Channel 4 privatisation most disliked Tory policy with voters, new polling finds

A survey of more than 2,000 people conducted by polling form JL Partners on behalf of political consultancy WPI Strategy found just 16 per cent back the privatisation plan, compared to 37 per cent who oppose it.

The -21 per cent approval rating is by far the least popular of 10 Tory policies polled for the research and the only one with a net negative rating, with the second least popular - allowing temporary staff to take the place of striking workers - having a plus six per cent approval rating.

The most popular policy was the Government’s promised hospital building programme, with plus 81 per cent support - followed by bringing full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband to every home and business ( plus69 per cent) and cutting the basic rate of income tax by 1p (plus 48 per cent).

Other policies that were polled included reducing government borrowing and debt (plus 47 per cent); scrapping some EU regulations to help the UK feel the benefits of Brexit (plus 34 per cent); cutting tax on business by reducing business rates (plus 24 per cent); extending the right to buy to families in housing association homes (plus 22 per cent) and dealing with illegal immigration by deporting some asylum seekers to Rwanda (plus 11 per cent).

The privatisation of Channel 4, which critics have argued will put the future of its Leeds headquarters in doubt, was also ranked by those questioned as the lowest priority of the ten policies - with building new hospitals put as the most important.

Just 17 per cent of the voters who support privatising the channel put it in their top three priorities for the Government to deliver between now and the election.

Even among 2019 Conservative voters polled, only 26 per cent support it against 19 per cent who oppose it.

Nick Faith, Director of WPI Strategy, warned the privatisation policy may carry a political cost given it is generally opposed but a low priority matter for those who back it.

“To win the next election, the Conservatives will need to be laser focused on delivering policies the public want to see delivered – and especially the priorities of those who voted Conservative last time,” he said.

“This poll shows that the Government does have broadly popular policies that can capture the public’s imagination, as well as policies with the ability to appeal to the Tory base and create dividing lines with Labour that can work in an election campaign. But it is also carrying dead weight: policies that voters don’t like, that its own supporters don’t care about and that won’t help them on the doorstep.

“If the Conservatives are serious about getting the barnacles off the boat before the next election, they will need to ditch the policies that neither win them new supporters nor motivate their existing voters – like Channel 4 privatisation.”

During a Parliamentary debate last month, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told MPs the Government intends to use the proceeds of the Channel 4 sale to “benefit the entire country”.

She also changing the channel’s ownership is required because the “state cannot own a public service broadcaster that takes on the risk of borrowing money”.

Ms Dorries insisted that “under private ownership”, Channel 4’s potential would be unlocked “by removing the publisher broadcaster restriction”.

She said: “What company pays 100% for content but doesn’t own the content? There’s no other company that would regard that as a successful business model. The restriction effectively prohibits the broadcaster from producing and selling its content, denying it a crucial way to make money.

“So, Channel 4 is state owned. The state cannot own a public service broadcaster that takes on the risk of borrowing money, because if that goes wrong, it is the taxpayer who has to pay that debt.”

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