by David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
The Tories are squaring up to abolish the TV licence fee if they are elected next year.Conservative Intelligence, the private £1,000-a-year newsletter run by the ConservativeHome website, says this would be a quick hit to save £100 million of taxpayers money by abolishing the costs of collecting the licence and chasing up evaders.
It would also allow the Tories much greater control over BBC funding and meet the James Murdoch agenda for a “smaller BBC”, as its funding would be the subject of annual spending rounds. And with higher taxes on the cards, saving the public the annual £142.50 fee could be presented as one area where a Tory victory will see lower bills.
According to ConservativeHome editor Tim Montgomerie: “In a report to Jeremy Hunt (Shadow Culture Secretary,) the former BBC Director General (Greg Dyke) recommended that the license fee be abolished and the BBC receive the same revenue from general taxation instead.
“There are legitimate questions as to how the Tories will deal with the BBC. My guess is that there’ll be no direct or early confrontation. The budget crisis will mean a Tory government will have enough fights on its hands.
“What the BBC needs to worry about is the Conservative Party’s overall commitment to transparency of public spending. Most BBC expenditures are still hidden. That will change over time as a Conservative government compels all state agencies to publish expenditures online.”
