BBC ‘loses 300,000’ licence payers ‘clearly unsustainable’ MPs told | Politics | News

The BBC has lost 300,000 license fee payers in the last 12 months, an MP has said, as the company has come under pressure and major redundancies have been announced. In Culture, Media and Sport, a Conservative MP described the BBC’s financial model as ‘clearly unsustainable’.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is leading a comprehensive review of the BBC’s finances and governance to ensure the broadcaster remains financially sustainable and independent for decades to come. Its review, launched in late 2025 as part of the contract renewal process, focuses on modernizing how the BBC is funded as viewing habits change.

Conservative Nigel Huddleston said: “The BBC lost a further 300,000 license fee payers last year. The BBC’s current scale and financial model is clearly unsustainable. The BBC yesterday announced controversial cuts to ‘The World Tonight’ and ‘Money Box Live’ without expressing any views in Parliament. This is not right.”

“The government appears to be restricting parliamentary debate on the future of the BBC. They announced the BBC charter not in a debate but in a written statement. Having already considered some alternative funding models and the size, scope and scale of the BBC’s operations, they have enabled the BBC to take unilateral action. Will the Secretary of State reconsider the scope of the charter review and ensure Parliament has an appropriate say on the future of the BBC?”

Ms Nandy said she had “concerns” and added: “I will try to reassure the Honorable Member about this, because we have no intention of restricting debate about the future of the BBC. I share some of his concerns about the way the BBC made the latest announcement. One of the things I want to ensure is that decisions that may affect the future of the BBC and the services we all rely on are made by the new director-general, rather than on an interim basis in the absence of a permanent executive. The charter process sets out a clear role for Parliament that this Government will respect and support. The Government’s commitment to the BBC later this year “There will be ample opportunity to discuss the proposals put forward in the White Paper regarding the future of

The company plans to ax TV and radio shows amid plans to cut commissioning spend by £80 million in the 2027-2028 financial year. In an internal memo to staff and seen by the Press Association, chief content officer Kate Phillips said she predicted around 100 jobs would be made redundant from the BBC content division by the end of the financial year.

It comes after chief executive Matt Brittin announced that 550 of the 1,800 to 2,000 job cuts planned at the company would be from positions related to BBC News, TV and radio. In the House of Commons on Thursday, shadow culture secretary Nigel Huddleston argued that the BBC’s current scale and financial model is “clearly unsustainable”.

“Yesterday the BBC announced controversial cuts including to World Tonight and Moneybox Live without any input from Parliament, this is not right,” he added. In response, Ms Nandy said: “I share some of the concerns about the way the BBC has made this latest announcement.

“And one of the things I particularly want to ensure is that decisions that may affect the future of the BBC and the services we all rely on are made by the new chief executive, rather than on an interim basis in the absence of a permanent chief executive.”

The company had previously announced plans to cancel Radio 4’s The World Tonight programme, which first aired in 1970, and replace it with a news bulletin and simulcast of World Service program Newshour from next April.

Other Radio 4 shows to be closed include Midnight News, Money Box Live, AntiSocial, The Law Show and Crossing Continents; The number of presenters on BBC Radio 4’s Today program will be reduced from five to four.

BBC One’s Breakfast program will also be affected by the cuts and will not be shown on Sunday mornings from September, replaced by the BBC News Channel, which will pivot to an international focus in the hope of expanding its audience outside the UK.

The production teams of Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg and Newsnight will merge and 5 Live Weekend Breakfast will become a two-hour program from April.

Other plans include sharing weekend TV production across the News Channel and BBC One bulletins, as well as a proposed review of the broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online.

The company will also review lead anchor roles, with 100- to 150-hour programs across all deployment types reduced in duration by the end of fiscal year 2027 to 2028.

Labor Rugby MP John Slinger suggested the BBC should “look at the high salaries they pay stars in both entertainment and news to sustain programs like The World Tonight”.

Responding, Ms Nandy said the BBC “remains the most trusted source of news in this country and one of the most trusted sources of news around the world”.

He added: “I want to acknowledge that the BBC faces some serious challenges and has had to make some difficult decisions, but this Government is determined to support their efforts by ensuring the BBC is adequately funded.”