Why is the BBC refusing to play chart-topping anti-Starmer Christmas song?

An anti-Keir Starmer song, which is currently topping the official singles downloads chart in the UK, is causing quite the stir, as it directly criticises the current government’s slashing of winter fuel payments for pensioners. 

‘Freezing This Christmas’ by the parody band Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers uses the melody of Mud’s 1974 hit ‘Lonely This Christmas’ to comment on Labour’s decision to cut Winter Fuel Allowance, a move that the video for the song states will lead to “up to 4,000 pensioners will die because of the cold in the UK this winter.” 

The lyrics, written by freelance marketer Chris Middleton, feature lines like “It’ll be freezing this Christmas / Without fuel at home / It’ll be freezing this Christmas / While Keir Starmer is warm / It’ll be cold, so cold / Without fuel at home...” and “Merry Christmas, Keir / I hope you can sleep at night.” 

So far, more than 1.6 million people have viewed the music video on YouTube.

All the proceeds from sales will go toward charities supporting the elderly, and pressure is being put on BBC radio stations to play the song. 

So far, they have refused. 

Dean Ager, the singer on the track, has claimed the BBC’s refusal to play the song is “giving them bad publicity for being so biased”, while Rob Davis, the original member of Mud, said of the winter fuel cut: “That’s not a good thing. I mean, there are a lot of very broke people over here. It’s very hard.” 

However, Davis sympathised with the BBC for steering clear of the political track, saying: “I can understand why they wouldn’t want to because … they get done for a lot of things, don’t they, the BBC? So they’re probably being really careful.” 

Elsewhere, Tory MP for Mid Buckinghamshire Greg Smith said it was “an absurdity” that the BBC “should not play a song that is selling so well”. 

He told UK publication The Telegraph: “Satire is often the most powerful check on power – and this song is highlighting the seriousness of Labour’s political choices to give bumper pay deals to their union paymasters whilst stripping some of our poorest pensioners from vital funds to heat their homes this winter.” 

There are no BBC policies preventing it from airing protest or political songs. 

However, the BBC has prior form, having ignored popular clamour for tracks in the past. In 2013, they refused to play The Wizard of Oz song ‘Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead’ when it reached No 2 following an online campaign launched after the death of Margaret Thatcher. 

The BBC also censored The Pogues’ beloved 1987 Christmas song, ‘Fairytale of New York’ two years ago, following BBC Radio 1’s previous censoring of the song in 2020. 

A BBC spokesman said that decisions on what stations play are “always made with the relevant audiences and context in mind”. 

However, many fans of the song aren’t buying the explanation, demanding that the BBC prove its impartiality by giving airtime to this year’s charity single.

British gambling company William Hill has stated that ‘Freezing This Christmas is “a serious contender to top the charts on Christmas Day”, with the company currently touting Wham! at 1/16 odds to take pole position (and which topped the charts last year) and Sir Starmer and the Granny Harmers at 12/1. 

Additional sources • The Telegraph, William Hill