Today the government announced the end of the BBC licence fee. To call this an act of cultural vandalism wouldn’t come close to what this government is proposing. Not only will we lose the incredible news, sport and entertainment output, the very editorial independence of the BBC is at stake. The government has attacked the integrity of our judiciary, undermined access to voting, gone after the right to protest, and now they’re coming after our public broadcaster, one of the last dominoes of accountability. This cannot be allowed to happen.

The BBC has been part of the lives of every person in our country, and there is no one in Britain whose day hasn’t been enriched by access to an organisation that has produced incredible output, all free of advertisements. Who hasn’t turned on the television, tuned into radio, or gone online to find their remarkable effort and content. Can you think of many days where the BBC hasn’t been part of your life? Often we have under-appreciated it, allowed it to underfunded, and left it open to attacks by this government, who would like nothing better than to see it crumble. But so many people rely on the BBC to enrich their lives and to discard it so callously would be a catastrophe for British public life.

We’re approaching the hundredth anniversary of the BBC, a monumental achievement, especially in the age of streaming and saturation. Other countries look at our public broadcaster with envy, as they should, and to call them an institution doesn’t do justice to the role it has in all our lives. We need to call on the government to reverse this disgraceful decision and pressure the opposition to make protecting the license fee a vital part of their next election manifesto.

We are at a crossroads. Unless we act the BBC as we know it will be destroyed, hidden behind a paywall, and only accessible to those who can afford it. Do we want this, or do we want the broadcaster to remain independent and handed down to future generations to enjoy? Do we want it to be broken into pieces and become shell of its former self? The final license fee will run out in 2027, we can’t afford to sit on our hands. The fight to save the BBC has begun, and it’s a fight we must win. So please, write to your MP and the government, and sign this petition to show them they can’t take away their nations broadcaster and destroy its independence for their own pernicious aims.

The BBC is under threat like never before and we must act now or lose this national treasure forever.