Former Labour leader Ed Milliband has demanded that the government blocks Rupert Murdoch's bid for the whole of Sky during a speech to MPs today. Milliband, who resigned as Labour leader in 2015, argued that the Media landscape has not altered since the media behemoth attempted to takeover Sky five years ago.
Not for the first time
Ed Milliband stated Murdoch's latest £11.2 billion bid "shows that the Murdochs have learned nothing and think that they can get away with anything they so desire". In 2011, when Milliband was still leading the Labour party, a previous bid by Murdoch's 21st Century Fox was withdrawn amidst the phone hacking scandal.
At the time, politicians stated that they would support a motion to prevent the takeover from going ahead. Murdoch recently ranked in the Forbes top thirty list of the world's most powerful people.
In his impassioned speech, Milliband said: "Nothing material has changed since his [Murdoch] previous bid. They are seeking to turn the judgement of the house, regulator and the government on its head. If it was wrong in 2012, it is still wrong in 2016". Several Labour MPs responded by stating that Murdoch's audacious bid must be delayed until the conclusion of the Leveson inquiry into allegations of corruption in the relationship between the media and the police.
In the dust of the phone hacking scandal, Rupert Murdoch's company News Corp determined to divide its television and film assets from their newspaper and publishing assets.
James Murdoch is now the chief executive of 21st Century Fox, which owns 39 percent of Sky, where James Murdoch is also the chief executive.
Karen Brady, the culture secretary, stated that she would refrain from commenting due to her "quasi judicial" role in the takeover. Ed Milliband, now the MP for the Doncaster North constituency, sought to find reassurance that Murdoch's bid would't be passed until parliament returns from recess on the 9th of January.
In 2011, Milliband argued for the breakup of Murdoch's media empire, suggesting Murdoch possessed too much power over public life.
Milliband said that, in 2011, politicians took a stand against the Murdochs' power in the media before urging prime minster Theresa May to adhere to her pledge to stand up for the voiceless and powerless. A potential Murdoch takeover of Sky raises serious concerns about the future of an independent media in the UK.