Regional Newspapers

Debate between Andrew Griffiths and Andrew Turner

Wednesday 5th December 2012 Westminster Hall

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Is my hon. Friend aware of the distinction between local and regional newspapers, and will he say a bit more for my benefit about what is happening at regional level? My local newspaper, the Isle of Wight County Press, is absolutely fine and is widely read in the county, but what is happening with regional newspapers?

[Andrew Griffiths]

I am sorry to tell my hon. Friend that the picture is the same for local and regional newspapers. They are all suffering loss of revenue, for various reasons. The internet has had an impact on advertising revenue, as has the slow-down in the employment market, the rise in job websites, and the loss of advertising for car sales and estate agents. All that is adding to the severe drop in income for regional newspapers. We must see what we can do to make them more sustainable.

The free weekly newspapers are suffering most, because they are feeling the loss of advertising revenue much more than those that receive a contribution from people who pay for newspapers. There has been some stability in income in recent months, but much of it is because newspapers have been forced to raise their prices. Readership continues to fall, and at the moment newspapers are bridging the gap, but that is not sustainable in the long term, and we must see what we can do to make them sustainable.

The Future of Pubs

Debate between Andrew Griffiths and Andrew Turner

Thursday 9th December 2010 Westminster Hall

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Benton, for the opportunity to speak in this debate. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Staffordshire Moorlands (Karen Bradley) on securing it.

I would like to raise awareness of the problems facing local pubs. In recent years, there has been a steady decline in the number of pubs. Last year, local pubs across the country were closing down at the rate of 52 a week. There are many reasons for such closures. Obviously, some will be unavoidable. If a pub becomes financially unviable due to major competition, that cannot necessarily be handled. However, we have a large problem with pubs facing closure due to private investors buying them, not to run them as pubs, or with the intention of investing in them to help them become successful businesses, but with the intention of closing them to renovate them and turn them into numerous flats, which can be sold on to make some quick money.

I saw that with a local pub in my constituency on the Isle of Wight. The Partlands was a popular pub that was turned into flats. Such closures are having a negative effect on local communities up and down the country. The pub has traditionally been a focal point for local communities. Closing local pubs is killing village life.

[Andrew Griffiths]

I recognise my hon. Friend’s concern about pubs closing, but does he also recognise that many other buildings are being converted into pubs? In my constituency, an ex-high street bank has been turned into a pub. One sees many commercial premises being reinvented as drinking establishments. We should not get particularly hung up about the building, but should instead consider the facilities that it offers.

[Mr Turner]

My hon. Friend is right, but the new pubs tend to be in the centre of town, whereas the existing pubs tend to be in the suburbs. That makes a difference.

--- Later in debate ---

[Andrew Griffiths]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising that issue. That is true. I have met Asda and Tesco and some of the other supermarkets. It is important to realise, however, that the devil is in the detail. When we talk about below-cost selling, we need a proper definition of what that means. Asda advocates a below-cost selling method of duty plus VAT. That would be the equivalent of a bottle of wine being sold for £1.90 or a can of lager for 42p. I do not know about my hon. Friend, but I think that that is too cheap. If someone can tell me where I can buy a bottle of wine for £1.90, I might be interested to go and sample some of those wares—responsibly, of course.

[Mr Andrew Turner]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for letting me intervene again. Does he accept that many years ago there were things called off-licences? Off-licences seem to have controlled things rather better than supermarkets. What is different?

[Andrew Griffiths]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. The difference is bulk buying, and the power of supermarkets to drive down the price for the brewers is the crucial factor. Earlier in the debate we heard about the methods used by supermarkets to force down prices paid to our dairy farmers, and we have seen a drastic reduction in the price that they receive at the farm gate.