Lisa Nandy MP: speeches

Speeches

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I am confident, having heard my hon. Friend championing his constituents in this House, that he would never allow that to happen, and neither will we. I am happy to offer him a meeting with the relevant Minister.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  The hon. Gentleman makes a similar point to the Chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee. He is right to push us to think about how we can very rapidly adapt to this very rapidly changing landscape. There is a question for the whole House as to how much oversight the House will want to have and how much scrutiny will be given to any measures that we bring forward. The House will have to decide together whether the use of secondary legislation in this space is something that we collectively believe is acceptable. However, there is merit in what he proposes.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I have been working with the publishing industry to make sure that we protect our trusted sources and do not allow higher-quality content to be undermined by AI summaries. It is a concern that we recognise and share, and we will bring forward proposals around that to the House. We have seen lots of very good-quality independent news providers spring up around the country, and it is great to hear about my hon. Friend’s local newspaper in Harlow, but there are too many local news deserts across our country. That is precisely what the local media strategy intends to address.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady rightly talks about online regulation. She will know that that is primarily the responsibility of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, but my colleague the Secretary of State and I work very closely together on that. We must ensure that we both take action to deal with the scourge of misinformation and disinformation online, which she rightly talks about, but that we give people access to news they can genuinely trust and that that news is much more readily available. The two things should be seen together. I apologise, my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq) also asked me about Ofcom. She will know that we recently appointed a new chair of Ofcom. We believe that Ofcom must do more to act decisively and quickly in this space. On the BBC World Service, the hon. Member for Frome and East Somerset (Anna Sabine) will know that the Government have already stepped in, with the support of the FCDO, to ensure it continues to be funded, but colleagues across the House will have seen recently the funding cuts that were announced at the BBC. The hon. Lady rightly says that one of the pressures on such broadcasters is the fact that they are currently trying to broadcast through two distinct channels, so it is important that the Government grip that issue. She will know that the charter review is running in parallel to this process. We wanted to look at it all in the round. It is our intention, through the charter review, to ensure that the BBC is adequately funded and that it goes on not just to survive, but to thrive until well into the latter part of this century. She will also know that we recently announced that through that process we will put the BBC on a permanent charter, so that it exists for all of us forever.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  As I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton earlier, during the Southport riots, there was an increase in people going to the BBC and the Liverpool Echo to get information; we saw something similar after the Manchester Arena bombing, when people sought out the Manchester Evening News as a trusted source of news. My hon. Friend will be aware that many of those trusted sources are under serious financial pressure, which is one of the reasons that we acted—particularly through the local media strategy—to ensure that they remain available. We want to ensure that those sources are more prominent and easier to find online, but in order to do that, we have to ensure that they are actually there in the first place.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I reassure my hon. Friend that I am working closely with the Secretary and State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Home Secretary, as well as with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who leads the social cohesion taskforce that is specifically looking at misinformation and disinformation, and at how we join up across Government to tackle the issue. We have recently had a huge debate in this House about the defence of our nation, and, given the global climate, we are rightly stepping up to invest more in defence, but there is a war being waged in our communities—on our streets, online, on social media—that we have got to take as seriously as we take equipping our armed forces with what they need.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I strongly endorse what my hon. Friend says. We have lost many parts of our civic realm: thriving town centres where people come together, the social clubs that used to exist all over our country, and the youth clubs that we are busy rebuilding. I thank her for all her help and support. I believe that the media, and in particular public service media, are an essential part of that civic realm. Whether it is VE Day, Remembrance Sunday or the world cup which we are all currently enjoying, public service broadcasters provide the shared moments where we come together as a nation and celebrate what it means to be us. We are determined to grip these issues and not allow us to drift into a transition, so that our public service media are adequately funded and are able to continue to do that.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I was really struck by that report by the SMF, and I certainly recognise that there is misinformation very close to home. My hon. Friend rightly says that that is not new. In fact, my local police force says that the biggest challenge it faces is misinformation and disinformation online, which leads people to believe that more violent crime is happening than there actually is, and that streets are not safe. It causes serious challenges to social cohesion. Earlier this year, we published the local media strategy, which is the start of our ambition for local media—it is the floor, not the ceiling. There is more we need to do, particularly in the online space, to ensure that publications such as the Liverpool Echo are able to thrive.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I agree. In particular, we are letting down a generation of young people, who, as I said to my hon. Friend the Member for Ealing Central and Acton (Dr Huq), are often consuming media very differently from my generation and the generations before us. It cannot be right that my generation, who often watch and consume broadcasts on television sets, are able to easily and quickly find high-quality content and trusted news, but the younger generation are not.

