The government offers us sweeties to distract us - while they take the food from our tables.

In the Queen's Speech we were told we would have greater involvement in naming streets.  Great. That's what we need as the cost of living skyrockets and day after day we are bombarded with more news of fecklessness, wrong doing and chaos.

I suppose that's how they regard us: easy to distract. Like children.

And that is the general way in which they operate. 

With Partygate, we've been told to wait wait wait. Wait for the Sue Grey report, wait for the police investigation. Questions for senior members of government were evaded. Wait wait wait.  

Keir Starmer recently stated he will resign as a matter of integrity if fined by the police but our current Prime Minister when asked if he will do the same says he's moving on, moving on, moving on from "all that."

When, exactly, is the time right, when is the time now for the government to be held to account for injustices, wrongdoing and behaviours that are corrosive of democracy, that are undermining of trust?

When is the time right now?

No one asked for Channel 4 to be privatised.
It was not on the manifesto.
There was a performance of democracy -  a consultation.
There were 56 000 respondents - people and organisations who know what they're talking about, people who work the length and breadth of the country. People with relevant skills, knowledge and experience.

The vast majority - 96% - of the respondents were against the privatisation of Channel 4. 

Only 4% were in favour. 

Our current Culture Secretary decided anyway to go ahead.

Is this democratic? No, it really is not.

There has been widespread dismay and anger, but the government is disregarding that and ploughing on ahead.  They are ignoring our voices, our protest. They are ignoring our petition.  They are supposed to work for us. They are supposed to be in public service. They are supposed to be our representatives.

They are supposed to listen to us. 

And each day, new headlines are generated by a new wave of controversy, of distress, of anger, of fecklessness, of wrongdoing and we keep moving on moving on moving on and the government is not held to account.

We must keep on insisting: the time is now.  We're not moving on.

We want to protect the home of beloved family favourites like Great British Bake Off and Gogglebox. We want to protect the home of hard hitting and risk taking drama like It's A Sin. We want to protect the channel that continues to commission brilliant programmes from across the UK like Derry Girls. 

We want to protect a channel that boasts acclaimed current affairs and news - Unreported World, Untold Stories, Dispatches, Channel 4 News. 

Because they keep on insisting, on our behalf, that we are not moving on from "all that", the time is now and democracy insists those in power are held to account.  

And it feels like that is exactly why the current government - despite 96% being against the privatisation - is pressing on.

Please keep signing and sharing. We're not going away.