Licence to bill

Well done to the Tories, for finding yet another stick to beat the Beeb with. Since 2003, over-75s have not had to pay for their TV licences, but the government are backing out of that commitment, leaving Auntie to pick up the pieces. Either the BBC don't step in and provide the funding themselves, and subsequently receive a kicking from all sides, particularly the right-wing press; or they do, and are forced to axe channels to be able to make the necessary savings.

As Indra Warne makes clear in an article for the New Statesman, though, this latest manifestation of the Tories' vendetta against the state broadcaster could have much wider and more significant repercussions. Television is a surrogate for genuine companionship for an alarmingly high number of elderly people. Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, and it's now recognised as a serious health risk. The Tories seemed to have acknowledged as much last year by creating a strategy specifically to address the problem - but clearly in this instance the temptation to bash the Beeb has outweighed any such concerns.