Nearly two thirds of voters want a referendum on whether the BBC licence fee should be scrapped, a survey has revealed.
The poll found that 64 per cent support a nationwide vote on the corporation’s funding, while only 13 per cent said they would not support the plan.
If a referendum were held, 62% said that they would vote for the repeal of the license fee. Only 24% said they would retain it.
The poll, by Savanta ComRes for the Defund The BBC campaign group, comes after The Mail on Sunday revealed last week that Boris Johnson had condemned the corporation as ‘shamefully frivolous, vengeful and partisan’ over its coverage of the No 10 Partygate row.
A survey revealed that nearly two-thirds of the voters would like a referendum to decide whether the BBC license fee should be scrapped. (Photo: BBC program Call the Midwife).
A poll showed that 64% of respondents support nationwide voting on funding for the BBC, and only 13% said they wouldn’t support it.
The Prime Minister told friends he believed the BBC had neglected its ‘primary duty’ of publicising the need for booster jabs to combat the new Omicron variant of Covid.
He said the BBC’s exhaustive coverage of the party scandal had ‘wasted’ too much ‘public time and attention’ when the corporation should have been concentrating on urging the public to get their jabs, because ‘Omicron is starting to rip’.
The poll also found that 49 per cent of viewers say the BBC’s Christmas Day schedule, with the inevitable screenings of Call The Midwife and Mrs Brown’s Boys, is poor value for money, with only 23 per cent saying it offered a good return on the £159 licence fee.
A referendum regarding the license fee was supported by 78% of Leave voters, and 60% of Remain voters.
If there is a vote to scrap the fee, majority support will come from all parties except for the Liberal Democrats.
The voters were also asked to give their opinions on whether failure to pay the license fee should constitute a crime. Just over half of adults (53 per cent) said it shouldn’t, with only 38 per cent supporting continued criminalisation.
Referendum on BBC’s license fee supported by 78% of Leave voters, and 60% of Remain voters. (pictured: BBC program Mrs Brown’s Boys).
Rebecca Ryan, campaign director of Defund The BBC, said: ‘These results are striking.
‘Caught up in its own arrogance, from the Martin Bashir scandal to the disappointing Christmas schedule, the BBC has shown itself to be out of touch time and time again.
‘Costing each household £159 a year – on threat of criminal sanction – it’s no wonder the British public overwhelmingly feel the time has come to have their say.’
Ms Ryan added: ‘We will continue to press the Government for a referendum on whether to keep or scrap the licence fee at the earliest opportunity.’