Three-quarters want BBC licence fee abolished, poll finds
By Paul Homewood
Worrying times for the BBC. Hot on the heels of Charles Moore’s strident criticism of BBC climate bias comes news of a new survey showing three quarters of the public want to see the licence fee scrapped or substantially reformed, while trust in the BBC is less than ITV:
The BBC is less trusted than other broadcasters, lagging four percentage points behind ITV News over the perceived impartiality and accuracy of its news coverage.
In a new survey by Savanta ComRes just 69 percent of people said they trusted the broadcaster, compared with 73 percent who backed ITV.
While nearly half of Britons believe the country is too reliant on the BBC.
Amid ongoing questions over the broadcaster’s future, the survey found that 47 percent of respondents believe there is an over dependence on its news arms.
The poll, commissioned by Christian Communications Partnership, also found a significant support for Boris Johnson’s calls for a review into the way the BBC is funded, with two thirds of people stating they believe the licence fee should be “scrapped or substantially reformed”.
Half of those polled said they would rather receive news free from commercial broadcasters than pay for it through the BBC licence fee. This falls to just over four in ten of those aged over 55.
A separate poll by Public First finds a similar result, with 74% backing scrapping the licence fee.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
The BBC licence fee is another government regressive tax. It hurts most those people who can least afford it. People should be able to choose what they want to see and hear and pay for it accordingly.
My biggest objection to the bbc TV tax isn’t so much the cost but that it has to be paid to be able to watch live TV on other free to air channels; so they are not free to air because the bbc makes it mandatory that their tax is paid in order to watch them.
I’m 67. I haven’t watched the bbc for over 12 years and haven’t paid their tax and therefore haven’t watched live TV for over 6 years. And for that reason alone I’m puzzled why commercial TV companies haven’t been at the forefront of campaigning for the abolition of the TV tax.
I’m not sure but I believe that Channel 4 receive a small cut of that licence money.
But the important fact is that the BBC don’t give a hoot, they’re on a mission to misinform, Remember that ‘TV detector vans are in your area’ advert from the 1960’s … the lies and misinformation have been modus operandii since its inception.
All public money for S4C will come from the TV licence fee within four years, the UK government has said.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-43569372
I haven’t seen the actual question asked. If it gave the impression of “do you want to pp\ay a licence Y/N” then it would not be surprising if the answer was Y. If it said “Should the BBC be funded by adverts?” that would a different question, as would “Should the BBC be funded directly by central government?”
To answer John Cheshire’s question, the commercial stations are comfortable with the BBC being taxpayer funded (up to a point) because there is only so much advertising revenue to go around, and they are worried that a BBC funded by adverts would reduce their income significantly.
I believe the best solution would be to descope the BBC and reduce it to a single – central government funded – news/current affairs channel, with entertainment being left to commercial sites. And at the same time making it clear to the BBC management that if they do not lift their game then the channel will also be closed down. As for radio, go back to the old Home and Light programmes. Scrap the orchestras and reduce Radio 3 (the Third programme) to just playing classical music from albums. That should be cheap as chips to run.
Alternatively, privatise the lot and let ’em all fight over the advertising revenue. !
However, I think Boris will be too busy to take on the luvvies, so nothing will happen. Shame.
I don’t want the BBC to be chopped up, changed or regulated, I want it to disappear entirely. It’s just a gigantic social engineering project.
I’m happy to pay for unbiased news, quality drama and original comedy. I don’t appear to be getting any of these. Big change needs to happen soon.
The BBC needs to go. My wife used to know some of their correspondents overseas and they were adamant that they weren’t biased just because ‘they were the BBC’.
Interviews with ex BBC employees Robin Aitken https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJE4Oy5aPls and Rod Liddle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzJh3py3fJE&t=14s worth a watch
In the mind of many young people the BBC is just something oldies look at, so its is being superseded whether it likes it or not.
The concept of a public broadcaster would seem quite strange if we were starting from where we are.
The BBC always could not be trusted to tell the truth, this is not new! journalists do not deal in truth, they tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It is the story that is important to journalists not the truth
Businesses rely on accurate information in planning their operations. That includes accurate news, for which some pay specialist providers whose offerings require fairly substantial subscriptions. Even there, sometimes there can be a drift towards lack of accuracy and bias, where some subscribers are the source of the news that affects others: fake news can give a competitive advantage if competitors swallow it. Governments seem less concerned with accurate news – propaganda is the order of the day, especially over issues such as climate change.
“comment is free, but facts are sacred”.
C P Scott, legendary, and radical, editor of the Manchester Guardian.
All the chickens are coming home to roost for the Metropolitan Left. First Brexit, then the recent British General Election and now their sacred cow and purveyor of their nonsense the BBC. It’s wonderful to behold and of course they are determined to learn absolutely nothing from it all – so it’s the gift that will keep on giving! Happy New Year everyone!
Couldn’t happen to a nicer/more objective mob.
sure sure agreed re licence fee and bias ( bravo Charles Moore ) but remember all the wonderful things that Public Broadcasting provides . We would miss many things if Auntie died or was murdered .
Great documentaries , good drama , fantastic music and all the amazing BBC orchestras
( 6 ? at the last count )
@OldCynic.
Good comments.
This kind of surveys always leave me slightly bemused by the number of people who believe stuff that is so obviously untrue.
Also, does the explosion of Xmas lights at this festive time demonstrate the complete lack of fucks that people give about climate change?
BBC CountryFile weather just claimed a ‘hottest eveh’!!!.
According to MO:
“Cassley, Sutherland reached a remarkable 16.8 °C at 03:00 this morning. This is the highest UK temperature recorded this late in the year.” A meaningless, spurious record claim in case you hadn’t guessed.
This did not beat December OR January (Both 18.3C in 1948 and 1958/1971/2003). But they’ve come up with the wording “this late in the year”, because it happened to be after the actual Dec. record date and before Jan in the next year!
It was remarkably mild and unusual for the maximum temperature to occur at night, but just a pulse of deep south air probably boosted by the Foehn effect. The nearest location only recorded 14C. It hasn’t been above 8/9C though-out the whole period where I am.
I don’t live many miles from Cassley in Sutherland and I recorded a maximum of 13.3 C. I’m not complaining – it certainly helps with the logs and oil. But nowadays of course, you have to expect warmists to jump on ANY weather event, whatever or wherever it is, as more BS evidence that “Climate Change” (which is shorthand for any weather events anywhere in the World being indisputably caused by evil man-made CO2 emissions) is really happening!
And on the reporting of said climate change, I see no difference in the news from either ITV or BBC. Tom Clarke (the ITV news ”science” reporter) is just as much an environmental zealot as his BBC counterparts are.
Reblogged this on Climate- Science.press.
One more vote to can BBC ( and USA,s PBS) from America.