There are no media-specific policies in the Labour Party’s manifesto for the 2024 election, as published on Thursday (13 June).

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy said earlier in the campaign that Labour would take action on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) originating from Russian oligarchs, although this specific promise does not appear in the manifesto.

The Green Party on Wednesday vowed to prevent any one company or person from owning more than a fifth of the media market.

Meanwhile the incumbent Conservatives said they will reform the BBC complaints process and oppose state-backed regulation of the press – in contrast with the Liberal Democrats who promised to revive the Leveson inquiry.

Scroll down for full information on media policies within each party’s manifesto

As the UK goes to the polls on 4 July, the News Media Association (which represents most UK local and national news publishers) set out its own “election manifesto” of policy priorities.

Guardian editor Katherine Viner backed calls for greater regulation of AI large language models. The Guardian has yet to indicate whether it plans to sign licensing deals with generative AI companies or will follow the New York Times and sue.

Viner said: “Without quality journalism to train and ground large language models, these technologies would struggle to make sense of the world around them.

“A strong copyright framework, transparency around how quality journalism is scraped and used, and a willingness to stand up for the right of investors in intellectual property to receive fair compensation for the use of their work should be at the heart of a balanced approach to AI policy of the next.”

Editorial director of National World Gary Shipton backed the NMA’s calls for curbs on the BBC’s news operation saying that its “anti-competitive incursion risks hundreds of journalists’ jobs as it steals audience and the advertising revenues associated with them”.

And Manchester Evening News editor Sarah Lester urged the next Government to move quickly to regulate tech giants via the Digital Markets Bill, which passed into law last week.

She said: “The wider public is largely unaware of how much influence big tech has on what is served to them to read. It’s not an exaggeration to say without action a fundamental part of our democracy is at stake.”

Media manifestos from each party for 2024 election:

Reform UK manifesto: End to BBC licence fee and launch of Free Speech Bill

Nigel Farage-led Reform UK said reform of the “out-of-touch wasteful” and “institutionally biased” BBC should begin within 100 days of the next Parliament.

The Reform UK manifesto (billed as “our contract with you” rather than a manifesto) said: “The TV licence is taxation without representation. We will scrap it. In a world of on-demand TV People should be free to choose.”

The party also called for the creation of a Free Speech Bill, saying it would: “Legislate to stop left-wing bias and politically correct ideology that threatens personal freedom and democracy. No more de-banking, cancel culture, left wing hate mobs or political bias in public institutions. Stop Sharia law being used in the UK.”

The party also said an inquiry into social media harms should be urgently launched, saying social media “is associated with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, suicide and the child mental health crisis”.

The manifesto said that thereafter the Online Safety Bill should be reviewed, explaining: “Social media giants that push baseless transgender ideology and divisive Critical Race theory should have no role in regulating free speech.”

Labour Party manifesto: No media policies announced

Labour launched its manifesto on Thursday 13 June but it contains little of direct relevance to the news industry.

The word “press” does not appear in the document and the word “media” appears once in a solitary mention of social media, in which the party says it will “explore further measures to keep everyone safe online, particularly when using social media”. The word “news” comes up once, in a quote in which the executive chairman of high street chain Iceland hails Labour’s plans for the economy as “good news”.

The party’s manifesto does acknowledge that British regulators are “ill-equipped to deal with the dramatic development of new technologies” — something that has become a pressing issue for the news industry as artificial intelligence companies have tested British copyright law. Labour said it will address the matter through a new Regulatory Innovation Office that will “update regulation” and “speed up approval timelines”, but it makes no pledges on intellectual property or protecting publishers from AI businesses lifting their content.

The Professional Publishers Association welcomed the pledge for a Regulatory Innovation Office, however. It said: “While Labour’s focus on AI regulation centres on safety, the push for a coordinated approach provides opportunities for the PPA and other publishing stakeholders to engage with Labour’s new regulation office to address intellectual property and competition concerns.

