Julia Hartley-Brewer waded into the debate around the
BBC licence fee...and it didn’t exactly go swimmingly.
The radio presenter tweeted about the £159 annual licence fee (working out to 43p a day) because the
culture secretary Nadine Dorries has signalled that the
government plans to freeze funding for the broadcaster – and eventually scrap it.
It is reportedly part of No.10′s “Operation Red Meat”, where ministers roll out proposals earlier than intended to distract
Tory backbenchers – and the general public – from the furore around the
Downing Street parties in lockdown. While Hartley-Brewer signalled that she would support reducing the amount of money she pays towards the BBC, it turns out her argument was not quite as foolproof as she thought it was.
She tweeted: “I pay the BBC licence and these are the only services I ever use.
“Good value for money...?”
She crossed out all but five of the BBC’s 24 nationwide services available, leaving only BBC iPlayer, BBC One, BBC News, BBC Two and BBC Parliament.
It wasn’t long before people were comparing her comments to pretty much everything else that comes as part of a set...including Celebrations, the NHS services and even a continental breakfast.
I paid for a tin of Celebrations at Christmas and I only ate the Snickers, Mars, Bounties, Milky Ways, Galaxy Milks, Galaxy Caramels and Maltesers Teasers. Good value for money…? ??
https://t.co/S5Zxf0er25 — Rosie Jones (@josierones)
January 17, 2022
Do the same for the NHS. Put an ‘X’ on every service you don’t require. Then tell the NHS you’re only paying them for services you use. Then feel as silly as you look.
https://t.co/FR0cgWqFG9 — Mark Dexter (@RealMarkDexter)
January 17, 2022
Whenever I stay at hotels with continental breakfast buffets I complain to management because I had everything except the sausages, hard boiled eggs, grapefruit juice, and apricot yoghurt.
https://t.co/16ARkoM9F1 — Stephanie Faye (@StephanieEphani)
January 17, 2022
Others pointed out that the radio presenter was actually using iPlayer, which actually carries almost all of the BBC’s output.
I reckon if the BBC turned into a subscription service where you were allowed to pick and choose the stuff you wanted, that this big hitters would end up costing you more than what you’re currently paying for everything.
https://t.co/3xDJL2ThBO — Richard K Herring (@Herring1967)
January 17, 2022
So, just two radio stations, four channels, and an online portal containing the entirety of the BBC's visual output, got it
https://t.co/44hXmgxn2q — Caspar Salmon (@CasparSalmon)
January 17, 2022
I'm confused, is this a different Julia Hartley-Brewer who has been a panellist on Have I Got News For You ten times, in addition to regular appearances on Question Time, Any Questions, The One Show, Sunday Politics, Today and who won £10k for charity on Pointless Celebrities?
https://t.co/5SAumw5rGu — Martha Hampson (@marthie)
January 17, 2022
How very dare the BBC not design their programming solely around what you, personally, would like? I mean... surely £150 a year should pay for a fully bespoke entertainment experience.
https://t.co/76Q9fS3FVT — Claire Allan (@ClaireAllan)
January 17, 2022
43p a day to use all of that? Yes I'd honestly say that was great value.
— Otto English (@Otto_English)
January 17, 2022
isn’t that the point of the bbc? that it isn’t just for you
— Scott Bryan (@scottygb)
January 16, 2022
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