JAMES Cleverly yesterday vowed to abolish the BBC licence fee if he eventually became Prime Minister.
On the penultimate day of Conservative Party conference, the Tory leadership hopeful argued that taxing hardworking Brits to watch telly is “unsustainable”.
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Asked if he would scrap the £169.50 levy, Mr Cleverly said: “It’s going.
“And I said this when I was first elected.
“If Disney and Netflix can make money on the subscription model the BBC should because in the era of streaming services, the tax to watch television is an unsustainable one.”
Meanwhile, Robert Jenrick declared he was “sorely tempted” to abolish the fee.
The leadership race frontrunner said: “I have three young daughters.
“They watch so little terrestrial TV. They’re on YouTube on their tablets, their iPads.
“I think it’s difficult to see the long-term future for the licence fee, but you know, that’s a question we’ll have to give a lot of thought to.”
It came as criminal prosecutions for failing to pay the BBC licence fee could be scrapped by Labour.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is understood to be “concerned” by the disproportionate number of women being punished.
And there is agreement between Ms Nandy and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood that taxpayers should not have to fork out for the “administrative burden”.
Almost 1,000 Brits are prosecuted every week for ignoring the £169.50 annual fee.
Seventy per cent are women.
They are more likely to be poorly paid, coping with single families or taking charge of household bills — and also more likely to be at home when investigators call.