The Director-General of the BBC has warned the UK faces a profound crisis of trust, which risks significant implications for cohesion, democratic stability, and economic growth in a speech in Salford
Tim Davie said the UK must make a series of bold, urgent choices to reverse the erosion of societal trust – and that the BBC stands ready to play a central role in this renewal to an audience at the Lowry in Salford Quays
He told them the BBC can become “An institution that builds social capital and stimulates growth in the online, AI age.
“I don’t want to catastrophise; we have so much to be proud of as the UK: our tolerance, our innovative spirit, our creativity, our humour, our sense of fairness but I think that unless we act we will drift. Becoming weaker, less trusting, less competitive,” he told the audience.
“The future of our cohesive, democratic society feels, for the first time in my life, at risk. This speaks to issues way beyond party politics or one event, but to longer term factors such as the online revolution and globalisation.
“With that in mind, we have been thinking how we can harness a precious national asset, the BBC. How can it have maximum catalytic effect on the UK? How we can help families and the UK as a whole?”
“With courage, collaboration, investment and imagination, we can create a UK that is more inclusive, more secure, and more successful,” he added.
He set out five strategic interventions the UK can make – with the BBC as a key delivery partner:
Making the UK a global leader in trusted information,supporting democracy from the roots up, deploying AI and education technology for good.
Maximising economic growth across the UK and
ensuring a fair digital transition.
He then shared with the audience some of the bold ideas the BBC is exploring for the future as part of this. These would need “funding as well as sufficient flexibility for the BBC to innovate,” he said.
Davie spoke of Dramatically increasing the presence of BBC News on platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok to “ensure we have a stronger position amidst the noise”
He said that he wanted to increase the availability of Verify around the world; and deploying AI responsibly alongside trusted BBC journalism to create a new, gold standard fact checking tool.
He talked of the possibility of expanding the Local Democracy Reporting Service to include health authorities, police and crime commissioners, and deeper analysis of the regional mayoralties, which would all be available to partner media; the potential to ‘open source’ all local video, news and audio content to enable local media partners to access it and also linking BBC platforms to commercial providers, to help strengthen the depth of local journalism across the UK.
Whilst he added that the exploration of whether BBC Bitesize and agentic AI could create a personal learning companion for every single child aged 7-16. Evolving for those at different levels of attainment and with different needs; with a commitment to safety and quality so users can fully trust it; and to support teachers and complement learning across the country.
He also spoke of plans to supercharge investment across the UK, including the BBC base in Salford support for the One Creative North plan; and more strategic partnerships such as those in Belfast, Cardiff, the Midlands or the North East, where the BBC is playing a catalytic role in building trust and belief in local opportunities and of the opportunity to partner with the next generation of content creators, opening the doors of studios for creators to generate new work, plus access to skills training, equipment and facilities.
Davie called for a national plan for IP switchover in the 2030s – ensuring a smooth, inclusive transition from broadcast to internet-based delivery, including proposals for a new streaming media device, designed with accessibility in mind, aimed at helping those currently underserved by digital services.
The Director-General said:
“Our vision is clear: create a growing, Reithian media organisation that offers exceptional value to its owners, the UK public, all based on building long term trust.
“A creative organisation delivering world class content and services underpinned by our values, at the cutting-edge of innovation, rapidly deploying AI for good. A global centre of excellence.”
Turning to the BBC’s Royal Charter beyond 2027 and the debate about future funding options, he went on:
“Critically, we will need a strong Charter to enable growth, securing a universal public service BBC for a generation and safeguarding our independence.
“We need a Charter that allows us to act faster – to be more agile and respond to the changing market, technology, and audience needs.
