Channel 4 privatisation blasted by Ruth Davidson as Tory ministers accused of 'throwing red meat to right-wing voters'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Tory plans to sell-off Channel 4 are facing a furious backlash led by former Scottish party leader Ruth Davidson. Plans for the sale are due to be will be included in the Queen’s Speech, the government’s legislative programme for the year, in May but are already facing strong opposition from within the Tory party.Davidson, who is now a peer in the House of Lords, described the sale of Channel 4 as the “opposite of levelling up”.

She tweeted: “Channel 4 is publicly owned, not publicly funded."It doesn’t cost the taxpayer a penny. It also, by charter, commissions content but doesn’t make/own its own.

It’s one of the reasons we have such a thriving indy sector in places like Glasgow. This is the opposite of levelling up.”Channel 4 described the development as “disappointing” and highlighted that a consultation on the sell-off has raised “significant public interest concerns” over privatisation.The move is being driven through by Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries who last November wrongly claimed that Channel 4 was publicly funded.Channel 4, which is 40 years old this year, is publicly owned but raises revenue through advertising.The money it makes as a broadcaster goes back into commissioning all of its programmes from independent producers.No price tag has been set for the sale but it is suggested the channel could be fetch as much as £1 billion with potential buyers having to maintain the public service remit to produce the flagship Channel 4 News programme.The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport said the sell-off would allow the channel to “thrive in the face of a rapidly-changing media landscape” and compete against streaming channels like Amazon and Netflix which charge subscription fees.SNP culture