An ad van with a message driven directly to the then Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, from hundreds of thousands of members of the British public: don’t ignore us. Credit: 38 Degrees/Fran Freeman.
This victory proves that when we come together, we can win. Together, hundreds of thousands of us helped to keep our public service broadcaster in public hands and protect our democracy.
The Campaign
Since they were first floated back in August 2021, 38 Degrees and partners campaigned tirelessly to ditch plans to privatise Channel 4.
Channel 4 belongs to everyone – but doesn’t cost the taxpayer a single penny. It’s a trailblazing part of British culture, not only providing great TV shows but also delivering a huge number of jobs across the UK.
38 degrees and others threw everything at the Government to get them to reverse their decision.
- 215,751 signed the petition telling the Government to keep Channel 4 public
- 43,538 responded to the Government consultation telling them to stop the sell off
- 57,302 emailed Nadine Dorries to let her know: 96% say keep Channel 4 public.
13,638 chipped in to fundraise for some eye-catching stunts, including taking out a front page ad in Nadine Dorries’ local paper and driving an ad van to her Westminster office.
A frontpage ad taken out in Nadine Dorries’ local paper, The Bedfordshire Times, paid for by 38 Degrees supporters. Credit: 38 Degrees.
38 Degrees is a community of more than a million people who – in a moment away from their busy days – take small actions on issues they care about, which all add up to something bigger, a movement for a better Britain for everyone who calls our country home. Our campaign to keep Channel 4 in public hands shows the power we have when we come together. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of us who played a part in this campaign, we’re delighted it has been recognised and shortlisted in the SMK awards.”
A frontpage ad taken out in Nadine Dorries’ local paper, The Bedfordshire Times, paid for by 38 Degrees supporters. Credit: 38 Degrees.
Our campaign to keep Channel 4 in public hands shows the power we have when we come together. On behalf of the hundreds of thousands of us who played a part in this campaign, we’re delighted it has been recognised and shortlisted in the SMK awards.”
The Change
At the end of 2022, the campaign sent a briefing to the new Culture Secretary, Michelle Donelan. It summarised all the work that had done and the strength of public feeling against plans to sell Channel 4 off.
At the beginning of 2023, the new Secretary of State finally confirmed the Government intended to scrap the privatisation plans. This was a huge win for people power and for all of those who took part in a two-year long campaign to keep our public broadcaster public.
38 Degrees works to lower the bar to democratic participation because they believe that politics works better when more people get involved. They provide more ways for people to make their voices heard on issues they care about, from signing petitions and emailing representatives, to crowdfunding ground-breaking research and taking part in Government consultations.
Tucked away on the Government’s website and slipped out quietly, supporters told them they simply wouldn’t have known about the Government’s Channel 4 consultation, or taken part, had 38 Degrees not told them about it or made it accessible.
The Future
The 38 Degrees community will continue to campaign to protect public service broadcasters like Channel 4 and the BBC from political attacks and ensure that the public have a say over their future.
Who else was involved?
Change.org, Writer’s Guild, We Own It, Equity, Trade Unions, celebrity campaigners
