SHIPLEY MP Philip Davies wants the BBC licence fee to be axed – arguing it is wrong to charge viewers for something they may not want.

The Conservative MP called for the £145.50 annual levy to be replaced by “voluntary subscription”, after taking part in an inquiry by a Commons committee.

But Mr Davies was outvoted by seven other members of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, who included Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe.

They concluded the licence fee should survive for the next decade, because “there is currently no better alternative”.

It should be replaced in the 2020s, but by a German-style “broadcasting levy” on all households - including those whose members do not own TVs or watch shows online.

Voluntary subscriptions could be introduced, but only for some BBC channels as an alternative way of financing part of the service, the committee said.

A BBC spokesman noted that “members overwhelmingly voted against moving to a subscription funding model”.

But Mr Davies said: “My view is that, Given the amount of different channels there are available on television now, there should be freedom of choice about whether to pay for BBC services.”

“Why should people pay for something they don’t want to access? If everybody was forced to pay for Sky, there would be uproar.”