The Rt Hon John Whittingdale MP

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

100 Parliament Street

London

SW1A 2BQ

Date: February 16^th 2016

Dear John,

I am sure you will have been contacted by many MPs about the decision not to allow responses from 38 degrees members as part of the consultation about the future of the BBC. On behalf of the hundreds of Brighton Pavilion residents who have been in touch with me – both to explain why they love the BBC and to protest – I’d like to urge you to reconsider.

It’s vital we have a strong and independent BBC but it's been a difficult time for the public service broadcaster.  The Charter Review process is an opportunity for our public service broadcaster to get back in touch with its founding principle: to deliver high-quality, diverse and creative programming for all audiences.  For the constituents lobbying me, this means being focussed on providing a public service - not operating along commercial lines.

One of the reasons the BBC is one of our most loved national treasures is that people feel they have a stake in its future, so it’s especially worrying that this is being denied them. I fail to see how undermining the democratic process, by seeking to silence those who feel strongly enough to make their views known, is good for public broadcasting.

Please do the right thing by my constituents who have taken part in the consultation process in good faith - and please also make protecting the BBC’s public funding official Government policy.

I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,