Nadine Dorries MP has been appointed the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport in the latest UK Government Cabinet reshuffle.
The previous incumbent, Oliver Dowden MP, has been moved sideways to the position of Chairman of the Conservative Party. He has already warned party activists to prepare themselves for another General Election within the next two years.
As Culture Secretary Dorries is ultimately responsible for the Government's strategic oversight of broadcasting in the UK, which includes holding the BBC to account.
Dorries is no fan of the BBC, having previously described it as a "biased, left-wing organisation which is seriously failing in its political representation from the top down".
In relation to the TV licence fee, which she has previously described as "more in keeping with a Soviet-style country", she said: "In this day and age, a tax on the ownership of a television is a completely outdated concept that totally fails to take into account changes in the media environment over the past 50 years.
"The BBC as an organisation has become too big, too badly designed and consistently badly managed."
Of course she is incorrect that the TV licence fee is a tax on mere ownership of a television. It is actually a tax on the reception of television (or BBC on-demand) programmes.
We do, however, agree entirely with her sentiments - it is absurd that in the twenty first century, when people can access hundreds of non-BBC channels at the push of a button, that anyone is coerced, on fear of prosecution, into paying for a BBC service they do not need or want.
Having nailed her colours firmly to the mast, I think we can safely assume that the Prime Minister knows exactly what Dorries' thoughts are on the BBC.
He won't have placed her in that position by accident.
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