Government Must Protect BBC and S4C

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have called on the UK Government to reverse plans to scrap the BBC licence fee and ensure the future of S4C is secure in any future funding settlement.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Peer Lord Roger Roberts has criticised the proposed scrapping of the licence fee as a threat to the future of S4C.

Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey and Liberal Democrat DCMS Spokesperson Daisy Cooper have written to the Prime Minister, outlining how the Conservative government's plans will "cost the BBC hundreds of millions of pounds" and "at least double the cost of viewing the BBC".

Welsh Liberal Democrat Lord Roger Roberts, commented:

Since its inception in 1982, S4C has been a major factor in promoting and supporting the resurgence of our language.

S4C is a vital part of Welsh broadcasting and Welsh political life, with their work being primarily supported by the licence fee.

If this government scraps the licence fee, the effects on S4C will be catastrophic. I urge all parties to work together to protect the licence fee and safeguard the future of Welsh broadcasting.

Following the letter Ed Davey said:

The Liberal Democrats will fight tooth and nail for the BBC. Everyone has witnessed this Prime Minister try to wriggle out of press scrutiny and then attack parts of the media from the BBC to Channel 4, to newspapers he doesn’t like.

The British Press is by no means without criticism, but at its best, the BBC remains a beacon of independent journalism as well as high-quality entertainment.

Boris Johnson has no election mandate for his BBC plans, so Liberal Democrats will work with other progressives to champion public broadcasting and stop the Conservatives’ attempt to Americanise our TV news.

Jeremy Hunt’s Financial Statement Offers Only Uncertainty for Welsh Families

Commenting on Jeremy Hunt’s shock economic intervention Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS said: “Hunt’s statement points to the despicable damage that the Conservatives continue to wreck on households, businesses and individuals. All his statement today has done is cause wider uncertainty for households and the businesses sector. “The Conservatives are trashing the economy with every day that passes and creating havoc for peoples’ mortgages. Now they are planning to inflict even more suffering by raising energy bills, hiking taxes and slashing crucial public services. These service cuts will see knock-on effects to the Welsh Government as budgets for key departments like education and health may be squeezed even tighter. “What’s worst is they are still determined to protect oil and gas giants from a proper windfall tax and they are still cutting taxes for the big banks. “Truss and Kwarteng are symptoms of a wider problem. This entire Conservative par

Significant Gaps Remain in Welsh Government Building Safety Announcement

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have welcomed progress announced today in the Welsh Government’s building safety announcement but have warned significant gaps remain. Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS and Cardiff Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Rhys Taylor addressing building saftey campaigners. The announcement given by Environment Minister Julie James MS confirmed that 9 property developers have now signed up to the Welsh Government’s “Developers Pact” agreeing in theory their responsibility to remediate buildings they constructed with safety defects. The announcement follows a lengthy campaign by leaseholders in the five years since the Grenfell Tower Disaster. However, three major developers are still yet to reply. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that due to the Welsh Government’s failure to work with the UK Government on the Building Safety Act, they are left with little to no options to deal with the property developers who have refuse

Welsh Lamb Exports to the US Welcome - But the Conservatives Are Paving Over Other Cracks

Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS. "While we will of course always welcome more export opportunities for our fantastic Welsh produce, Liz Truss and the Conservatives are trying to plaster over the cracks regarding the damage they have already done to the Welsh farming sector. "That is that they sold out Welsh farmers for cheap trade deals with Australia and New Zealand for nothing in return. This was spearheaded by Liz Truss despite Australian commentators even being in disbelief about how lopsided the deals were. “Tariff free access by New Zealand in particular poses a direct threat to the survival of the Welsh lamb industry and the communities it supports, including Welsh language communities. "If Liz Truss was supportive of such poor trade deals already, it does beg the question how much more damage she could do to the sector as the UK seeks revised trading arrangements with the likes of the US, Argentina and Brazil. “This is of cou

Welsh Liberal blogs

Search This Blog