What would happen here if they cancelled the clowns?

Imagine, if you will, the UK electing a right-wing populist party into power led by a charismatic leader.

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What if they then took control of the BBC and cancelled Have I Got News For You, because it continually mocked the failings and venal personalities of the people in power?

To most of us, this idea is in the category of 'It Can't Happen Here'; we're a democratic country where we value free speech and humour.

I was thinking about this during last week's furore about the US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel being taken off the air...and then dramatically reinstated.

Why couldn't it happen here?

A century ago, the Soviets, and then the Nazis, cemented their absolute grip on power by taking over the media and silencing their critics.

Think-skinned dictators don't like being laughed at, so the comedians are always swept away or locked up early on.

That all didn't end well for the world, but of course it's our nature not to learn from history.

You don't have to look very far from our shores to see this being played out right now.

In Hungary, which is a member of the EU, the prime minister Victor Orban has taken control of pretty much all of the country's media.

He has turned state broadcasters into government mouthpieces and given over the ownership of nearly all other private media to oligarchs with links to the ruling party.