Dear Auntie... don’t risk goodwill over free TV licences
‘In an age of Netflix and Amazon there is little reason for telly tax’
THE BBC has united the country with its coverage of the Covid-19 crisis, shining a light on the everyday heroism of NHS doctors and nurses. But while demonstrating what it does best, the BBC refuses to honour a commitment to free TV licences for the over-75s.
Peers in the House of Lords are quite right to castigate the BBC for dithering over introducing the charges. It has already been postponed once and is likely to be delayed again. The peers insist the fee should be dropped altogether.
It is the elderly who have been hardest hit by the pandemic and TV has provided a lifeline to them. As weeks have turned into months, with many of our most vulnerable citizens still self-isolating, their only window on the world telling them what is going on has been a TV screen.
Frequently, if they have lost their partner, it has been their only source of company too.
Many of them have sacrificed their own freedom and contact with loved ones in order not only to protect themselves but also shield society at large and help the NHS survive the surge of patients. Stay at home and protect the NHS was the mantra.
Having diligently done all that, it seems an enormous betrayal to take away that one lifeline by charging the elderly £157.50 for their licence fee.
ALSO, it shows a complete lack of empathy by the BBC. So quick to take up the causes of other minorities, they seem to have a tin ear when it comes to helping the most vulnerable section of society – those four million citizens over 75.
Having paid their taxes all their life, older generations should not now have to worry about paying this unjustifiable bill. “Surely In light of what our elderly have already experienced with Covid-19, the isolation and loneliness they have endured,” says Lord McCrea, “it’s time for the BBC to stop the blame game and honour the clear commitment already given to the over-75s.” The BBC wants to blame the Government for this ill-judged decision but it is BBC top management that should be looking at ways to distribute the generous sums they receive from taxpayers in order to reward their most loyal viewers not penalize them.
It is the older generation who have the strongest ties to the
BBC, having watched over decades royal events, sporting triumphs, much loved entertainers and it is they who deserve a reduction in their daily financial burden.
Instead, the BBC spends too much money on gold-plated pensions for its top-heavy bureaucracy, pursuing costly empire-building and chasing a youth audience that is already entertained by other media. In the past its failed digital media initiative burned through £100million and its billionpound new London headquarters went £107million over budget. Online news should not be its priority and it should leave local reporting to the great network of longestablished local newspapers across the country.
In an age of Netflix and Amazon TV, there is very little justification for a TV-watching tax.We should be free to choose who we subscribe to, based on what we want to watch not because we’ll be fined or sent to jail. Truthfully, if the BBC had to compete for viewer income like everyone else it might be more respectful to its traditional audience rather than constantly lecturing us with virtue-signalling programming.
The BBC should get back to basics and do what it does best.
Its original remit was to serve as a public broadcaster, using its immense resources to cover national and global events, keeping us informed as well as entertained. Its Covid-19 coverage has been exemplary, ensuring the Government’s health advice has been thoroughly explained and discussed.
Its coverage of the weekly applause for care workers has united the nation in a way not seen for a long time.
BUT if the BBC wishes to be seen as a caring institution, it should start by caring for the most vulnerable people in society, the older generations who have worked hard all their life and are now on their own for much of their later years.
Now more than ever those viewers need the BBC and should be the ones to be looked after by one of our greatest cultural icons. Not betrayed by them.
Lord Naseby is right to ask “Surely the BBC should find a way to pay this long-held free TV licence?”
If not, the BBC risks losing the goodwill so many of us still have for it, and with that will come a demand to end the licence fee for all of us – not just the over-75s.