ensure that they know what goes on in their own country."

The most worrying part of this local comedy being played out by Jenkins and Co is it is not based on any credible truth, a BBC spokesperson said: "We have made it clear that local, regional and national services will continue to be at the heart of what we do."