Proposals backed by poll, if implemented by the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, would end the historic domination of British politics by media billionaires such as Murdoch and Rothermere.
A new poll has found that a majority of the British public would support a ban on foreign-based individuals and companies owning UK media organisations.
According to a new YouGov survey for the Media Sovereignty Act Campaign, over six in ten (63%) of the British public would support an outright ban on foreign ownership of UK media, with a similar number (63%) showing support for a ban on one company or individual owning more than one national newspaper or broadcast corporation.
The findings, published today, show that public opinion on the issue of media ownership and control is remarkably consistent amongst voters across the political divide. Over 6 in 10 voters for each of the main political parties, including Reform (67%), as well as both Remain (69%) and Leave (68%) voters, back an end to foreign ownership, and as many as 7 in 10 (72%) of the British public back the establishment of an independent media regulator.
The Media Sovereignty Act Campaign director Caspar Hughes said,
“It’s clear that ordinary people recognise the immense harm and suffering caused by the billionaire-owned press.
From Brexit to the climate crisis to Gaza, the boot print of foreign-owned media is absolutely clear.
To have a free and fair democracy, media ownership must be spread across all sections of society, not just the 0.0001%. It is time for us to take back control.”
Fellow director Donnachadh McCarthy said,
“For Britain to be truly sovereign, our media must be owned by people who live and vote in Britain. We cannot continue to be dictated to by out-of-touch, tax-dodging billionaires who don’t even live in the UK.
They use their control of the media to force our politicians to act against the interests of the British people. It is time to end foreign billionaire capture of our national debate and our democracy”.
Sir Jonathon Porritt, CBE, a prominent sustainability campaigner and author, said,
“A free people depends on a free press – which we do not have in the UK.
Today’s billionaire elite has seized control of much of the media that people rely on, protecting their own, undermining democracy, corrupting the truth and defending the fossil fuel incumbency even as the world burns.
Progress in addressing these crises depends absolutely on restoring media sovereignty.”
The Media Sovereignty Act Campaign is proposing a new law to overhaul media ownership in the UK, which is dominated by a handful of wealthy individuals, often based overseas.
The new law demands that only UK-based individuals, or entities owned only by UK-based people or shareholders, should be allowed to own or hold any shares in any UK national media organisations or large regional media groups.
The law would ensure that no single organisation would be allowed to own more than one national newspaper or commercial national broadcasting corporation. And no single individual “or family” would be able to own more than 20% of any major UK national newspaper or media organisation. This would directly impact the Murdoch family’s ownership of publications like The Sun and The Times, as well as Viscount Rothermere’s Mail group ownership of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, Metro, and The i.
It also contains measures to establish a new statutory independent media regulator, a social media levy to fund independent and local media and a requirement for all public policy organisations (think-tanks) to be registered and declare their donations in real time.
The campaign has a parliamentary petition that will trigger a parliamentary debate on billionaire ownership of our media once it reaches 100,000 signatures: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760061
Notes to editors:
- All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc: https://shorturl.at/MiJbL
Total sample size was 2,097 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 6th and 7th July 2026.
The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
- Bans foreign ownership of UK media.
- Bans the concentration of UK media ownership, e.g. by foreign or domestic super-rich and large corporations.
- Distributes media ownership across all sections of UK society via a social media levy on large social media organisations.
- Requires national newspapers to join a recognised independent regulator.
- Requires all think-tanks covered in the media to report their donations in real time.
- Bans the concentration of UK media ownership, e.g. by foreign or domestic super-rich and large corporations.
- The Labour government issued its response to the parliamentary petition on the Act after it passed 10,000 signatures.
Petition: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/760061
- Summary of UK results:
YouGov: https://shorturl.at/MiJbL
- 63% support a ban on national media organisations being owned by foreign-based individuals or foreign-owned companies, 15% oppose, and 22% are unsure.
- 62% support a levy on large social media corporations operating in the UK to fund independent and local journalism, 11% oppose it, and 27% are unsure.
- 72% support requiring UK national newspaper corporations to join a recognised press regulator independent of media organisations, 8% oppose, and 20% are unsure.
- 78% think policy think-tanks should publish who their donors are.
- 75% think policy think-tanks should publish how much their donors give.
- 56% support limiting how much of a national media organisation a single person can own, while 14% oppose and 30% are unsure.
- Who are the media billionaires who dominate Britain’s democracy?: https://mediasovereignty.org/uk-media-billionaires-list-2026/