Perhaps not but I hope that you recognise that there is a sizeable number of people in the country who do feel that way and the BBC is not helping itself if it wants to hang onto the licence fee.

The last time I saw a report about non payment the trend was that it was growing at about 1% per year at that point several years ago it stood at 7%.

Since then you can add to it the several hundred thousand over 75's who are refusing to pay.

In addition to the people who are actively refusing to pay a growing number of young people are simply not interested in conventional TV and are streaming instead now this also impacts ITV and C4 so is not solely a BBC issue.

It maybe that those of us who want to defund the BBC are in a minority but the wind is blowing in our direction so unless the BBC ups it game just like Brexit and also the Poll Tax there comes a tipping point.

The numbers of people not paying is confusing I have just read various conflicting reports and of course the population has actually grown so the license fee numbers has actually gone up. They know how many people have informed them they will not pay but of course many people simply never have a licence so their number is pure guess work.

And above all of this is the threat to prosecute if that was removed how many people would continue to pay?

One more point

Every year nearly 200,000 people are taken to court by the BBC for non payment no wonder the beeb doesn't want non payment to be decriminalised.

You can't accurately gauge how popular the BBC is when it is compulsory to buy a licence with the real threat of taking people to court and a criminal record.

I pay my licence because I am scared of being dragged into court given the choice I would happily not pay how many other people feel that way.

Edited by Badger11 (23 May 2021 12.51pm)

One more point

in terms of license fee ? i would happily pay double if the TV company was riddled with arch Conservative staff.

Kayla did Anfield & Old Trafford

It would if you phrased the question as ‘would you abolish the license fee?’ as people would think they would be saving money. If it was ‘would you abolish the BBC?’ it would be a resounding no.

In the entire U.K.? Yes. Comfortably.

So, you are hoping that Scotland, Wales & NI will vote in favour of #defundthebbc? This kids dont watch telly & most 30-50yo know how to stream Netflix etc.

#defundthebbc is a dinosaur, its archaic, its lost its core viewers/source of income, the 'wrinklies' ie people like me. I told the licencing authority I would NOT pay for a left-wing bias woke, virtual signaling company hell bent on it's own agenda.

This operation, will make the 'Charge Of The Light Brigade' seem like a simple military exercise.