BBC Leadership

Debate between Rupa Huq and Lisa Nandy

Tuesday 11th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

The hon. Lady asks if we will stand up for the BBC, and she will have heard my words to the House today. The BBC is one of the most important institutions in the country, and it has stood at the centre of our democratic and cultural life for over a century. How will we stand up for the BBC? We will put it on a firm footing through the charter process that we are about to start. On her concerns about board members, she will have heard the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North (Sarah Owen).

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her leadership on this. I wholeheartedly welcome her words that political figures should not be presenters of the news. Surely that should apply also to the arbiters of news standards. Could these reforms therefore look at the four-person editorial standards committee, given that two of them have resigned, leaving as its most senior member someone who has owned a newspaper in his time, breaching the Independent Press Standards Organisation guidelines—the ex-Conservative director of communications, Robbie Gibb?

[Lisa Nandy]

My hon. Friend mentions the editorial guidance and standards committee, which has been the source of much debate and scrutiny over recent days. I have discussed this directly with the chair of the BBC. I understand that changes to that committee are planned, and I very much welcome that decision.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Rupa Huq and Lisa Nandy

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

T5. Since the announcement of my Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill, which makes provision for transparency on ticket prices, I have been deluged with suggestions and support worldwide from people who do not want another Oasis-style ticket scam. Will Ministers meet me to discuss working together on this, given the chance that on 6 December, Opposition Members’ shenanigans will sink the thing without trace?

[Lisa Nandy]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising an issue that is so important to fans throughout the country. The Government, including my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary, have acted decisively in announcing a consultation in order to consider how best to put fans back at the heart of ticketing, not whether to do it. We will say more about this imminently.