At a time when the economy is in freefall and all of us face ever increasing bills and higher taxes, it seems wrong that the BBC are planning to increase the licence fee.
Last year, the BBC spent £15 million on taxi bills and £14 million on plane flights. Many of its presenters are overpaid - look at the millions of pounds that Jonathan Ross gets for example. Some BBC senior Executives get more than the Prime Minister in salaries.
When MPs salaries and expenses are rightly being scrutinised, why is it that BBC journalists and employees can seemingly spend taxpayer's money - also on expenses and allowances - without any kind of public examination? Astonishingly, the Freedom of Information Act does not apply to the whole of the BBC.
I have argued before on CentreRight that we need to democratise the licence fee, so that every licence-fee payer has the right to vote on the level of the increase on the fee, how they think the BBC has
performed and on the hefty salaries that are paid to high profile presenters.
I happen to enjoy and admire much of the BBC output - and am willing to pay for it. Like many voters, I just want a choice on how my money is spent and not to have to fund unnecessary increases, when it is possible for the BBC to cut costs from its bureaucracy.
The call by Shadow Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday for a freeze in the Licence Fee, was a necessary first step in putting the public back in control. It is a great shame that Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs chose to be so frivolous with Licence-Fee Payers' money and vote for an increase.
