The shadow secretary of state for culture, media and sport, and MP for Garston and Halewood, Maria Eagle has praised the role of the local television network on a visit to Liverpool today.

Addressing representatives from the city’s creative industries, Maria Eagle said Liverpool was given a major boost by winning the bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2008 and emphasised Labour’s plans for spending on culture and the arts, and the party’s expectations from the Chancellor’s next budget.

The shadow media secretary also praised the role of local television stations being rolled out across the UK, including Bay TV Liverpool, for driving forward diversity in terms of news, current affairs and other types of programming that audiences would otherwise be deprived of. Ms. Eagle said in an increasingly convergent media landscape local television had an important role to play in providing local audiences with access to news and programmes that are relevant to them.