Speech by , Shadow Secretary of
State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport
Unusually I’d like to start by thanking DCMS officials, the
Palace, our police and armed forces for the tremendous
organisation of the last few historic weeks.
Watched around the world, we showed the very best of British -
our character, our values, our traditions.
There was nothing more British than The Queue, all live streamed
by the BBC.
You just wouldn't see it in any other country.
I feel incredibly privileged to have been a miniscule part of
it.
What we’ve seen over the last few solemn weeks is the best of us
- united and together.
It stands in stark contrast to the culture wars the Tories so
often seek to sow.
Conference, we won't let their false divides rip us apart, nor
will we be goaded by them.
What this moment has also shown is the value we put on service
and public duty. It’s in our DNA.
Look around today and ask who upholds our British values and
institutions?
It’s not the Tories.
Offended by their own bad press and - how shall I put it - one of
two interviews that didn’t go to
plan, the Conservatives want to sell off Channel 4 and end the
BBC as we know it.
Just as the rest of the world envies our renowned
broadcasters.
We understand their true value as cultural cornerstones of our
world-leading creative industries.
But their value is more than economic, they bring us all together
in good times and bad.
That’s why we will keep Channel 4 in public hands and we will
secure the future of the BBC as a universal, publicly owned
broadcaster.
What’s more, we will protect it from party political
interference.
But I say this to BBC executives, public trust is at its
strongest when the BBC is truly independent.
Don’t put that at risk by dancing to the Tories’ tune.
Sport and culture also has a much deeper value.
They give us belonging, shared experiences, joy and are at the
heart of our communities.
They aren’t only for the elite.
The rise of the Premier League has made English football top of
the world,
But the lion has become unchained.
That’s why the next Labour government will bring in a statutory,
independent football regulator to protect clubs for communities
and fans.
As a Mancunian in Liverpool, perhaps we can agree on this, sport
and culture have been pivotal to our regions’ renaissance after
decades of decline under the Tories trickle down which never got
North.
Libraries, galleries, nightclubs and leisure are crucial to the
revival of our high streets.
And charities are at the heart of a society that works for
everyone, yet they are at real risk from the cost of living
crisis and the pandemic.
We just have a different view than the Tories about how to build
a successful country. Not by leaving some behind, but by enabling
happy, thriving people and places that they feel proud of.
The Elizabethan age was an age of huge progress.
Ordinary working people able to own their home, go to university,
get free healthcare and communicate around the world with access
to any information in their back-pocket.
But we are now entering the Digital Age.
Technology is changing at breakneck speed.
Science fiction has become science fact.
But the big choice today is who this benefits?
While the promise of the digital era was to spread knowledge and
connectivity, it has in fact seen power and influence amass in
the hands of a few.
Just as Harold Wilson demanded the White Heat of Technology
worked for everyone, today’s Labour demands a new settlement for
the digital age, working for the many.
Let’s be honest, this isn’t a task Truss’s Tories can take
on.
To them, regulation is a dirty word, even if it means regulating
to stop our children being harmed online.
Her idea of what is right for the many, is to give even more
power and wealth to the few and hope for the best it trickles
down.
It won’t.
In the information age, where data and platforms wield the power,
shaping what we think, buy, work and how we access services. This
is an urgent task.
We will put an end to workers being at the wrong end of
automation.
And instead ensure its a tool for their prospects to improve.
We will ensure we have world-leading digital infrastructure, with
every home connected, and lead the race on industrial 5G.
And let me be clear Conference, we can’t deliver that without
decent pay and conditions for telecoms workers.
We will draw up world leading regulation opening up data and
unleashing small businesses to spread wealth.
We will upskill our workforce and citizens, so that we become a
tech savvy society.
We will ensure we have cyber resilience and security against
rogue states and actors.
The choice is clear - unlock the power of the digital revolution
in the interests of the many, or continue to benefit a small
few.
Conference, together we’ll ensure a Labour government delivers on
that mission.
