Britons reject TV licence fee means-testing

All households that want to watch or stream live programming content must pay the annual licence fee of £159, which covers all devices. Some groups, including those over 75 on Pension Credit, are exempt from paying the charge.

The cost is frozen until 2024 and is due to rise in line with inflation until the BBC’s current funding arrangements end on December 31, 2027. The BBC had been funded by a licence fee since 1923 but a new deal will need to be made in the middle of the next parliamentary term.

Ms Powell said that Labour will set out to overhaul the licence fee and has not ruled out making richer households pay more. She told inews.co.uk: “The licence fee might not be the model you’d start with that everybody pays the same whether you’re rich or poor. But I think the core principle of everybody contributing and it being a universal service that everybody contributes is absolutely right.”

She added that they will also change the way in which jobs like BBC chairman are appointed to reduce political interference. She said that Labour is “very firm” in its commitment to having a “universally funded, publicly owned model” for the long term.

READ MORE: TV licence reform could mean licence fee is replaced with tax

In a poll that ran from 1.30pm on Tuesday, January 31, to 1.30pm on Monday, February 6, Express.co.uk asked readers: “Should TV licence fee be means-tested?”

In total, 1,175 readers responded, with the majority, 72 percent (843 people), answering “no” against a means-tested licence fee.

In contrast, 26 percent (309 people) said “yes” it should be, while two percent (23 people) said they did not know either way.

Dozens of comments were left below the accompanying article as readers shared their thoughts on the future of the TV licence.

However, a handful of readers felt positively about the TV licence fee, with one reader, username goodnessme, writing: “I know I’m in the minority but personally I think it’s good value.”

While username psterling shared their thoughts on how means-testing could work, commenting: “The easiest way to help poorer people is to link the TV Licence to Council Tax bands.”

Executive at Recurly, a platform purpose-built to maximize subscription revenue, Oscar Wall, suggested that the UK could look to other nations to tackle the licence fee debate. He recently told Express.co.uk: “In Sweden, a few years ago, the licence fee was converted into an added-on tax as a small percentage.

“The licence fee used to be the same price for all, much as it is in the UK. But now because it is a tax, it can vary according to a person’s income – meaning those who earn more will pay more. People were more receptive to that, and it went over well to the extent it is no longer part of the public debate. There may be scope for the UK to do this, to make the system fairer.”