• 24 Jun 2026 · Media Green Paper · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for that series of questions, and I will do my best to answer them all as swiftly as I can. First, he rightly talks about the importance of getting the transition right and choosing the date of 2034 or 2044 well. He talks about the particular challenges in remote and rural areas, which this Government recognise. As he knows and as we have discussed before, there are also particular issues for older people, people with disabilities and others. We are working with the industry to put together a watertight plan to help people make that transition and ensure that nobody is left behind. We are asking these questions now precisely to make sure that we are ready and do not leave people behind. On media literacy, the hon. Gentleman is right to say that the onus cannot just be on media companies alone. There is a responsibility on all of us, including schools and those of us in public life, to make sure we are equipping our young people with the skills they need to be able to navigate a completely transformed media landscape from the one we had in this country when he and I were growing up. I want to reassure him that this is not about pushing all the responsibility on to media companies and letting everybody else off the hook. We all have to work together to achieve this. It is not just about young people, either. There are serious challenges with people from every generation seeing information online that is just simply false. Who defines trustworthy news—who decides what is trustworthy news and how we decide what is trustworthy—is one of the most challenging aspects of the consultation. The hon. Gentleman will know that the definition of public service broadcasting is set out in law, but trustworthy news is a separate matter and that is precisely why we have asked the question. I would gently push back on some of the narrative that the hon. Gentleman advanced about the BBC. It is still the most trustworthy source of news not just in this country but across the world. On Monday, I was on “Newsround” explaining the consultation and the social media ban that we are introducing to the generation of children who will be most affected by it. It strikes me that there is no other country in the world that has quality programming like that through their public service broadcaster, so I think we should be careful about not trashing the BBC. He and I have shared serious frustrations about some of the specific issues that he mentioned, and we should always demand the highest quality content, but I still firmly believe that the BBC is one of the best broadcasters in the world.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  My hon. Friend will have heard my answer to colleagues about the future of the BBC. The Government are committed to ensuring that the BBC is set up on a sustainable basis for the future through the charter review, so that it can thrive for many years to come. But the BBC, he is right to say, is not the only public service broadcaster in this country. We have public service broadcasting that is the envy of the world, and the Government are determined to do everything we can to support and safeguard it, including by challenging where necessary—as we have with the response to “Married at First Sight” by Channel 4—when we believe that those standards are not being upheld.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I know that Members across this House will be horrified and disgusted at the serious allegations of abuse against women in the TV industry that have emerged recently. Everyone has the right to be safe and treated with dignity. The Minister for Creative Industries, Media and Arts recently met Channel 4 about the serious allegations that have emerged about “Married at First Sight”. We are not satisfied as a Government with the response that we have received, and I will discuss that further with Channel 4 in the coming week. Since we last met, Mr Speaker, we have launched a new partnership with Gareth Southgate and the King’s Trust to provide mentors for young people, as part of our commitment through the national youth strategy to ensure that every young person in this country has somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares. We have also launched “Every Child Can” to give young people, wherever they live, the chance to find their spark and build the confidence and positive relationships they need to succeed. As the world cup gets under way, and after such a strong start, the whole House will join me in wishing both home nations every success.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Wow—can I not associate myself with those remarks? [Laughter.] I agree with the hon. Member about the importance of radio and regional news. Recently, the outgoing director general of the BBC told me that regional news now has greater reach than national news. That includes local radio as well, and we will of course ensure that it becomes a priority through the charter review.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  One thing I learned at school was that the answer to a multiple choice question is usually option (c). The hon. Member missed option (c) out, because the real answer to “Who is to blame for the situation this country is in?” is him and his colleagues, because of the appalling mess they made over 14 years of Conservative government. They cut our armed forces to a size that has not been seen for generations, they refused to treat our veterans with respect, they crashed the economy and they left working-class people in every nation and region paying a very heavy price. We are investing: we have announced the biggest uplift to arts funding, in a single Parliament, in history; we are investing additional resources in young people to turn around the life chances of a generation; and we have invested more than £1 billion in school sport, which the hon. Member’s Government squandered. He should be ashamed of himself—

