Catherine McKinnell
Main Page: Catherine McKinnell (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne North)(13 years, 1 month ago)
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Stephen Gilbert
My hon. Friend makes a fantastic point. I like to think of BBC local radio as cheap and cheerful, often serving the community and holding it together on a shoestring.
Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)
For many BBC listeners and users who pay the licence fee, local radio is their only contact with the BBC. Some 2 million BBC radio listeners have no other contact. Reducing the service, therefore, is a disservice to those people.
Stephen Gilbert
The hon. Lady makes an excellent point. The floods in my constituency in November last year showed and brought home to me how much of a lifesaver the news and advice provided by local radio is to a community at times of crisis. The absolute importance of that should not be underestimated by the House.