Key Points:
JAMES Cleverly, a Tory leadership hopeful, vows to abolish the BBC licence fee if he becomes Prime Minister.
Robert Jenrick, another Conservative figure, expresses being "sorely tempted" to get rid of the fee.
Criminal prosecutions for not paying the fee could be scrapped by Labour due to concerns of disproportionate impact on women.
JAMES Cleverly made a bold statement at the Conservative Party conference by pledging to abolish the BBC licence fee if he were to become Prime Minister. The Tory leadership hopeful criticized the tax on hardworking Brits to watch television as "unsustainable." He emphasized that in the current era of streaming services, where companies like Disney and Netflix profit from subscription models, the BBC should follow suit. Similarly, Robert Jenrick, a frontrunner in the leadership race, expressed being "sorely tempted" to do away with the fee, citing his daughters' preference for online content over traditional TV viewing.
On the other side of the political spectrum, there are discussions within Labour about potentially scrapping criminal prosecutions for failing to pay the BBC licence fee. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has raised concerns about the disproportionate impact on women, with 70% of those prosecuted being female. Nandy and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood are aligned in their belief that taxpayers should not bear the burden of administrative costs associated with these prosecutions. They argue that women, often in charge of household expenses and more likely to be at home when investigators visit, are unfairly targeted by the current system.
