Editor's Note: You can listen to Feedback online or download it here.
As a proud Cumbrian I was naturally delighted when, this week, St Bees was voted the best village in Britain in which to live. However I’m not sure I would want to live there myself as it is so small and isolated on the wild west Cumbrian coast. The media industry is virtually non- existent, apart from Eric Robson’s operation in nearby Wasdale, where the Gardeners’ Question Time host , entrepreneur and Chairman of the Cumbrian Tourist Board, produces mountain-climbing videos amongst much else.
On the other hand the village has a fascinating history. St Bega landed there fleeing from Ireland in the Early Middle Ages and the Romans, the Vikings, and the Normans have all left their mark among the ruins of the beautiful monastery.
St Bees is also home to a distinguished public school, whose fees must be beyond most Cumbrians, but which does bring jobs to an area which needs them. And a few miles away lies the Lake District with its glorious, timeless beauty which puts everyday worries in their proper place.
I’m beginning to change my mind!
It must seem, however, another country to the first time visitor from London, not least because it is so white, as is the rest of the county. If a black or minority ethnic journalist were to present a local BBC news programme he or she could not be said to be representative of the racial make-up of the area.
According to the 2011 census, the UK Region with the highest percentage of white British is Northern Ireland with 96%, but in rural areas such as Allerdale in Cumbria it is 97.6%.
Contrast that with Greater London where white British make up 44.9%of the population.
The overall percentage of white British in the UK population in 2011 was 81.9%.
The BBC says its on-air portrayal of Black and Minority Ethnic members is around 10.4% ,and it wants to increase that to 15% over the next three years.
It also has similar targets for all staff representation and slightly lower one – 10% - for so called BAME leadership.
Why does this matter. Isn’t the most important thing ability not colour?
That’s a question I put to two Black and Minority Ethnic Experts who have taken part in one of the BBC training courses, Dr Keon West and Gaile Walters.
You can hear our conversation on this week’s Feedback.
Do let us know what you think about the BBC’s drive to make its staff and presenters more representative of the racial and ethnic make- up of the UK – and whatever else you want us to explore.
Roger Bolton
Roger Bolton presents Feedback on Radio 4
