Last week, our country came together to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, uniting around our shared values and love of great British institutions, with celebrations beamed out across the world by our famous public broadcasters.In the week following however, economists issued a stark warning that growth in the UK will grind to a halt next year, with only Russia performing worse out of the major global economies.Our country’s great cultural institutions will be a key part of our economic growth and recovery. That’s why the Conservative decision to sell off Channel 4 is so short sighted and wrong. You can’t expand opportunity across our country when you’re selling off our prized assets and cultural crown jewels to the highest bidder.Since its creation by Margaret Thatcher, Channel 4 has invested in our nations and regions, powered our world-leading creative economy, and formed an integral part of the ecosystem that underpins it by supporting small businesses and home-grown talent.Channel 4’s unique business model, as a publisher-broadcaster that does not produce any of its own content, means it invests in hundreds of small independent production companies each year, which often rely on Channel 4 for their first big break.Channel 4's investment has cemented Yorkshire's place as a powerhouse of UK film and TV. Let’s not chuck that away.With its HQ in Leeds, Channel 4 supports thousands of jobs in Yorkshire, both directly and through its supply chain. Over half of their commissioning budget is spent outside London, and they spend more with production companies in the Nations and Regions than any other public service broadcaster.Film4 has built on Halifax’s success in attracting filming and filmmaking to make it a world leading creative cluster.From 12 Years a Slave and Slumdog Millionaire, to Brassed Off and Everybody’s Talking about Jamie, Film4 has helped propel British film making and talent onto the world stage at no cost to the public whilst in the latter cases, showcasing the lives and proud histories of communities such as Barnsley and Sheffield.Investing £25m in British film each year, Film4 has 37 Academy Awards and 84 BAFTAs under its belt, and launched the careers of global talent including Sacha Baron Cohen, Andrea Arnold, Ricky Gervais, Danny Boyle and Steve McQueen.With its specific remit to put public service before profit, take risks, and champion diversity, Channel 4 has consistently backed films and TV that others turned down, many of which went on to huge success.Investing often in the early development stage, Film 4 helps nurture new writers and filmmakers, enabling films like Four Lions to get to a point where they are commercially viable.The Conservative sell off of Channel 4 could kill off independent film production, damaging our cultural clout at home and abroad, and mean that the next ‘East is East’ or ‘It’s a Sin’ may never get made. ‘Motivated by profit rather than public service, a privatised Channel 4 would offer fewer new programmes which appeal to younger audiences and expand the types of content on our TVs, and instead we can look forward to more repeats. Where it does invest in new content, this will more likely be in established talent and sure fire hits.Rather than supporting small British businesses, Channel 4 would likely be bought by a big multinational streaming giant, who chose to air their own existing programmes.Looking for efficiencies, a privatised Channel 4 would likely move jobs in Yorkshire and across the nations and regions into London, where investment is already highly concentrated.Labour is proud of our country’s values and achievements. We believe that our best days lie ahead of us, not behind us. Britain’s innovative film and TV industries, and world famous sport like Wimbledon and the Premier League are some of our greatest exports, as well as driving jobs and growth at home. We know that Britain’s culture and creativity, underpinned by the strength of our institutions will be key to our economic recovery.Conservatives choices will trash our global reputation and tear down all the things that have made our successes possible. 19-This afternoon I will be leading a debate in Parliament calling on the Government to scrap the sell-off of Channel 4.The Prime Minister and the Culture Secretary may be happy to kill off independent film production, rob young people of opportunities and undermine their own levelling up agenda, but Conservative MPs have a chance today to show they won’t let one of Britain’s cultural crown jewels be sold off without a fight.Every Conservative MP in Yorkshire and beyond should stick up for jobs in their constituency, growth across our economy, and the strength of Britain’s culture and creativity by voting with us.
- Lucy Powell is Labour MP for Manchester Central and Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.
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