The Newshound

Labour considers scrapping BBC licence fee and replacing it with an £11-a-month broadband levy on every home

From the Newshound archive · first published 23 September 2026 · last updated 24 September 2026.

Half a million households stopped paying the BBC licence fee in 2025 alone, triggering £500 million in cuts as Labour examines replacing the £180 annual fee with an £11-a-month broadband levy.
Half a million households stopped paying the BBC licence fee in 2025 alone, triggering £500 million in cuts as Labour examines replacing the £180 annual fee with an £11-a-month broadband levy.

Ministers are weighing a plan to scrap the £180 annual TV licence and introduce an £11-a-month "Home Internet Levy" billed automatically through household broadband, a model that would require payment even from people who never watch the BBC. The Social Market Foundation think tank produced the proposal, which has already been put to advisers to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy. Licence fee evasion has more than doubled since 2012, with non-payment now exceeding 12%, adding urgency to the hunt for a new funding arrangement ahead of the BBC's Charter Review.

BBC licence fee revenue has fallen by around £1.3 billion in real terms since 2017, driven by government freezes and rapidly rising evasion rates.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport says it is exploring a range of options including commercial revenue and greater efficiency at the corporation, and has yet to reach any decision.

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