It was an interesting question as to whether the BBC had a future in the digital world, and what form of market failure could justify the licence fee system.

Over the last decade, - economists seemed to share a broad consensus about economic policy, with the old splits between monetarists and Keynesians apparently being settled by events. But the Great Recession of the last two years has changed everything.

It was an interesting question as to whether the BBC had a future in the digital world, and what form of market failure could justify the licence fee system.

Without the BBC, the proliferation of television and radio channels by the private sector would simply result in more and more channels, with tiny audiences, all seeking to do the same thing. The future would be one of fragmentation - fragmentation without either plurality or diversity.

The BBC provides the commentary on our lives, the soundtrack of the nation. It is one of the most powerful unifying forces in the United Kingdom today.

The BBC should not have a cheerleader. It should have somebody who runs the organisation in the interests of the public and that should be a chairman.

I want the BBC to be a mass market public service broadcaster still funded by the licence fee... and the licence fee is more durable than many people in the commercial sector believe.