- Former culture secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan has strongly criticised government plans to extend the BBC licence fee to streaming platforms such as YouTube , Netflix and Disney Plus , labelling the proposed levy a retrograde step.
- The plan, anticipated in an upcoming government white paper on the BBC Charter review, would expand the annual £180 licence fee beyond live TV and BBC iPlayer to all streaming services, potentially forcing an extra 3 to 4 million households to pay.
- Opponents of the move, including Baroness Morgan, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage , and Independent MP Adnan Hussain, argue that the broadcaster should adopt a subscription model for entertainment content rather than increasing financial strain on households.
- Supporters including Commons Culture Select Committee chair Dame Caroline Dinenage and former culture secretary Ben Bradshaw contend that a broader device-neutral levy is needed to sustainably support public service broadcasting and local journalism.
- Lord Jack McConnell, an adviser to Andy Burnham on soft power, also backed the principle of spreading public service information costs more evenly across the population to secure future funding.
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