My illustrious predecessor as author of this column, Dan Hodges, made a humorous observation yesterday as Labour activists and MPs lined up to condemn government plans to privatise Channel 4. In his words: “It’s just a deflection. Another dead-cat. They’re trying to draw attention away from the cost-of-living crisis. Everyone needs to focus on the issues that matter to ordinary…what?!? They’re going to privatise Channel 4!!!! To the streets brothers and sisters!!!!!!!!”

Hodges is rightly drawing attention to the absurdity that even as Russian troops commit vile war crimes in Ukraine, we are being invited to summon a degree of outrage at the prospect of Channel 4 ownership changing hands.

That is not to say that this particular privatisation is not a matter of public concern – it is. But it is exhausting trying to keep up with the continuous decrees from the Government’s detractors telling us what we should and should not pay attention to, especially when their own judgments are so niche.

As Labour’s team of shadow spokespeople toured the radio and TV stations yesterday morning warning us about the latest cultural outrage about to be perpetrated on the nation, an email arrived from the Labour-supporting website LabourList. This missive duly summarised the party’s outrage over Channel 4 privatisation, but it also featured a link to a thoughtful and encouraging article on a subject that could hardly be more different, both in terms of policy implications and in the resonance it has with exactly the kind of voters Labour needs to attract.

Bus deregulation in 1986 was Mrs Thatcher’s most Thatcherite reform. Even today its implications are still not fully or widely understood, with swathes of the public, and even some elected politicians, believing that local authorities play a central role in deciding the shape and cost of local bus passenger services. They don’t. Apart from London, the bus industry is mostly a private concern with routes, fares and frequency decided on a commercial basis. Passenger groups and local authorities can voice an opinion, but the companies are under no obligation to listen to them.

In London, where mass bus deregulation didn’t take effect, passenger numbers have increased since the 1980s. Almost everywhere else, they have gone down to dangerously low levels as private companies snap up the busiest, most lucrative routes, while socially necessary but unprofitable routes have been abandoned.

Even so, more people use local bus services than local train services. But since journalists and the professional classes tend to use trains, not buses (outside London), it is train services that generate the most publicity, while buses have become the Cinderella service.

This should be a priority area of reform for Labour. And outside Westminster, it is becoming more so. Andy Burnham, the Metro Mayor of Manchester, has spearheaded the franchising of local services in the face of desperate opposition from the bus companies. Elsewhere, notably in Wales, municipal bus companies may be about to make a comeback.

It has been some time since I stood on a doorstep seeking the support of a voter, but I’m pretty sure that this weekend, Labour activists campaigning in next month’s local authority elections will find more interest in local bus services than in the fate of Channel 4.

Yet it is important to note what excites the interest of your average Labour front bencher and how that contrasts with ordinary people’s priorities. The task of providing a truly integrated, affordable and sustainable local transport network is one that has eluded all governments for decades. Yet it could hardly be more important to the life chances and standard of living of millions of our fellow citizens, particularly those who either can’t afford to own a car or who don’t wish to.

Reregulation of the bus industry could have a massive positive impact on exactly the kind of communities the Labour Party needs to win over at the next election. But go on Twitter or Facebook and you will see far more energy expounded by Labour on the future of Channel 4 and the implications of privatisation for the independent TV production industry. This is not an unimportant area of policy; it is thanks to legislation introduced by the last Labour government that that industry has thrived in the last two decades, creating many thousands of jobs across the country, as well as making Britain a world class TV and film production centre.

But what better opportunity has the party got to showcase developments in Manchester and Wales than these local elections? After decades of neglect, the people who most rely on failing bus services are being offered hope and change. For Labour at Westminster to respond by fretting about the diversity of Channel 4 output says all too much about what – and who – the party’s priorities really are.