Privatising TV channels means placing profit over quality content

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The government is pushing for Channel 4 to be privatised (Getty Images)

What is it about the Tory mindset? It seems that anything that can be privatised, will be. It is obvious to even a simpleton that if a television provider gets into the hands of the private sector, profit becomes the driving force of its output.

Ofcom may have the notional responsibility to ensure a balanced output of programmes and news content, but experience shows that the minimum of quality content is broadcast and as much trivial programming as possible, with large viewing figures attractive to advertisers, becomes the norm. This may sound elitist, but experience shows that privatisation tends to either increase cost or reduce quality wherever it has been applied.

As with other previously state-owned (ie taxpayer-owned) organisations, selling off “the family silver” to quote Lord Stockton (Harold Macmillan) gives the government an injection of cash that can be used for dubious vanity projects such as HS2, but impoverishes the nation at large.