From The Metro:
Government has its limits...
So Gordon in Sunderland blames the government for the decline of the high street (MetroTalk, Thu) rather than the fact that the digital age has made it cheaper and easier to purchase items online from the comfort of your own home*.
Does he also blame the government for the year-on-year drop in television viewing figures too? I suppose it should be down to the government to get the public to site and watch television** rather than streaming services for a designated portion of each day so as to compete with the likes of Netflix?
James, Essex
* The figures are quite staggering. According to the ONS, about one-fifth of UK retail spending is online.
** This is not as far fetched as he thinks. From Variety.com: Quotas obligating Netflix, Amazon and other streaming services operating in the European Union to dedicate at least 30% of their on-demand catalogs to local content are set to become enshrined in law soon. That 'protects' domestic film makers rather than TV stations as such, who have their own minimum domestic content quotas in many countries. Unsurprisingly, France has the highest quota in Europe (minimum 60%).
Debate Magazine
