Channel 4 won’t be sold off and Nadine Dorries is fuuumin’ – 15 top reactions
The government’s plan to sell off Channel 4, dreamt up by Oliver Dowden and fiercely championed by Nadine Dorries, has been scrapped under the latest Culture Secretary, Michelle Donelan.
SCOOP: Letter from Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan to Rishi Sunak confirming her recommendation is that Channel 4 privatisation does NOT go ahead. Says there are “better ways to ensure C4’s sustainability.”
Direct opposite of what the Johnson government said. pic.twitter.com/KOH78NVJjt
— Lewis Goodall (@lewis_goodall) January 4, 2023
Dowden has yet to comment, but Dorries was not happy. Not happy at all.
We’d have thought she’d want to keep her head down and her mouth closed on the topic of Channel 4, after humiliating herself by revealing her ignorance on its funding during a select committee hearing.
Nadine Dorries: Just because Channel 4 is in receipt of public money
Damien Green: Channel 4 is not in receipt of license fee money
Nadine Dorries: And..So..Though its..Yeah and..That..#ToryShambles pic.twitter.com/J43rGNe0SW
— UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) November 24, 2021
Awkward.
The news of Channel 4’s reprieve was met with jubilation – and mockery.
1.
As Nadine Dorries’ privatisation of Channel 4 is scrapped, she sums up her legacy as Culture Secretary pic.twitter.com/lFKdARnjJX
— Toby Earle 🇺🇦 (@TobyonTV) January 4, 2023
2.
The first few months of taking over a high profile post from Nadine Dorries, must be such a joyful, easy time.
You just need to implement the opposite of every single policy you inherit. ~AA https://t.co/0yqWN09679
— Best for Britain (@BestForBritain) January 4, 2023
3.
Nadine Dorries’ ignorant, infantile and self-serving petty gesture politics are finally set for the bin, where they belong. https://t.co/1mx1sQ8X06
— Brendan May (@bmay) January 4, 2023
4.
Nadine, why lie?! Channel 4 is not worth £2bn, or anything near it. By next year we will probably have spent more storing unused PPE than you could get for Channel 4. Selling it was always a destructive, pointless project that should be forgotten forever.
— Kirstie Allsopp (@KirstieMAllsopp) January 4, 2023
5.
This is truly wonderful news ! https://t.co/xLHni4dsJs
— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) January 4, 2023
6.
I’m old enough to remember when Nadine Dorries thought Channel 4 was a French perfume https://t.co/yB1NQdgReG
— Stuzi 🐝🐝🐝 (@Stuzipants) January 4, 2023
7.
the new Culture Secretary doing a U-turn on privatising Channel 4 because the only motivation for it was Nadine Dorries being as mad as a box of frogs
— dave ❄️ 🥕 🧻 (@davemacladd) January 4, 2023
8.
Pleased that the government looks set to drop the privatisation of Channel 4.
Channel 4 provides vital jobs in the Leeds economy and is a huge boost to our creative sector. The Conservatives’ vendetta against Channel 4 was a waste of everyone’s time and Labour always opposed it. https://t.co/q42aIvEE12
— Fabian Hamilton (@FabianLeedsNE) January 4, 2023
9.
In case you’d forgotten why the infantile Dorries wanted to privatise Channel 4 (despite not even understanding its business model), it’s because she always made a total arse of herself when its news programme did proper journalism, as it always does.pic.twitter.com/M9MC9nDD5f
— Brendan May (@bmay) January 4, 2023
10.
Govt gets something right shock
— Alan Weston (@alanweston) January 4, 2023
11.
It’s obviously the C4 aspect that really bothers you. You never really understood how C4 even works, so don’t be too surprised your idea has been scrapped.
— Chas Newkey-Burden (@allthatchas) January 4, 2023
12.
U ok hun? DM me. x
— Mark O'Sullivan (@immarkosullivan) January 4, 2023
13.
Some good news for a change. https://t.co/wZYRuWDJAI
— Annette Dittert (@annettedittert) January 4, 2023
14.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said in May 2022 – "It's time to wake up and smell the coffee, Channel 4 is being sold." I guess it was de caffeinated… #Channel4 https://t.co/OqmnRyYLT2
— Emily Sheffield (@emilysheffield) January 4, 2023
15.
Someone should do an estimate of the amount of ministerial time and civil service resources that have been spent by this government undoing their own stupid decisions. https://t.co/VDDCpXLOOA
— Sam Freedman (@Samfr) January 4, 2023
Before you put the bunting out – a reminder.
I'd say I was glad dorries is having a bad day with her awful idea publicly shelved, but she's still off to plonk her useless bum in the Upper House for the rest of her life with other useless honking crooks who cannot be democratically removed under our current system
— Gee Aitch Cee (@Scriblit) January 4, 2023
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Source Lewis Goodall Image Screengrab, Screengrab