[🌎 Universal GB] General Discussion

[Bowser]

I feel sorry for universal, if they government do mention it around the budget I can see headlines being very damaging to the idea of announcing money towards them park transport infrastructure (I know not directly) over screwing people who actually work.

I wouldn't feel too sorry for the billionaire corporation! If the project is confirmed then any impact of news like that will be transient and nobody will care once the giant theme park starts being built.

Can imagine much more airspace will be given to other elements of the budget anyway.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

I wouldn't feel too sorry for the billionaire corporation! If the project is confirmed then any impact of news like that will be transient and nobody will care once the giant theme park starts being built.

Can imagine much more airspace will be given to other elements of the budget anyway.

That's if we have a country by the time it's built! Can't help but feel UK has gone downhill massively in the last 3 years and W tier Kier and his labour mates have been drilling holes in the hull to help sink it faster!

Let's hope it will be all positive by the time this park is built.

 

[Benjsh]

That's if we have a country by the time it's built! Can't help but feel UK has gone downhill massively in the last 3 years and W tier Kier and his labour mates have been drilling holes in the hull to help sink it faster!

Let's hope it will be all positive by the time this park is built.

I share your distain for Kier and the current labour government but Britain has been going downhill much longer than the last 3 years my friend.

I feel sorry for the under 25's on here who have known mostly poor economic times in the UK. The 90's was the last truly great decade in the UK. There was genuine hope and positivity in the air and great community spirit. September the 11th 2001 the world became a very dark and scary place sadly and we've still never really full recovered from it. We've merely adapted.

Nige will likely be PM when Universal UK opens too which will be a rollercoaster all by itself. Hahaha!

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

Access Restricted

This report is interesting... Paramount have just paid big for the football rights here in the UK and it mentions the bid for WB (who are TNT Sports here and are current rights holders).

Could this be the thorn in Comcast's side with the park. I do hope Comcast get WB, it will give them far more IP.

 

[Skyscraper]

Access Restricted

This report is interesting... Paramount have just paid big for the football rights here in the UK and it mentions the bid for WB (who are TNT Sports here and are current rights holders).

Could this be the thorn in Comcast's side with the park. I do hope Comcast get WB, it will give them far more IP.

Here's the paywall-less article for those who want it;

https://archive.is/20251120162040/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/11/20/paramount-wins-rights-to-show-champions-league-games-in-uk/

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

I do hope Comcast get WB, it will give them far more IP.

The concentration of IP and large media organisations is rarely good for creators or consumers. It stifles the ability for new and riskier content, which could become the favourite IPs of tomorrow, to be created.

The long lasting IPs we all know and love were created in a time of independent operator abundance, not sparsity.

Aside from children's television (Peppa Pig and Bluey), when was the last time a truly good, loved and lasting IP was created? The likelihood of that happening again, with media concentration, is increasingly poor. Yet the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were a golden age of form favourites being born.

Budget is due on Weds, and as much as @GooseOnTheLoose will probably blow a gasket, could see Reeves announce it directly or indirectly via the infrastructure stuff.

I'm all for new and improved infrastructure, especially when it comes to public transport. That being said, if the multi-billion pound American media conglomerate would like a shiny new train station to their theme park, how about they pay for the construction of it?

Schools are facing real-term budget cuts, financial assistance for the poorest to insulate their homes is likely being scrapped, youth services are non-existent, councils are stretched as thin as ever... But at least Universal are getting their transport links built for them, at the expense of the tax payer and unlike any other player in the market.

The Universal project will undoubtedly have a net positive impact on the economy in Bedford and likely wider in the country too. Comcast don't need state aid to be able facilitate any of this, they're also not likely to walk away if we refuse it.

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

The concentration of IP and large media organisations is rarely good for creators or consumers. It stifles the ability for new and riskier content, which could become the favourite IPs of tomorrow, to be created.

The long lasting IPs we all know and love were created in a time of independent operator abundance, not sparsity.

Aside from children's television (Peppa Pig and Bluey), when was the last time a truly good, loved and lasting IP was created? The likelihood of that happening again, with media concentration, is increasingly poor. Yet the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s were a golden age of form favourites being born.

I'm all for new and improved infrastructure, especially when it comes to public transport. That being said, if the multi-billion pound American media conglomerate would like a shiny new train station to their theme park, how about they pay for the construction of it?

Schools are facing real-term budget cuts, financial assistance for the poorest to insulate their homes is likely being scrapped, youth services are non-existent, councils are stretched as thin as ever... But at least Universal are getting their transport links built for them, at the expense of the tax payer and unlike any other player in the market.

The Universal project will undoubtedly have a net positive impact on the economy in Bedford and likely wider in the country too. Comcast don't need state aid to be able facilitate any of this, they're also not likely to walk away if we refuse it.

On terms of long lasting IP id say it depends if your talking kids or adults. I would argue that with Disney not doing so well - universal will have sharper competition which in turn drives innovation.

I also believe universal owning DC would be a good thing and so to would harry potter.

I disagree with you regarding the rail station. This current government has already spent a fortune increasing rail drivers pay with no extra conditions or benefit to the public. They have introduced a green energy bill that makes a mockery of the environment, a energy company that's completely wasteful and spent billions on economic migrants on the dole.

This government has shown by having the most expensive energy in a 'developed' country they are anti business.

While tax payers who want to drive investment and jobs are penalised. I believe the government should pay for this vital infrastructure, for the betterment of the local community and future jobs in multiple industries.

