MP wants Commons job in bid to end licence fee
Former journalist in call for end to BBC ‘poll tax’
FORMER BBC journalist and Conservative MP Julian Knight is campaigning to become chairman of a powerful Commons committee, so he can press for an end to the licence fee. Comparing the £154.50 annual fee to the hated poll tax, the MP for Solihull said the Government must “help the BBC transition to a new model, one which retains that which makes it such a unique and beloved institution but weans it off the poll tax and fosters a culture which is more open to commercialism and accessible to outside talent”.
Mr Knight, a former journalist who worked for the BBC as a consumer affairs reporter for five years until 2007, also accused the Corporation’s news services of taking sides in the debate about Brexit.
He said: “At a time of polarised attitudes, the BBC failed to discharge its duty to make both sides feel fairly represented.
“Trust in the institution has declined to a point unprecedented in its long history.”
The MP is standing to become chair of the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee. While the position must go to a Tory MP, it will be up to MPs to choose whether Mr Knight or another MP gets the role.
Mr Knight said the committee could take charge of deciding how the BBC could change.
He said the current licence fee could not be justified when there were so many other providers of television or similar services, such as Netflix. At the moment, anyone who watches “programmes live on an online TV service” needs a licence, even if they only watch them on a tablet or phone and don’t even own a TV. This includes people who never watch BBC programmes.
Mr Knight said: “I take no joy in this. Not only do I recognise the BBC’s crucial role in our national life, and as a former news reporter I have experienced firsthand some of the great work it does.
“But I do worry that if we once again back away from reform, the licence fee will come to be seen by increasing numbers of voters as an unjust tax.”
And he claimed the BBC had not been impartial over Brexit, saying: “The BBC has found itself out of step both with the 52 per cent who voted Leave and the millions more, like me, who did not but believe that the referendum result must be honoured.
“Instead it seemed to give a privileged voice to those calling for a second referendum, whilst shows such as the Today programme have dwindled to bywords for metropolitan elitism in modern Britain.” It was announced this week that Lord Tony Hall, who was educated at King Edward’s School in Edgbaston, Birmingham, is to step down as director-general of the BBC this summer. Lord Hall, who took up the post in April 2013, revealed his decision in a message to BBC staff, saying he will remain in the role for the next six months before leaving in the summer.