Why is Labour discussing alternative funding for the BBC again, when Keir Starmer ruled out changes back in July last year?
Fair enough, he only ruled out planned Tory changes, and only until 2027, but it was a step towards a secure future for the public service broadcaster after 14 years of being beleaguered by the profit-hungry toffs.
So now Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is banging the drum for a new funding system, saying the licence fee is “deeply regressive” and was “built for a different era”.
But what are her alternative options? All we know for now is what will not be replacing the licence fee.
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Nandy herself has ruled out funding the BBC from general taxation, which is fair. Not everybody has a television that they alone use, so it would be wrong to make individuals pay for something they don’t have. Strangely enough, this straightforward reason is not Nandy’s own justification – her reasoning is that paying from general taxation would open the BBC up to political interference from government ministers who hold the purse strings.
(Some of us might argue that nothing is funded by general taxation anyway, as the purpose of tax is to validate the Pound as a currency and control inflation, but we can let that pass for now.)
The BBC’s chairman, Samir Shah, has already ruled out advertising/subscription funding for public service broadcasting because they shift the priority from serving audiences to profiting from them.
Fine, then – so what are the options?
One aspect of Nandy’s thinking that This Writer does like is her interest in changing the funding system away from a flat-rate fee – because this forces poorer people to pay a higher proportion of their personal budget towards it. But this implies means-testing, which is a double-edged sword.
My big question is: will the public be allowed to pass an opinion on them – or will we simply be presented with the bill, in whatever form it takes – as a fait accompli?
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Why is Labour discussing alternative funding for the BBC again?
Why is Labour discussing alternative funding for the BBC again, when Keir Starmer ruled out changes back in July last year?
Fair enough, he only ruled out planned Tory changes, and only until 2027, but it was a step towards a secure future for the public service broadcaster after 14 years of being beleaguered by the profit-hungry toffs.
So now Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is banging the drum for a new funding system, saying the licence fee is “deeply regressive” and was “built for a different era”.
But what are her alternative options? All we know for now is what will not be replacing the licence fee.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
Nandy herself has ruled out funding the BBC from general taxation, which is fair. Not everybody has a television that they alone use, so it would be wrong to make individuals pay for something they don’t have. Strangely enough, this straightforward reason is not Nandy’s own justification – her reasoning is that paying from general taxation would open the BBC up to political interference from government ministers who hold the purse strings.
(Some of us might argue that nothing is funded by general taxation anyway, as the purpose of tax is to validate the Pound as a currency and control inflation, but we can let that pass for now.)
The BBC’s chairman, Samir Shah, has already ruled out advertising/subscription funding for public service broadcasting because they shift the priority from serving audiences to profiting from them.
Fine, then – so what are the options?
One aspect of Nandy’s thinking that This Writer does like is her interest in changing the funding system away from a flat-rate fee – because this forces poorer people to pay a higher proportion of their personal budget towards it. But this implies means-testing, which is a double-edged sword.
My big question is: will the public be allowed to pass an opinion on them – or will we simply be presented with the bill, in whatever form it takes – as a fait accompli?
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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