Summer Adjournment

John Stevenson Excerpts

Tuesday 19th July 2011 Commons Chamber

[John Stevenson (Carlisle) (Con)]

I shall be as brief as I can. It would be an understatement to say that there has been a great deal of interest in the national media and, in particular, in newspapers in recent weeks. Indeed, that interest continues today. Whatever we think, a free and thriving press is undoubtedly important to us all. In any vibrant democracy there are two important ingredients—the first is competitive politics. We need parties competing with each other, and of course the battle of ideas. Secondly, we need diverse, challenging and inquisitive media, which legitimately hold to account politicians and others in positions of power and responsibility. Those media should be diverse, with a variety of radio stations, newspapers, television channels and the new media.

We often underestimate the importance of the media at the local level. That is the subject of my short speech today. Strong local media are equally important to hold people to account, whether they are politicians or others in local communities or regions who have positions of influence and power. In my area I am fortunate to have a diverse range of media. We have a daily newspaper, a weekly newspaper, two radio stations and two TV channels, all covering local issues in and around the Carlisle area, north Cumbria and south-west Scotland. However, if we scratch beneath the surface of those media, we discover that all is not necessarily as good as we would hope.

The papers are struggling because the recession has affected advertising and the income that that generates for them. The purchase of papers has fallen in recent years, which is worrying for the sustainability of the local newspaper. One of the TV channels is, in effect, a north-east channel and only occasionally covers Cumbria. The second channel has been greatly reduced. It was once known as Border TV. Now it is, to a certain extent, an outpost of the north-east. As for radio, we have CFM, which functions well on limited resources. The real strength is in Radio Cumbria, but that is under potential threat from BBC cuts. I shall concentrate on that.

We cannot underestimate the importance of Radio Cumbria and its contribution to local community. Back in 2001 we had the foot and mouth crisis, and in 2005 the Carlisle floods. In many respects it was the only source of information during that period. Then in 2009 there were the west Cumbrian floods. More recently Radio Cumbria provided information and reassurance to many people when Derrick Bird was murdering people in west Cumbria. Radio Cumbria is also a source of local news, information about community events, coverage of the local football team and coverage of politics. It is one of the most listened-to radio stations in the country.

I support other radio stations up and down the country, as I believe that local radio is extremely important for local communities. The danger is that with the proposed cuts by the BBC, that will be a much diminished service. I therefore call upon the Minister to put as much pressure as he can on the BBC to ensure that local radio is taken care of and is supported properly. I would rather see local radio survive than channels such as BBC 4. There is enough national coverage already. What we need is more local support.