Sir Keir Starmer and Anas Sarwar vow Big Tech will pay for journalism under Labour government

Sir Keir Starmer has said big tech platforms such as Facebook and Twitter should be forced to pay news providers for publishing their content to end the “legislative logjam” that is threatening the future of sustainable journalism in Britain.

The Labour leader said it was “only fair” that creators are “fairly rewarded” for their work and “not just the platforms that profit from it”. He also stressed that newspapers and publishers must be given greater control of their data and content.

Anas Sarwar, the leader of Scottish Labour, warned securing a sustainable future for journalism should be a “priority” and that it “cannot be yet another issue sacrificed to Tory incompetence”.

The Queen’s Speech in May contained the long-awaited Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. It includes measures to level the playing field between news publishers and the tech platforms.

However, the legislation has yet to be brought forward to Parliament. Publishing groups, including the News Media Association (NWA), have warned further delays will be “extremely damaging” to the industry.

In an op-ed for Journalism Matters, the NWA’s week-long campaign to champion journalism, Sir Keir accused the Conservative party of having “dragged its feet” over the issue.

Sir Keir wrote: “Labour will take a different stance when it comes to national broadcasters and local newspapers. The UK’s proud history of impartial journalism is being put under threat by the Tories’ politicisation of our media landscape.”

Describing the Tories’ “refusal to engage adequately” with local newspapers and radio as “short sighted and disrespectful,” Sir Keir went on: “The way the Government has dragged its feet on levelling the playing field between big tech platforms and news organisations threatens the sustainability of journalism.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it is crucial to secure a "sustainable future" for journbalism. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA

“Paralysed with chaos, action on this vital issue to secure a sustainable future for journalism is stuck in a legislative logjam. In the platform age, it’s only fair that creators are fairly rewarded for their work and not just the platforms that profit from it.

“That’s why we support moves to make platforms pay for news content and to give newspapers and publishers greater control of their data and content. The Government must act to secure the future of our media.”

Mr Sarwar told The Scotsman that journalists at home and abroad make “huge sacrifices” in their work, facing intimidation, harassment and censorship.

But he said “all that is put at risk by tech giants who profit from journalism without paying for it”, and echoed calls for “urgent changes to the law”.

Mr Sarwar added: “Our democracy cannot and will not survive without good, independent and self supporting journalism.”

In his op-ed, Sir Keir also pledged to “free the BBC from party political meddling” and oppose the privatisation of Channel 4 should he become prime minister.

He took aim at Conservative attacks on news institutions, characterising them as a “stain on the fabric of British culture”.

Rishi Sunak, the new Prime Minister, has previously expressed support for the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill. His culture secretary, Michelle Donelan, said earlier this week that “big tech has swallowed up much of the advertising market and contributed to the closure of too many newsrooms”. She pledged to “be a champion of journalism in every way I can”.