Speakers include: Melvyn Bragg, author and broadcaster, James Purnell, director of strategy and digital at the BBC, Andrew Bridgen MP, Meirion Jones, investigative journalist and Robin Aitken, author of Can we trust the BBC? and Rachel Johnson, author and broadcaster.

With the possible exception of the NHS, no other institution in Britain occupies such a heightened place in the public consciousness as the BBC. But with rapid technological changes and fragmented audiences, Auntie is far from invincible. Faced with ongoing questions over the licence fee, the quality of its programming, accusations of bias and hit by a number of high profile scandals, has the British public lost faith in the BBC?

As the broadcaster approaches its royal charter renewal in 2016, is there a place for the BBC in its current form or does it need cutting down to size?

On 18 November, The Spectator hosted a debate on whether the BBC really is a national treasure. Click here to listen to the debate.

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