PM “looking at” aborting TV licence
December 10, 2019
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has raised the possibility of scrapping the TV licence fee by admitting he is “certainly looking at” the issue.
Ahead of the December 12th general election, Johnson questioned “how long” the current system of funding the BBC can be justified.
When quizzed on the potential abolition of a licence fee whilst campaigning in the Northeast, Johnson replied: “For everyone? Well, I don’t think at this late stage in the campaign I’m going to make an unfunded spending commitment like that. But what I certainly think is that the BBC should cough up and pay for the licences for the over-75s as they promised to do. But at this stage we are not planning to get rid of all TV licence fees, though I am certainly looking at it.”
A TV licence currently costs £154.50 per year for a colour TV and £52 for a black and white TV set.
Many observers felt it was merely a diversionary tactic to get the NHS off the day’s news agenda following a bad day on the issue for the PM.