Conservative MP Lee Anderson says the planned BBC licence fee increase should not go ahead.
Hitting out at the corporation’s “bias”, he called for its services to be offered to the public on a subscription basis.
Lee Anderson has called for the BBC licence fee to be scrapped
PA / GB NEWS
“I don’t want to buy it, I haven’t bought it for four or five years now”, he said.
“The taxpayer is being hoodwinked out of £159 to listen to people like Gary Lineker spout his nonsense.
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“People in the BBC are being paid massive salaries when people can barely afford to pay the TV licence.
“It’s meant to be an impartial service, anyone with an ounce of common sense will know it’s not impartial.
“We’ve seen that in the last few weeks with the nonsense they’ve put out over Israel. It’s time they were brought into line.”
The licence fee currently sits at £159 per year but is due to surge by nine per cent to £173.30 in April.
The BBC is set to increase its licence fee
PA
Sunak said over the weekend that the BBC should be “realistic about what it can expect people to pay at a time like this”.
Anderson told Daubney that Britons are growing “fed up” of the BBC, with many turning to other forms of media or television channels.
“People like my parents who watch the BBC are fed up with it”, he said.
“They’re turning it off and watching GB News. GB News is on a loop most of the time in my parent’s house.
“They can see these middle class lefties presenting the news, the bias is clear to see, and it’s putting people off.
“If it goes to a subscription service, I’m convinced more people will watch GB News than the BBC.”
A BBC spokesperson said: “The government and BBC agreed a six-year licence fee settlement in January 2022, which froze the licence fee for two years with increases in line with inflation from 2024.
“As is usual practice the government sets and confirms the cost of a licence each year and this remains unconfirmed for 2024/25.
“The BBC will continue to focus on what it does best: working to deliver world-class content and providing great value for all audiences.”