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  I thank my hon. Friend for being such an outstanding champion for her constituency. She and I have discussed the great, vibrant, diverse cultural offer and contribution that her community has to make, including the fact that it is the home of Concorde. Through the town of culture, we hope that many towns across the country can up their cultural offer, shout loudly about their achievements, take wings and soar.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  Through the national youth strategy, we were absolutely horrified to find that a majority of young people in this country spend all, or almost all, of their free time alone in their bedrooms online. As part of the commitment to keep young people safe online and to get them out of their bedrooms and into the real world, we have been pleased to announce a significant uplift in funding for young people to ensure that we build the next generation of youth clubs and grassroots sports facilities, rebuild youth work and ensure that every young person has those opportunities in our country.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We have been very careful not to get drawn into speculation about the future funding arrangements for the BBC, except to say that we have ruled out a levy on streamers, and we have also ruled out direct taxation going to fund the BBC because of the need for the BBC to retain its independence. But I look forward to debating this issue with the hon. Member and for the whole House to come together to ensure that we get this right through the charter process.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Topical Questions · Hansard source

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  We are working very closely with the Department for Education to ensure that the national centre is launched in September, and we will update my hon. Friend and the House very shortly on the progress that we are making.

• 18 Jun 2026 · BBC Funding · Hansard source

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  The BBC is one of our most important national institutions. Now, more than ever, the need for trusted news and high-quality programming is essential to our democratic and cultural life. We are currently conducting the charter review, which I believe will be the most consequential in the BBC’s history, given the current political climate. We have already announced that, as part of the charter review, we will be putting the BBC on a permanent charter, so that it exists in perpetuity for all of us, forever.

• 18 Jun 2026 · BBC Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, because I know this issue has raised significant concerns across all our nations and regions. I met the BBC director general recently to discuss the announcement that has just been made. Obviously, those decisions are a matter for the BBC. What is squarely within the Government’s remit, however, is ensuring that, as part of the charter, the BBC is adequately and sustainably funded. We will not accept a smaller BBC. A core objective of the charter review is to expand both the scope and reach of BBC services.

• 18 Jun 2026 · BBC Funding · Hansard source

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  I will try to reassure the hon. Member on that, because we have no intention of restricting debate on the future of the BBC. I share some of his concerns about the way in which the BBC made the recent announcement. One of the things that I was keen to ensure was that decisions that could affect the future of the BBC, and the services on which we all rely, were made by the new director general and not in the interim, in the absence of a permanent director general. The charter process sets out a clear role for Parliament, which this Government will respect and uphold. There will be adequate opportunity to debate the proposals that the Government put forward with the White Paper on the future of the BBC later this year.

• 18 Jun 2026 · BBC Funding · Hansard source

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  I concur with my hon. Friend’s view that, now more than ever, the BBC’s role in providing trusted news and information is essential. For all the challenges that the BBC has faced, it remains the most trusted source of news in this country, and one of the most trusted sources of news across the world. I recognise that the BBC has had some serious challenges to deal with, and has had to make some difficult decisions, but this Government are determined to support its efforts by ensuring that it is adequately funded. We have recently published the first ever local news strategy. Colleagues will know that in the current by-election in Makerfield—next door to me in Wigan—there has been a huge upsurge in the amount of misinformation and disinformation targeted at residents. The BBC has a role to play in countering that, but so too do tremendous outlets such as the Wigan Post, which provide much needed balance.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Access to Music and Dance Training · Hansard source

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  I join the hon. Lady in paying tribute to Alastair Tighe and all the people who make this commitment real. They change children’s lives, and this Government cannot do that alone from Whitehall. What we can do, however, is fund such schemes adequately. Even in these difficult financial circumstances, we made a £36.5 million commitment to the music and dance scheme last year, and we have increased that by £1.3 million to ensure that it can continue.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Access to Music and Dance Training · Hansard source

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  This Government believe that every child in this country has the right to access high-quality arts provision, including music and dance, which gives young people the chance to live a richer, larger life. I am really pleased to tell the House that the music and dance scheme’s allocation of future funding for this financial year represents an increase on the commitment of the previous year.

• 18 Jun 2026 · Access to Music and Dance Training · Hansard source

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  Of course, I will. I appreciate the efforts that my hon. Friend puts in not just to ensure that Harlow is referenced in this Chamber at every opportunity, but, sincerely, to change the lives of young people in Harlow and across the whole country. He really is one of the best champions for young people in this House.