(Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport) (Con):...I am delighted to see the
Minister for Digital and Culture, my right hon. Friend the Member
for West Suffolk (Matt Hancock), in his place today. He is a great
cricket fan—he has played cricket with me, which was great fun.
That was in India, where I took the opening bat’s wicket, much to
everybody’s surprise. We ended up having a great time. I know that
Newmarket is in his constituency, which holds big racing events.
There are specific ways in which we could do this, including
covering specific campaign issues. I am also aware that there are a
number of community websites, such as SW19, which I know about from
the days when I was taking a historical interest in what happens in
Merton. People write into those websites regularly and put comments
on them about the local community activities. That, too, is
important...
(High Peak)
(Con):...Yes, we organised a charity cricket game where
the parliamentary cricket team played the “Emmerdale Farm” 11. My
hon. Friend drove some 300 miles to play and acquitted himself
exemplarily, as he always does—as he did in India, as he remarked
earlier. High Peak Radio broadcast from the ground and interviewed
the players. On that day we raised, I think, just over £10,000 for
the air ambulance. We could not have done that with such success
without the backing of our local radio station, because it
introduced the coverage.
The Minister for Digital and Culture (Matt
Hancock):...My hon. Friend the Member for
Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Oliver Colvile) made an important
point about political balance in community radio. Of course, anyone
in broadcasting has to follow the law of the land and the Political
Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 and ensure that their
output conforms to what is required. He made a strong case for
radio, mostly on the grounds of cricket. I remember well the time
he astonished not only the entire Indian parliamentary cricket
team, but the rest of the British parliamentary team by taking a
wicket in Dharamshala. I also recall spending an awful lot of time
recovering the ball from the boundary.
: I must say that I,
too, was deeply surprised. My right hon. Friend might also recall
that although there were only 250 people in the grounds, the
match was being watched by 19 million people on Indian
television.
: I have no doubt that
all 19 million were totally astonished. It just shows that if you
put on what might be regarded as niche broadcasts—in this case, a
cricket match between the UK and Indian Parliaments—sometimes
many, many people will watch.
: Does the Minister
recall that I was actually commentating for Indian television
when my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
(Oliver Colvile) took the wicket?
: Yes, I remember
that. On a slightly more serious note, I think there was a reason
why 19 million people in India were watching that cricket match,
and it was not due to the quality of the commentary, the bowling
or the fielding. It was because there is very heavy regulation on
the number of broadcast channels in India, so there was nothing
else to watch. Putting ourselves in the eyes of the viewer or the
ears of the listener, it is far better to have more stations,
especially local ones, so that people can do something better
than watching my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and
Devonport and I play cricket...
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