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Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Oral Answers to Questions

"Mr Speaker, I would never presume to know your diary, but I feel as if we should go together to the Piña Colada festival, just to take one for the team and see what that is all about. Since I gave my answer to my hon. Friend’s substantive question, I …..."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Oral Answers to Questions

"Strong evidence from the city of culture programme proves that supporting local culture pays both economic and social dividends for those areas and the wider public. The town of culture is a new competition to ensure that smaller places can share that real impact, by shining a spotlight on places …..."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Speech in Commons Chamber - Thu 27 Nov 2025
Oral Answers to Questions

"I highly commend the festival in Huddersfield. As an Edinburgh MP who is always championing festivals, the more music festivals and other arts festivals we have across the country, the better. I encourage everyone to go...."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Oral Answers to Questions
Written Question
Whisky: Scotland
Monday 11th September 2023

Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has made a recent assessment of the contribution of the Scotch whisky industry to the tourism industry.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The whisky industry is the UK’s largest single food and drink sector, accounting for 25% of the UK’s food and drink exports and 75% of Scottish food and drink exports, impacting 200 markets worldwide. The whisky sector generates £3.3 billion directly to the UK economy, and totals £5.5 billion when Gross Value Added (GVA) is added to the overall to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Research by VisitScotland found that 20% of respondents stated they visited a whisky distillery on their holiday in Scotland, making it one of the top activities for overnight tourists on their trip to Scotland.

Visits to whisky distilleries in Scotland have increased by two thirds since 2010, and over 1000 people are now directly employed in tourism roles which equates to 10% of the industry’s direct employment in Scotland.

Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 Jun 2022
Channel 4 Privatisation

"In terms of my Register of Members’ Financial Interests, may I say that my special adviser attended the television BAFTAs as a guest of Channel 4? I am told that I must declare that, so it is on the record...."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Channel 4 Privatisation
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 Jun 2022
Channel 4 Privatisation

"I did not go either. I was not invited. Maybe after this speech I might get an invite next year, if Channel 4 is not privatised.

Let me say at the outset that this country is the best in the world at making television and films, that our broadcasters are …..."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Channel 4 Privatisation
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 Jun 2022
Channel 4 Privatisation

"Yes, it is the cultural levelling up that Channel 4 has been able to achieve as part of its own agenda.

Analysis by EY—Ernst and Young—which was mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), estimates that over £1 billion would be lost from …..."
Ian Murray - View Speech

View all Ian Murray (Lab - Edinburgh South) contributions to the debate on: Channel 4 Privatisation
Speech in Commons Chamber - Tue 14 Jun 2022
Channel 4 Privatisation

"Yes, but Channel 4 puts all those issues on the table in terms of investing directly in production. Channel 4 provides that shop window. If you say to a production company in Scotland which makes “Location, Location, Location”, “Would you like to make that for Channel 4, but you don’t …..."
Ian Murray - View Speech

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Written Question
Scots Gaelic Language: Broadcasting
Monday 10th January 2022

Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what consideration has been given to support for Gaelic broadcasting in the forthcoming Broadcasting White Paper.

Answered by Julia Lopez - Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology

The UK Government has a strong record of demonstrating its commitment to minority language broadcasting to ensure that our broadcasting sector services all audiences of the UK nations and regions.

Minority language broadcasting has an important role to play in the UK’s broadcasting ecology, providing not only an opportunity for speakers to access content in a language familiar to them, but as a means of cultural expression for communities across the UK.

The Government has been undertaking a strategic review of public service broadcasting. This will include the important role of minority language broadcasting to audiences such as Gaelic speaking community. The conclusions from that review will be set out in the Broadcasting White Paper.

Written Question
Charities: Lotteries
Monday 22nd November 2021

Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what plans the Government has to increase the charity lottery annual sales limit from £50 million to £100 million.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The government increased the annual sales limit for society lotteries from £10 million to £50 million in July 2020, as part of a package of reforms designed to enable both the National Lottery and society lotteries to thrive, and consequently to grow overall returns to good causes.

We have committed to reviewing these reforms, and that is now under way. We want to understand the impact of these changes, before we consider looking again at the case for a £100 million lottery licence and any additional conditions that may accompany that.