“We agree that AI regulations must be implemented swiftly and will collaborate with Labour, if they win the election, to ensure a sustainable digital economy where publishers benefit from audience engagement without having their content illegally appropriated by LLMs.”

Previous Labour manifestos for recent elections have pledged to revive part two of the Leveson inquiry, but this time there is no mention of this either way.

In July 2023 there were reports that Labour opposed the government’s (ultimately successful) plans to repeal Section 40 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013, which was designed to bring publishers into Leveson-compliant regulation by making them liable for significant legal bills if they did not do so. However in December The Guardian reported the party would not vote against the repeal and that it had dropped its previous commitment to opening Leveson 2, which would have examined the relationship between the press and the police.

Despite the lack of media policy announcements on Thursday, Labour’s David Lammy told the i on Monday 3 June that his party intends to ban SLAPPs by oligarchs as part of a six-part plan to stop London being a “laundromat” for “dirty money” from Russia.

An anti-SLAPP Bill introduced by Labour MP Wayne David was supported by the Conservatives, but was dropped when Parliament was dissolved for the general election.

Green Party media manifesto: Ban on any company or person owning more than fifth of the market

The Green Party manifesto announced on Wednesday 12 June argued the British media “is skewed by the dominance of billionaire and big-tech ownership… seeking to maximise profits by irresponsible practices that undermine democracy and promote harmful online content”, and that it “urgently needs to be reformed”.

The party said it would introduce new rules “so that no individual or company owns more than 20% of a media market”, although it did not specify how market share would be determined.

The environmentalist party said it would supplement these rules with “new grants to encourage the growth of a wider range of civic minded local news publishers”.

In common with the Liberal Democrats (see below), the Green Party pledged in its manifesto to “implement the recommendations of the 2012 Leveson Report and reinstate the second part of that crucial review”.

It said it will also introduce a Digital Bill of Rights — another commonality with the Lib Dems — that will “give the public greater control over their data”, as well as an AI regime that “does not erode the value of human creativity”.

Conservative manifesto: New BBC complaints process, opposition to Leveson 2

The Conservative manifesto, published on Tuesday 11 June, committed to opposing “any attempt to bring forward Leveson 2 or re-open the Royal Charter on self-regulation of the press”.

The Conservative manifesto also said it will introduce “a new complaints process for the BBC so the BBC does not mark its own homework”.

The party said the BBC “should represent the perspectives of the entire nation with diversity of thought, accuracy and impartiality as its guiding principles. We will carefully consider the findings of the Funding Review ahead of the next Royal Charter and ensure it upholds these principles”.

The manifesto added that the Conservatives “will support the BBC World Service” as part of a broader international soft power strategy and that they will “promote international media freedom”.

“The Conservative Party is a strong defender of freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” it said.

Liberal Democrats manifesto: Leveson 2, copyright, Digital Services Tax and BBC World Service funding

The Liberal Democrat manifesto, which launched on Monday 10 June, featured media-related policy promises on topics including copyright, SLAPPs, the BBC and press regulation.

Like Labour, the Lib Dems said they will introduce a dedicated anti-SLAPP law.

The party would also increase the Digital Services Tax, which was introduced in 2020 and imposes a 2% levy on social media, search engine and online marketplace firms’ turnover in the UK, to 6%. It is unclear how this pledge would interact with a current government commitment to phase out the Digital Services Tax as part of a global tax treaty.

The party did not explicitly address copyright concerns around artificial intelligence, but said it will “support modern and flexible patent, copyright and licensing rules” — a particular concern among media executives who feel their business’ intellectual property has been abused by tech firms.

The Lib Dems also have several pledges related to public service broadcasting and the BBC in particular. The party said it will:

• “Protect the BBC, S4C, BBC Alba and Channel 4 as independent, publicly owned, public service broadcasters”
• “Support the BBC both to provide impartial news and information, and to take a leading role in increasing media literacy and educating all generations in tackling the impact of fake news”
• And “properly fund the impartial BBC World Service from the Foreign Office budget and restore its global reach”.

