Corbyn is to unveil plans for a radical overhaul of the BBC on Thursday, saying the public broadcaster should be freed from government influence and arguing that it should become “more representative” and more accountable.
The Labour leader will propose ending the system of BBC charter renewal by putting the broadcaster on a permanent statutory footing to end government control.
He will also suggest a new tax on technology giants and internet service providers to extend the provision of the free licence fee to low-income households.
The new tax — or “digital licence fee” — would be designed to help subsidise the BBC in the face of competition from Amazon, Netflix and others. A spokesman said it was impossible to put a figure on the new tax because it was not yet a manifesto commitment.
Mr Corbyn’s speech at the Edinburgh television festival will also include a proposal that BBC staff and licence fee payers should be able to elect some of the broadcaster’s board members. The government’s powers of appointment should also be cut, he will say.
He will pledge “complete transparency” on the diversity and make-up of the BBC workforce.
The BBC has increasingly become the subject of attacks by critics from both left and right, pro-Brexit and anti-Brexit, accusing it of political bias. They include many supporters of Mr Corbyn, including Chris Williamson, a prominent leftwing MP, who said last week: “The BBC and other media outlets are playing into the hands of the enemies of Jeremy Corbyn.”
Mr Corbyn’s team likewise believe that the BBC is the subject of some government influence, whether direct or tacit, and that the corporation’s news agenda is also too easily led by the agenda of daily newspapers.
His new proposals come as the BBC faces pressure from technology companies that are increasingly outbidding it and other UK public service broadcasters, or PSBs, for the best programming.
James Cleverly, the Conservative party deputy chairman said Labour were demonstrating they did not know how to handle the economy.
“Tech companies would just put up their prices and pass this internet tax straight onto families and businesses across the country — adding more pressure to weekly bills,” he said.
In an unrelated speech on Thursday, Tony Hall, the director-general of the BBC, will tell an audience in Sweden that the new digital global players have created “super-inflation” in the market for programmes.
But he says PSBs are uniquely placed to produce local programming that resonates with audiences. “There are very few signs that the big global players are going to meet the need that our audiences have for original, local content,” he will tell an audience at the Swedish Charter Review seminar in Stockholm.
Lord Hall, who is the incoming chairman of the European Broadcasting Union, will also point to concerns about the future of public service media.
The political polarisation that has swept the continent has been exacerbated by social media and “should galvanise us all”, he will say. “Those who care about public service values now need to come together and stand up for them like never before.”
