Co-conspirators watching Argentina crash and burn in the World Cup final last night will have been treated to a new halftime advert from the BBC, in which various highly-paid B-listers plead viewers to keep paying the £180 licence fee. Comedian Romesh Ranganathan dutifully reads his script, which claims the BBC “creates six and a half billion pounds for the economy”.
The figure traces to the BBC’s Annual Report, published this month, which put the corporation’s ‘contribution’ to the UK economy at £6.7 billion for 2025 to 2026. That is a Gross Value Added estimate, measuring money flowing through the BBC and its suppliers. It does not measure new wealth conjured from nothing.
The licence fee raised roughly £3.9 billion in the year to March, and every pound of it is taken by law from households who would otherwise have spent it elsewhere. Rather than spending it on Scott Mills’ £750,000 salary, they might have spent it on other broadcasters, other services, and other businesses. It is ridiculous to pretend the licence fee is some great boon for the British economy. But when 500,000 people stop paying in a single year, is it any surprise to see them wheel out the celebrities to beg for mercy…
Boris spoke to GB News about Labour’s attempts to restrict donations:
“It looks absolutely pathetic. Just because some people want to support one party very generously, Labour kicks up a huge fuss and says they’re going to cap donations.
I just saw Richard Tice on your show just now. I have to say I rather agree with him.
They’ve got huge amounts of money – troughing it from the trade unions. It’s absolutely ridiculous Labour are trying to cap donations.”