Deputy Foreign Minister Andrew Mitchell has criticised Nigel Farage's pledge to abolish the BBC licence fee, claiming that the Reform UK leader "needs an alternative plan" in place.
Launching his "contract" manifesto this week, Farage promised to "commence reform of the BBC", claiming it is "out of touch" and "biased".
Writing in the party's election manifesto, Farage said: "The out of touch wasteful BBC is institutionally biased. The TV licence is taxation without representation.
"We will scrap it. In a world of on-demand TV, people should be free to choose."
Andrew Mitchell says Nigel Farage needs an 'alternative plan' to scrapping the BBC licence fee
GB News / PA
Reacting to the pledge, Mitchell told GB News host Martin Daubney it is "perfectly proper" for any government and any party "to look at whether there are better ways of financing the BBC", but defended the broadcaster as a "great organisation".
Mitchell claimed: "The BBC has an enormous soft power impact around the world, and it's also much respected in the United Kingdom as well."
Criticising Farage's plan to abolish the licence fee, Mitchell explained: "It's perfectly proper for people to look at a different way of financing, but before you announce its abolition, you have to come up with that alternative.
"It's an interesting idea, but it really underlines that the manifesto isn't really a programme for Government."
Nigel Farage has pledged to abolish the BBC licence fee as part of the Reform UK manifesto
PA
Mitchell discouraged voters from pledging their support to Reform, and argued that they "should not vote for a programme that is not properly costed".
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Hitting out at Reform's manifesto, Mitchell said: "It's a sort of wish list which would be incredibly difficult to implement. All the experts who've looked at it said it simply isn't possible for this to be delivered."
Martin then argued that Reform's plan has been fully costed, highlighting the proposals from Reform to switch the BBC to a "subscription type model".
Martin told Mitchell: "There is a clear plan here to stop charging people, to stop sending them to prison if they don't pay, and give them the option of paying in a free market. You're a Conservative - you must back free markets, surely?"
Mitchell agreed, responding: "Yes, I do, of course, but the point I'm making is that if you're going to abolish the licence fee, you have to have an alternative. We've looked at this. Indeed, Nadine Dorries looked at this during her time at the Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport. It's been looked at during my time in the House of Commons, which stretches back nearly 40 years now.
Andrew Mitchell claimed that Reform's plans are 'not fully costed'
GB News
"It's been looked at on numerous occasions, but no one in the end has come up with a better system. We've constrained it. George Osborne did not allow the BBC to increase the amount of the licence fee by anything like as much as they wanted.
"So we have looked at this, but before you move to abolish of the licence fee, you have got to come up with a credible alternative that works."
Offering some optimism for an abolition of the licence fee in the future, Mitchell concluded that it "may be possible" for Governments in the future.
He added: "It may happen in the future. It may be something that governments want to look at, but I think just announcing you're going to abolish it without having something else is like setting off on a journey without knowing where you're going."