The Government response to this petition implies that the charges may even be less than they are now, but that a report is being prepared to evaluate this. I support the lifeboats as much as any but would it not be better to wait to find out what the effect will actually be rather than having a petition quoting an emotive figure, supplied by a paper with 'leanings away from the Government (!)'. The problem is that it can so easily be refuted that it defuses the main point - that it should be free.
Even so, changing the fee to cover how much you actually use a channel seems bizarre!
I still signed, though, as I agree it should be free for such an important charity.