Petitions/Amend BBC's Royal charter to bar and remove political advisers from BBC Board
StatusOngoing
Opened8 Jan 2026
Closes
Government response
Parliamentary debateNot eligible
Milestones

Amend the BBC's Royal Charter to: a) bar anyone from the BBC Board who has held senior advisory roles in government or political party leadership in the past 10 years; and b) adjust legal thresholds to enable the removal of current board members with such affiliations.

The BBC Charter requires impartiality, yet we feel board members with recent political ties compromise this principle. We think public confidence in the BBC’s independence is undermined when governance includes former government advisers or party strategists. We believe reforming the appointment process and removing partisan members will help to protect editorial neutrality and uphold democratic standards. We believe this would restore impartiality and public trust.

10,000
100,000

Constituency engagement ranking

David Davis
1David Davis MP
Goole and Pocklington
4
Steve Darling
2Steve Darling MP
Torbay
4
Rachael Maskell
3Rachael Maskell MP
York Central
4
Sir Desmond Swayne
4Sir Desmond Swayne MP
New Forest West
3
Sir Mel Stride
5Sir Mel Stride MP
Central Devon
2
Max Wilkinson
6Max Wilkinson MP
Cheltenham
2
Bell Ribeiro-Addy
7Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Clapham and Brixton Hill
2
Tom Gordon
8Tom Gordon MP
Harrogate and Knaresborough
2
Mike Wood
9Mike Wood MP
Kingswinford and South Staffordshire
2
Matt Rodda
10Matt Rodda MP
Reading Central
2