'Axe the Tax' campaign to scrap the BBC licence fee
We've railed against wasteful spending at the BBC throughout our 16 year history. We've also challenged the organisation on its establishment outlook, that usually ignores typical taxpayers and tends towards an ever-bigger state.
Lots of people are open to the idea of a much smaller state-funded BBC, adhering to past principles of high culture and serious news. But that's not what the BBC is - and hasn't been for sometime. It competes in the commercial market using taxpayers' money; it has helped kill off local media outlets with its dominant regional stations; and it wastes cash chasing a youth audience it has no hope of catching. It has lost the confidence of taxpayers.
The licence fee is not fit for the 21st century. With drastic technological change and the myriad ways in which people watch the media, the current model looks increasingly outdated. Last year, the number of licences sold fell for the first time, with 37,000 fewer households buying one than the previous year. Little wonder, when consumer habits are changing - and quickly.
So in January 2020, we launched our Axe the Tax campaign to scrap the BBC licence fee. It's time taxpayers' stop being forced to support the BBC!
The licence fee is guaranteed until 2027. Winning this battle won't happen overnight. We have to start making the case now for changes, calling out the BBC and Channel 4 models and empowering politicians and commentators to take a stand. Everything from preparing Channel 4 for commercial ownership to decriminalising the licence fee is up for grabs, and the fight to win these battles has to start now.
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