Home > News > Articles & speeches > Valuing S4C

Once Wales was a land where there were many heavy industries. Today, there is much talk about creative industries. Just as Llanelli was once a leader in industrial processes, today it is a leader the new creative initiatives.

However, we must be on the look-out that the Tory-led Coalition Government in Westminster does not strangle the shoots of growth even as they as they struggle to grow.

The Welsh Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has recently published a report on the future of S4C. The report stresses the need for S4C to be able to operate independently.

Those of us who remember the early days of S4C will have fond memories of the cartoon series SuperTed. Wales became a world-leader in TV animation.

However, under the Government’s proposed arrangements, funding of S4C will come from the BBC’s licence fee, where it would be competing with many other demands. The days of commissioning new ideas from independent providers such as Llanelli’s Tinopolis could be over.

When Rhodri Morgan was First Minister he used to talk about his vision of Wales as a clever, well-educated, highly-skilled small nation. The creative industries are an example of this. They need to be developed and encouraged.

That is why we should all keep a sharp eye out for what is happening to S4C. The future of S4C is too important to the future of Wales to be left in the hands of the philistines and the cost-accountants alone.