After BBC’s Live-Air Mishap at Glastonbury, It’s Time to Scrap the Licence Fee

Once a treasured national institution, the BBC is increasingly becoming a cause of national frustration. The latest controversy — chants of “f*** the Tories” broadcast during Glastonbury coverage — is not only embarrassing for the organisation, but further proof that it is slipping far away from impartiality and dragging itself into political theatre.

In response, the Culture Secretary has placed the BBC under “special measures,” demanding a review of its editorial standards and impartiality. But let’s be honest: this isn’t a new problem. For years, many have felt that the BBC leans too far in one direction, routinely failing to represent the wide spectrum of British opinion.

And yet, we are all still forced to pay for it.

Whether you watch BBC or not, whether you agree with its output or not, the law demands you pay the licence fee or face prosecution. In a society that values choice, that’s not just outdated — it’s outrageous.

Why should anyone be legally obliged to fund a broadcaster they neither trust nor use?

The Glastonbury incident is just the latest drop in an already overflowing bucket. When the BBC allows political chanting to be aired during what should be entertainment coverage, and when those chants are clearly targeted, divisive and offensive to many taxpayers, it proves just how detached the Corporation has become from the people who fund it.

Enough is enough.

We have moved into a world where streaming services, podcasts, on-demand platforms and digital news outlets give the public more control over what they consume. The BBC must now adapt to that reality.

The licence fee must be scrapped.

Let the BBC become an optional subscription service, like Netflix or Sky. If people value its output, they will pay for it. If not, they won’t. That is what choice and fairness look like. The Corporation will either adapt or fail — but at least it will do so on its own merit, not with a guaranteed pot of money extracted from unwilling households.

In 2025, forcing people to fund a media outlet they may not use or agree with is indefensible.

This is no longer about reform. It’s about ending an arrangement that no longer fits the times.

The BBC has long boasted about its independence and editorial standards. Very well — let it stand independently, compete commercially, and be held to account not just by Ofcom, but by the British public with their wallets.

Let’s bring broadcasting into the 21st century. Let’s scrap the licence fee — for good.