One of the most deranged Tory plans of 2022 has been abandoned: the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport confirmed on Thursday that Channel 4 will not be privatised.
It was always a bonkers idea. Channel 4 is owned by the British people, doesn’t cost us a penny and is a major creative force in the nation. It’s a commercial success, has a massively popular free streaming service, runs one hour of the brilliant Channel 4 News in prime time each night, and has just won Bafta awards for programmes as diverse as a drama about a Liverpool care home and Gogglebox. In a country in which key institutions such as the NHS are failing and flailing, it’s proof we are not utterly broken.
