Steven Barnett speaks at The Writers Union on the future of Channel 4

On the 8 June 2022 The Writers Union hosted a discussion event on the future of Channel 4. The event saw leading writers James Graham, Jack Thorne and Karissa Hamilton Bannis discuss the future of Channel 4 with Prof. Steven Barnett. During the event, which can be watched in full below, Barnett explained why the government’s plan to privatise C4 had no economic rationale and was actually counter to its own up levelling priorities given the channel’s role in supporting employment and small businesses in the creative sector throughout the regions. He also explored the political context and described how – given the recent backbench rebellion against Johnson in the no-confidence vote, – this was a policy that could be defeated in Parliament.