Informed NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE issue 48 July 2024 Culture wars over, says Nandy Mark Tomas / Alamy Stock Photo


Lisa Nandy is the new Culture Secretary responsible for media policy following Labour’s landslide victory in the 4 July general election. Chris Bryant was appointed as her minister of state. Te former government minister and laterly Parliament’s standards watchdog chair won £30,000 plus costs from News International aſter having his phone hacked, together with other politicians, celebrities and sports stars. Michelle Stanistreet, general secretary, said: “Te union has writen to Lisa Nandy to congratulate her on her new brief, and we’re looking forward to meeting her soon to discuss the range of important issues affecting NUJ members in the coming period.” Michelle had announced she would be stepping down as general secretary at NEC, but will remain in post until at least the end of the year (page 2).


Te NUJ has launched a revamped


News Recovery Plan, its manifesto for a media industry rooted in public interest journalism (see page 8). Te document which includes practical measures for supporting a news industry starved of investment has been sent to the Culture Minister. Nandy was comfortably re-elected to her Wigan constituency, unlike Tangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture minister expected to take on the culture brief, who lost her seat to the Green Party. Nandy has held various frontbench opposition roles, including shadow foreign secretary. Te union is now recruiting members to join its cross-party Parliamentary Group among the intake of 335 new MPs. Te Labour Party manifesto does not provide a fulsome media


Also in this issue:


Michelle’s Message Page 02


Lisa Nandy told the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport staff that the “culture wars” were over


programme, however it says it will “work constructively with the BBC and our other public service broadcasters”. Nandy is on record as a supporter of the BBC, but has said it should be more directly accountable to licence- fee holders and she was critical of its “backroom negotiations with the government” – views which are in line with the NUJ.


She has described local newspapers as the “lifeblood of democracy” and has spoken out against cuts at her local Wigan newspapers and in favour of the Local Democracy Reporter scheme, voicing support for a tax on social media companies to fund local media and investigative journalism. Her mother, Luise Nandy, was a


producer for Granada’s long-running, irreverent show, What Te Papers Say, famous for reading out tabloid headlines in “funny” working-class voices.


News Recovery Plan Page 08


Hopefully Nandy will last longer than the long list of predecessors during the past decade – and she could rely on a warm welcome from her department merely for not being Nadine Dorries. Byrant, on record for being critical of the algorithm-driven stories which he says promotes extreme views amplifying hatred, is in favour of greater regulation and curbing the monopoly power of tech giants, including Meta and Google. Te union will monitor the


government’s promises to repeal the anti-strike laws and, hopefully, to reform procedures required for union recognition; the four-year batle at the Press Association (page 4) provides a compelling case study. Vows to improve workers’ rights, including flexible hours, ending hire and fire, strengthening sick pay and mandatory pay gap reporting are all in Labour’s New Deal agenda.


Police relations Page 10


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