[Stuart]

At the end of the day, this is a discussion about funding the BBC - not maintaining the status quo which, demonstrably, doesn’t work. If it is decided that everyone should pay (except the means-tested qualifying on low income for a reprieve) then people who don’t pay now wouldn’t get some kind of veto. They would just have to pay and that would be it.

The BBC has sadly been starved of funding, not just by TVL freezes, but also through people increasingly taking up the alternatives which don't require one.

Yes, the issue needs to be addressed, but a concept of "They would just have to pay and that would be it" is not a policy a government of any flavour would ever adopt.