Do right by the elderly on free TV

There is no doubt about it. The case for over75s to have free TV licences is overwhelming – so it is understandable that 750,000 of them have not paid the fee. They may be breaking the law, but they are exercising their right to natural justice.

For those living alone, the television provides the only human voices many will hear all day.

For couples, the television is a focal point for vigorous conversation and debate.

It is the window on the world for the housebound. It offers company and comfort.

And after a lifetime of hard graft, a free licence is the least elderly people deserve.

The question then is not whether they should have them but who should pay for them?

Until George Osborne came along, the Government arranged it as a welfare payment.

The then-Chancellor’s brutal wheeze to save money was to pass on the bill to the BBC.

The Corporation argued it was a broadcaster, not the Department of Work and Pensions.

And the price would be the closure of BBCs 2, 3 and 4, Radio 4 and local radio.

ABANDONED

Eventually the BBC agreed to pick up the tab for the poorest on pension credit.

But the remainder were abandoned.

They are not in any mood to accept that quietly. It is a vicious tax on, at their age, one of their few pleasures left in their lives.

They also complain that they are paying for rubbish programming. And with so much great material coming out of pay-to-view channels nowadays, they have a good point.

This is now Keir Starmer’s golden opportunity to come up with a solution, thereby staving off criticism that Labour is bereft of policies.

It was Labour that introduced the free TV licences for the over-75s two decades ago.

The Labour leader should seize the initiative and pledge to reintroduce them.

He might consider means-testing to ease the burden on the taxpayer, while also ensuring the money goes to those who genuinely struggle to afford the £157.50 cost.

That is not just a vote winner. It is the right thing to do.