The World Service, previously funded by the Foreign Office, has been funded largely by the BBC since 2014.

The party also wants to make televised general election leaders’ debates mandatory, with standardised rules laid down by regulator Ofcom.

On misinformation, the party said it would push “for a global convention or treaty to combat disinformation and electoral interference, supplemented by an annual conference and Global Counter-Disinformation Fund”.

As in its 2019 manifesto, the Lib Dems said they want to “proceed with Part Two of the Leveson Inquiry”. The party said they will “support independent, Leveson-compliant regulation”.

And the party said it would introduce a “Digital Bill of Rights” enshrining “the rights to privacy, free expression, and participation without being subjected to harassment and abuse”.

News Media Association’s 2024 election media manifesto

Artificial intelligence and copyright

“The next Government must ensure that publishers can control the use of their content by Large Language Models(LLMs)and are able to consent to its use.

“Transparency obligations are necessary, as are mechanisms to allow publishers to negotiate for the value of content. Artificial intelligence firms continue to use publishers’ copyrighted content without permission or remuneration.”

BBC

“The next Government must use the Charter renewal period to ensure that the BBC’s status as a publicly funded, dominant market actor does not allow the Corporation to further supplant the key role of the commercial news sector.”

The NMA said this should include “placing guardrails on the scope of the BBC’s online news services, with proper scrutiny from Ofcom” and “reshaping the objectives and remit of the BBC’s online news operations to place an emphasis on collaborative working, bolstering plurality in the local news market”.

Press freedom

“Put legislative and non-legislative solutions in place to combat SLAPPs, preventing the rich and powerful from manipulating the UK’s legal system to stop the publication of public interest journalism.

“Make a firm commitment to ensuring that journalists are able to have proper access to public interest information and events, such as: Government briefings; party political gatherings; and high profile events of public interest (such as major sporting events).

“Decisions to grant access should never be prejudiced against particular journalists or media organisations, and – as referenced above – new legislation should be reviewed to ensure it does not restrictor impede journalistic access.”

Media plurality

“The next government must ensure that regulatory interventions support a plural UK media environment.

“This includes ensuring that trusted news can be accessed freely online; publishers can negotiate for the value of trusted content; and any regulation of online advertising does not unfairly penalise trusted publishers or undermine the established system of self-regulation and commercial free speech.”

Local media

“Maintaining the requirement for local authorities to place public notices in local newspapers, preserving a vital revenue stream for local titles whilst ensuring all citizens have access to keyi nformation.

“Review the government’s own advertising spend to ensure that trusted local publishers are being fully and effectively utilised as a key route for the Government to communicate critical information in a trusted environment.

“Consider a local journalism tax relief, and an extension of the business rates relief for local titles beyond 2025, allowing publishers to focus investment on putting more journalists on the ground.”

Reporters Without Borders calls on parties to commit to ‘ten priorities’ for media freedom

Like the NMA, Reporters Without Borders on 7 June called on the UK’s political parties to commit to ten priority step for media freedom, which are as follow:

• Take action on SLAPPs
• Stem transnational attacks on journalists such as the stabbing of an Iranian journalist in London this year
• Do more to support journalists abused online and bring perpetrators to account
• Stand up more for British journalists detained overseas
• Issue emergency visas for foreign journalists in danger
• Commit to “principle and practice” of free and fair journalist access to democratic processes — do not charge for reporter access to political events or court
• Call for the upholding of press freedom worldwide, particularly the protection of journalists in Gaza
• Prevent the extradition of Julian Assange
• Provide proper resources and powers to National Committee for the Safety of Journalists which was established in 2020
• Deploy “comprehensive regulation” of AI that “amplifies reliable news sources” and “prevents the dissemination of harmful deepfakes”.

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