Nadine Dorries suggests Liz Truss should call a general election if Channel 4 isn't privatised

Mason Boycott-Owen
By Mason Boycott-Owen

Westminster Correspondent

Published 4th Oct 2022, 06:00 BST
Nadine Dorries has suggested that Liz Truss must hold a general election as she has no mandate for ditching policies such as the privatisation of Channel 4.

The former culture secretary, who backed Ms Truss in the Tory leadership election, said there was “widespread dismay” about the Prime Minister’s approach.

She highlighted areas that had been her responsibility which had now been paused – including the sale of Channel 4 and the Online Safety Bill.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She tweeted: “Widespread dismay at the fact that three years of work has effectively been put on hold.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, leaves 10 Downing Street on July 6, 2022 in London, England. Minister for Health, Sajid Javid, resigned from the Government on Tuesday evening, closely followed by the Chancellor of The Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. Boris Johnson moved swiftly to shore up his Prime Ministership making his Chief of Staff, Steve Barclay, Minister for Health and promoting Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi, to Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, leaves 10 Downing Street on July 6, 2022 in London, England. Minister for Health, Sajid Javid, resigned from the Government on Tuesday evening, closely followed by the Chancellor of The Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. Boris Johnson moved swiftly to shore up his Prime Ministership making his Chief of Staff, Steve Barclay, Minister for Health and promoting Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi, to Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Nadine Dorries, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, leaves 10 Downing Street on July 6, 2022 in London, England. Minister for Health, Sajid Javid, resigned from the Government on Tuesday evening, closely followed by the Chancellor of The Exchequer, Rishi Sunak. Boris Johnson moved swiftly to shore up his Prime Ministership making his Chief of Staff, Steve Barclay, Minister for Health and promoting Education Secretary Nadim Zahawi, to Chancellor of the Exchequer. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

“No one asked for this. C4 sale, online safety, BBC licence fee review, all signed off by Cabinet all ready to go, all stopped.

“If Liz wants a whole new mandate, she must take [it] to the country.”

Ms Dorries was asked by Ms Truss to stay on as culture secretary but chose instead to return to the backbenches when the new Prime Minister took over.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It comes after Michelle Donelan, her successor as Culture Secretary, said that she was “re-examining the business case” for the privatisation of the broadcaster, but did not mention any further details about the broadcaster in her speech at Conservative Party conference in Birmingham yesterday.

Recent polling suggests that if the Tories did go to the polls to secure a fresh mandate for Liz Truss to continue with her economic plan, then they would not only lose, but hand a sizeable majority to the Labour Party.

Two separate polls yesterday showed Sir Keir Starmer’s party had somewhere between a 25 and 28 point lead over the Conservatives, some of the biggest polling leads ever recorded by any party.

Related topics:Liz TrussNadine DorriesChannel 4Prime MinisterMichelle Donelan