Five hysterical reactions to Channel 4’s sell-off

Roll up, roll up! The great Channel 4 sell-off is now on. The Culture Secretary, Nadine Dorries, is pushing ahead with plans to privatise the broadcaster after 40 years in public ownership. Ministers hope to raise around £1 billion, with the proceeds potentially being used to fund the levelling up agenda. 

Inevitably, such a plan has sparked the squeals and howls from the usual suspects. There’s the accusations of ‘cultural vandalism’ and selling the ‘family silver’ – the implication being that the broadcaster ought to be considered a precious substance. After all, if we lose C4, we run the risk of gems such as Naked Attraction and Made in Chelsea being replaced by cheap, low-brow commercial rubbish. God forbid.

Still, while some arguments against the sell-off do have their merits, others simply do not. Below are five of the more hysterical reactions to the news that, er, a minor public broadcaster will be sold by the state.

‘The seedbed of fascism’

Amid all the angst and outrage from various left-leaning MPs, congratulations to Claudia Webbe for winning the gold medal on the most deranged response.