Only today Eurotunnel have said they have culled off multiple investment projects because of the way this government is increasing taxes three fold... And these were projects to increase rail use and green transport!!! ( https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n215nqvyo )

Yes schools and youth services are important but so are jobs and when we have a government that stops waste and focuses on the people of the UK (and a PM that's actually in the country). Then I am of the belief this project should not be publicly funded, but currently if starmer and his mates continue to **** money up the wall then why should business and job creators be made to fawk out for a terrible government?

It's an exciting time and I do hope this project gets every opportunity and chance. We need some light at the end of the labour tunnel.

 

[havaska]

This is all a bit politic heavy for me. Too much Labour bashing (and no, I don’t support or Labour and I’ve never voted for them and I’m 41)

I’d suggest watching this TLDR video which points out the UK isn’t doing as badly as the main media seems to claim.

YouTube link

 

[SuperMuscleMan]

This is all a bit politic heavy for me. Too much Labour bashing (and no, I don’t support or Labour and I’ve never voted for them and I’m 41)

I’d suggest watching this TLDR video which points out the UK isn’t doing as badly as the main media seems to claim.

YouTube link

That's fine ... I think we know all news sites/documentaries have an agenda. I'm just saying why if I were universal I'd be making sure the government contributed to the station.

And as a UK tax payer who contributes to the system and as a business owner I'd like to see the government create jobs (not civil servants) with the help of the private sector. Not thow money at political agendas that end up being detrimental to people who want to better themselves.

 

[GooseOnTheLoose]

On terms of long lasting IP id say it depends if your talking kids or adults. I would argue that with Disney not doing so well - universal will have sharper competition which in turn drives innovation.

I also believe universal owning DC would be a good thing and so to would harry potter.

I disagree with you regarding the rail station. This current government has already spent a fortune increasing rail drivers pay with no extra conditions or benefit to the public. They have introduced a green energy bill that makes a mockery of the environment, a energy company that's completely wasteful and spent billions on economic migrants on the dole.

This government has shown by having the most expensive energy in a 'developed' country they are anti business.

While tax payers who want to drive investment and jobs are penalised. I believe the government should pay for this vital infrastructure, for the betterment of the local community and future jobs in multiple industries.

Only today Eurotunnel have said they have culled off multiple investment projects because of the way this government is increasing taxes three fold... And these were projects to increase rail use and green transport!!! ( https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2n215nqvyo )

Yes schools and youth services are important but so are jobs and when we have a government that stops waste and focuses on the people of the UK (and a PM that's actually in the country). Then I am of the belief this project should not be publicly funded, but currently if starmer and his mates continue to **** money up the wall then why should business and job creators be made to fawk out for a terrible government?

It's an exciting time and I do hope this project gets every opportunity and chance. We need some light at the end of the labour tunnel.

There is an awful lot to unpack here, but I feel compelled to start with the most glaring inaccuracy regarding "economic migrants on the dole".

Migrants, by definition, are moving for work and therefore aren't on the "dole". Asylum seekers, who are often the target of this rhetoric, are legally prohibited from working while their claims are processed. They are not eligible for Universal Credit or "the dole". They receive a stipend of £49.18 per week to survive on. That is it. To suggest that billions are being wasted on handouts to people who aren't allowed to work, or claim standard benefits, is factually incorrect.

Regarding the rail drivers; the "benefit to the public" is that trains are actually running again, rather than us facing endless strikes. Settling pay disputes, which had been dragging on for years due to a refusal to negotiate, provides stability.

On the infrastructure point, you seem to be arguing that because you disagree with the government's spending priorities elsewhere, the taxpayer should therefore subsidise a multi-billion pound/dollar American media conglomerate? Two wrongs do not make a right. If I disagree with how my council spends money on bin collections, it doesn't mean I should demand they pay for my driveway.

Universal / Comcast is a commercial entity. If they require a train station to make their commercial enterprise viable, they should pay for it. We expect housing developers to pay for Section 106 agreements to fund local infrastructure; why should a theme park be any different?

As for the "light at the end of the labour tunnel", be careful what you wish for. It's usually an oncoming train... likely one driven by a driver who has just received an inflation-matching pay rise.

That's fine ... I think we know all news sites/documentaries have an agenda. I'm just saying why if I were universal I'd be making sure the government contributed to the station.

And as a UK tax payer who contributes to the system and as a business owner I'd like to see the government create jobs (not civil servants) with the help of the private sector. Not thow money at political agendas that end up being detrimental to people who want to better themselves.

Just because a multi-billion dollar American conglomerate asks for a handout from the UK taxpayer, it doesn't mean that we should give it to them. Especially when, as you've pointed out, you feel that taxes are already too high. Handing over millions to Comcast isn't going to lower your tax bill.

Civil Servant positions are jobs. They are employees who pay Income Tax and National Insurance, just like you. They spend their wages in the private sector, supporting other businesses. They also happen to be the people who process the planning applications, negotiate the trade deals and ensure that the country actually functions so that the private sector can operate.

To suggest that government spending on "political agendas" is detrimental to people who want to better themselves is a bit of a reach. Investing in green energy, for example, creates skilled jobs in engineering, manufacturing and installation. It future proofs the economy.

The government "helping the private sector" usually involves creating a stable economic environment and maintaining general infrastructure, not writing cheques for specific companies to build assets that will primarily benefit their own bottom line.

If Universal wants a shiny new station to funnel customers exclusively into their park to spend money, they can pay for the bricks and mortar.