An email has just gone out to all staff at the Guardian and Observer. Deal’s done…
“Dear all,
I wrote to you earlier this week to let you know that the Scott Trust has been reviewing the ownership structure for the Observer over the last few months. Earlier this week, I set out the criteria the Trust has been taking into account to reach a decision. I believe they have now been met.
With that in mind, we have now in principle approved the sale of the Observer to Tortoise Media.
These are the principles we were guided by during the negotiations:
- The Scott Trust to stay on as a part-owner of the Observer
- The Observer to have secure and sustainable, long- term funding
- Other owners of the title to take a long-term view of their investment
- All owners to embody the values of editorial independence, press freedoms and liberal journalism that have been part of the Observer’s ethos since we bought it in 1993.
- The Observer to be governed by a mature board structure, with a role for the Scott Trust on the Tortoise Media editorial and commercial boards
Collectively we have thought long and hard about this decision.”
All that’s left is for the Guardian Media Group and James Harding’s Tortoise Media to sign on the dotted line. The strikes didn’t work then…
Andy Haldane, Burnham’s recent adviser on the economy who has not taken up a No10 job, told Andrew Marr on LBC:
“The market now suspects that this is a traditional tax-and-spend socialist government with better TikTok videos…
imposing windfall taxes on oil & gas or on banks or upping capital gains tax would […] repeat the mistake that Rachel made […] The Achilles heel, the fiscal Achilles heel of this government thus far has been its unwillingness and/or inability to cut public spending.”