Brian Rushton Turned out not so nice

Brian Rushton,

No silver linings

SOME partnerships are regarded as so sacrosanct that they are expected to survive hurricanes, tsunamis and other acts of God. And so it was with two venerable British institutions—the BBC and the national meteorological office. The Met Office, founded in 1854, has provided every forecast on the Beeb since the first one in 1922, giving British people the information they need each day to avoid talking about anything meaningful with people of other social classes.

But on August 23rd the BBC announced that the Met Office had not made it to the final round of the tendering process to provide forecasts from next year. Reports suggest the finalists are a Dutch and a New Zealand company.

The BBC says it is “legally required to go through an open tender process” to secure the best value for money for its licence fee, the tax levied on television owners to fund it. “This is disappointing news,” said Steve Noyes of the Met Office, with understatement.

Experts were less restrained. “It’s terrible news. The Met Office predictions are among the most accurate in the world,” says Grant Allen...Continue reading

via Brian Rushton, Turned out not so nice