Licence fee under fire
Peter Hoskin 3:52pm
The BPIX poll in today's Mail on Sunday gives the following headline voting-intention figures: Tories on 45 percent (down 1); Labour on 31 percent (up one); and the Lib Dems on 13 percent (no change). Political Betting's Mike Smithson outlines the reasons to be wary of those numbers - but some of the poll's below-headline findings on the BBC remain striking. They suggest that around 73 percent of 18 to 29-year-olds - the so-called 'yoof' audience that the BBC targets with hosts like Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand - think that the current licence fee is unjustified. Across all age ranges, that figure rises to 74 percent.
Now, this - along with other recent polls - indicates that there may be some political mileage in pushing for a licence fee reduction; or even a more general reorganisation of how the BBC is funded. If anything, there's an argument that it's a moral necessity, given that the public will be more and more fiscally squeezed as the economic downturn bites deeper. The Tories appear to have latched on to this - with today's Telegraph reporting that a Cameron administration would move to "rein in the overweening ambitions of the BBC" and reduce the licence fee by £6 a year. Now that this particular ball is in the political court, don't bet against the government making its own move shortly.
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Tom Pride
November 2nd, 2008 5:23pm Report this commentBy £6? No. .. to £6.
strapworld
November 2nd, 2008 5:46pm Report this commentAnd the great politician, Cameron. Man of the people! Runs away from the BBC Licence Fee. A open goal. A sure fire winner and Cameron and his team of Toffs cannot see it!
He has no idea. I think his time is up. We need a leader with backbone!
TGF UKIP
November 2nd, 2008 6:26pm Report this comment"Ah" I thought when I saw the headlines "Tories to clip the BBC's wings" in the Sunday Telegaraph in the newsagents this morning "I'm going to be able to raise two cheers for Dave at long last."
Now I've just been on the Telegraph website and read the story in full and see that they would plan to reduce the licence fee by a whole £6 - a whole £6!!! And that after careful consideration and inter party strife.
Here is the BBC which kicks and shits on the Tories at every possible opportunity, makes no pretence at political balance, is innately leftist and liberal according to not only Andrew Marr but its own internal Bridcut Report and the most that Dave can threaten it with is a licence fee reduction of a WHOLE £6!
Can anything better exemplify what an utter bunch of wimps and wets the Cameron Tories really are?
mac
November 2nd, 2008 7:47pm Report this comment£6 out of £139+ per viewer? That'll leave the bloated, overpaid organisation in place and lead to it bleating that reduced service and standards are all the fault of Tory parsimony.
The Cameroons seem positively frightened even to contemplate removing any of the Labour's costly feather-bedding in the public sector.
Cameron still is wedded to being Blair Mark II, isn't he? Wrong strategy.
Alex
November 2nd, 2008 7:50pm Report this commentRe: the comment by "strapworld - November 2nd, 2008 5:46pm "
... is there anyone working in comment moderation today at The Spectator?
You're allowing young internet trolls to get through. Sort it out please.
Lance Grundy
November 2nd, 2008 8:20pm Report this commentIt’s what you might describe as politics for dummies. Just watch Labour make political capital out of this one. Yet again they will outflank the Conservative Party and leave them looking like amateurs.
Expect Labour to use the type of phrases Cameron should have been using since early last week…
“The events of the last few days raise serious questions about how the BBC is funded.”
“Is it right that we take money from hard-working families who are struggling to make ends meet and give it to millionaire BBC presenters.”
“We know how every penny matters at difficult times like this and so we are proposing to break up the BBC, privatise it and abolish the Licence Fee. By 2000 and whatever every hard-working family in Britain will be £140 per year better off as a result of our changes.”
I despair of the Conservative Party. What better way to show they feel the pain of the working man and woman than get rid of this hated tax. Still, if the Conservatives can’t see the potential in this I’m sure Alistair Campbell and the Labour Party can. I wouldn’t be surprised if the partial or full privatisation of the BBC ends up in Labour’s next manifesto. It would certainly be a politically astute move. Labour leads. The Tories follow.
David
November 2nd, 2008 9:38pm Report this commentI assume Strapworld has no actual interest in the fortunes of the Conservative party, otherwise he would recognise that while trust in the BBC has been shaked, and more people than ever before are doubting the need for its existence, promising to get rid of it right now would be a disaster. I also doubt whether this is Cameron's intention - I hope it is, but I doubt it. However, to announce its potential abolishment wouldn't just rally the pro-BBCers to arms, it would also cause the BBC to go into bias overdrive for the next 20 months.
biggestaspidistra
November 3rd, 2008 2:51am Report this comment"it would also cause the BBC to go into bias overdrive for the next 20 months."
I'm glad we kept that from them. Such a clever plan.
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