Although Michael Dugher is now Labour’s shadow culture secretary, his predecessor Chris Bryant is still keeping a close eye on the issues. He took part in a panel discussion on the future of the BBC as part of the Labour fringe.
During the talk Bryant was asked about reports last week that Channel 4 is to be privatised. The news broke after a government official was photographed entering 10 Downing Street with a document about privatisation proposals.
Bryant says the document is proof that the government have ‘been fibbing throughout the summer’ about Channel 4. He says that they have lied to him when he asked questions concerning the channel’s future:
‘Well I think the governments been fibbing throughout the summer because every time I have written a letter or asked a question in the House of Commons they’ve said ‘no we have no plans to privatise Channel 4′ and now we know that they have. There’s a surprise.’
Bryant says that if Channel 4 were to be sold it would cause big problems as it would change the current balance between the broadcasters.:
‘We have an ecology and it works at the moment. I don’t think anyone’s clamouring there in the broadcast market to make a smaller BBC but equally the only way that you can make enough money out of selling Channel 4 is to strip it of its public service obligations and then you do effect the whole ecology.
And why would you want to do that? That’s why Harriet and I made sure that in our manifesto we made clear that we were opposed to selling off Channel 4. It’s funded in a different way, that all hangs together.’
As for what the current Labour line on Channel 4 is under Jeremy Corbyn’s new shadow cabinet? Only time will tell.
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