Revoke the TV licence using legislation
This petition gathered 110,841 signatures between 4 March 2020 and 4 September 2020, according to the Parliament petitions site. The Government responded on 14 May 2020. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 1 March 2021.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Revoke the TV licence using legislation
We wish the government to end the TV Licence as soon as possible
The TV Licence is not required as many people no longer watch the BBC preferring to watch other media sources and listen to many of there radio stations especially the overseas service this is seen as the british public paying for a service they dont need or use. This is also seen as a unfair tax on those on low income which usually results in many being prosecuted for non payment putting them further in debt and possible jail.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 14 May 2020. Its summary:
The Royal Charter maintains the licence fee funding model until 2027. The government will look at the licence fee funding model in advance of the next Charter.
The opening 365 words of the 590-word response:
The licence fee is payment for a licence to watch or receive television programmes.The government is clear that the licence fee remains a licence to watch or receive television programmes, and is not a fee for BBC services. It is payable regardless of whether the licence holder ever watches the BBC. Licence fee revenue is not just used to fund the BBC, it is also used for other strategic public service objectives including S4C (the Welsh- language broadcaster).
The Royal Charter is the constitutional basis of the BBC which guarantees the BBC’s independence and provides the framework for how the BBC is governed and funded. It sets the BBC’s Mission which is ‘to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain’. It also sets the Public Purposes which include a duty to provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them and to show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.
One of the BBC's public purposes is ‘to reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world’ which the BBC does partly through the World Service - an international news service available on radio, television and online which provides impartial news reports and analysis in English and 40 other languages. The government strongly supports the BBC’s mission to bring high quality and impartial news to global audiences in some of the most remote places in the world, particularly where free speech is limited.
The licence fee funding model was considered as part of Charter Review which is the regular process for the government to review all aspects of the BBC. The BBC Charter Review consultation in 2015-16 received over 192,000 responses and found the majority of the public do not want to see a change in the way that the BBC is funded: 60% thought the current licence fee model did not need to be changed. As a result, the government committed to maintain the current model. It will be reconsidered again ahead of the next Charter Review, which is set to be completed by 2027.
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 650 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 360, came from Isle of Wight.
109,804 of the signatures were from the UK and 1,037 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| Isle of Wight | 360 |
| Louth and Horncastle | 345 |
| Easington | 336 |
| Sleaford and North Hykeham | 318 |
| Beverley and Holderness | 311 |
| Rochester and Strood | 308 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 301 |
| Ashfield | 292 |
| East Yorkshire | 292 |
| Torbay | 291 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 16,611 |
| North West | 12,988 |
| South West | 11,486 |
| East of England | 11,299 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 10,167 |
| West Midlands | 9,679 |
| East Midlands | 9,216 |
| London | 8,284 |
| North East | 6,039 |
| Scotland | 5,359 |
| Wales | 5,049 |
| Northern Ireland | 1,652 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 1 March 2021. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/300118.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
7fca7a9a1d97b206… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.