Great news. Red Wallers objected to Lineker’s pay and so Boris has ordered a below inflation licence fee for the BBC.

The BBC is an astonishing organisation. It trousers billions of our money every year and even in difficult times (and even its most ardent supporters must admit these are tough times) it always has its hand out for more.

How on earth it can go into serious discussions with the government for an increased licence fee while paying well over a million to Gary Lineker and thousands a week to Emily Matliss is quite beyond me.

But that’s what they do. So I am pleased to report that they have just been told that they will receive less than the rate of inflation over the next five years.

According to the Times one of the reasons is that Red Wall areas do not approve of Lineker’s pay. That will be the first substantive return for the Northern voters backing Boris in 2019. Only a small step but it is one in the right direction.

The government points out that ordinary families are facing steep rises in their bills without the help of the BBC. For instance come next month energy bills will go up by around 14% and next year national insurance will rise by 1%. My suggestion for beating some of the gas and electricity rise would be to go on my little price comparison site A Spokesman Said but do feel free to go anywhere you like. You would be mad not to.

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But it’s the cheek of the BBC in asking for more which astounds me. During the negotiations they trotted out the usual arguments saying that “quality” programming would be affected unless they were given an inflation-proof rise.

That is rubbish. The BBC are simply doing too much. They should retreat from commercial areas.

These negotiations are an ideal time to simply cut the licence fee by a third. Yes it will mean less but the commercial world will fill it. I watched Andy Murray put up a fabulous display against No.3 seed Tsitsipas on Amazon Prime last night.

Who could have forecast a decade or so back that a retail distributor would be bringing me my television?

The world of TV is changing and I seriously object to facing jail if I don’t want to pay a licence fee introduced when there was only one TV station - the BBC.

I am sure the BBC would prosper if it went over to Netflix-style payment i.e. pay if you wanted it and don’t pay if you didn’t.

That is the future.

If you plan to buy either car or home insurance I wonder if you might look at my small price comparison site A Spokesman Said as we earn a little commission from each sale which helps fund the research and editorial costs of running the site. It has the same offer as the big ones like Go Compare. Thank you.