A tense clash erupted on GB News about the BBC’s latest licence fee surge.
Upon the conclusion of its two-year freeze, the state broadcaster is now a costly extra £11.50-a-year to watch.
Ex-Brexit Party MEP Rupert Lowe and ex-BBC executive Roger Bolton joined Nana Akua and Ben Leo on GB News to assess whether the BBC continues to serve a purpose that is worthy of a £169.50 yearly fee.
“It’s now not fit for purpose”, Lowe said.
Roger Bolton and Rupert Lowe clashed over the BBC licence fee
GB NEWS
“Between the wars, there was a logic for it. Now there is news everywhere, no young people watch the BBC now. It’s not impartial.”
“If you’re in the middle of the road like the BBC, you get run down both ways”, Bolton argued.
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“It’s no surprise questions of impartiality are levelled now the country is more divided than ever.
“You can’t go to jail for not paying the licence fee, you will be fined.”
The latter point was contested by Lowe and Bolton, who argued that not paying the fine could result in jail time.
“It’s the same thing”, Nana said.
BBC Chief Tim Davie has said 'funding reform is necessary'PABolton added to his point by admitting he does not agree with the concept of the licence fee, but continued to defend the state broadcaster.
“I don’t like the licence fee in principle”, he said.
“I don’t like a regressive tax. But I do want public service broadcasting, I do want the BBC. The problem with subscription is, there are about four million households in the UK without access to the internet.
“If you switch the BBC off like that, you have to solve that problem first.
The BBC licence fee surge prompted fiery debate on GB News
GB NEWS
“I think the licence fee is very flawed. The Government gave the BBC responsibility for effectively funding the licence fee for pensioners, this was a Government decision to squeeze the BBC further.
“Market failure does exist. What about children’s programs? Only the BBC does it.”
Ben Leo hit back at the point, saying ‘Channel 5 does Milkshake every morning’.
“In terms of statistics and you look at original programming, the BBC is almost alone”, he said.
“What we have to say to ourselves is, do we still need public service broadcasting? is the BBC a good way of delivering it? And how do we pay for it?”
Rupert Lowe responded by hitting out at the BBC, saying it is now time to ‘responsibly defund’ the corporation.
“If you drive around most parts of the UK, people have a Sky dish, that gives people access to news and sport”, he said.
“I listened to Richard Sharp over the weekend talking complete rubbish about means-testing the BBC.
“Why would you go into such detail to fund an outdated monopoly?
“It’s nonsense. It’s time to simplify people’s lives, let them choose. How many other countries have a state broadcasting monopoly run by a woke, metropolitan elite?”
BBC director-general Tim Davie has pledged to open the corporation’s ‘biggest-ever consolation process’ into the licence fee so the public can ‘inform and drive debate’.