DON'T SCRAP THE LICENCE FEE

The thorny subject of scrapping the licence fee has raised its head again and all the armchair experts have come out to play on the basis that 'I don't tune in to BBC programmes'.

Firstly, yes you do. Let's not start with a lie. Please don't be one of the 'experts' who thinks that £12 a month is naked profiteering, all the stars at the BBC are on million pound contracts, pensioners are all about to be arrested and that somehow it's topping up MPs' expenses.

Secondly, the whole over-75s thing only covers those who don't get pension credit and that (certainly where I live) protects a lot of people from having to pay. There are also an awful lot of pensioners in mortgageless six-figure houses with five-figure pensions, so please let's not pretend that 40p a day is going to plunge them all into poverty.

Finally, the mere presence of the BBC drags all the other channels up to a better standard. You want wall to wall adverts on every channel, every other programme a reality rehash and a slew of cheap American imports then you get rid of the licence fee.

If you don't believe me then ask someone in America. Ask them how much fun it is to get an advert break straight after the opening credits and then another 8 times over the course of an hour.

The BBC is the envy of the world in terms of broadcasting. Let's not jump on another stupid bandwagon because the tabloids have seen a knee-jerk story to whip up the gullible into a frenzy over something they've never given a toss about before.