Local and Regional News

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Thursday 30th March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Diolch yn fawr iawn, Cadeirydd. As always, it is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Nuttall, and I thank my colleagues and the Backbench Business Committee for granting us this debate.

The uncertain future of local news providers is particularly significant in Wales. Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Welsh national press is relatively limited, confining Wales to getting much of its broadcast news and its newspapers from London. I am proud to say that I am a former news reporter with the Holyhead & Anglesey Mail, the Caernarfon & Denbigh Herald, Herald Mo^n and Herald Cymraeg. I, too, have memories, for example of putting photographs on the bus to get them to the head office.

Historically, Wales has a strong national and local press tradition. In 1966, the people of Wales could turn to a plethora of news publications, with 1 million morning, evening, weekly and bi-weekly local newspapers in circulation—that is, the total circulation. By 1990, that had fallen by a third, and now there are only six daily papers in any shape or form—morning or evening papers—in the country. The people of Wales have become increasingly reliant on the London-based media for their everyday news. To illustrate that, despite the Daily Mirror seeing a 50% fall in circulation between 2008 and 2015, it still has a daily readership of over 700,000 in Wales. However, the daily national paper of Wales, the Western Mail, sells only 17,815 copies a day. That gives hon. Members an idea of the newspapers’ reach and the impact on democracy.

Despite the widespread readership of London titles, interestingly, those newspapers no longer produce Welsh editions and there has been a steady decline of journalists based in Wales for London newspapers. There is the question of how the stories that are relevant to the people of Wales reach them. Perhaps they are seeing stories that give them a different perception of what affects their lives.

Interestingly, Welsh-language journalism is experiencing a revival in the form of online content, with BBC Cymru Fyw and Golwg360 attracting over 57,000 readers a week between them. However, only two national Welsh- language newspapers are now in circulation. Y Cymro is based in Porthmadog in my constituency, although it was announced last week that that is at risk of closure unless new owners are found by June, and Golwg is a magazine based in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Arfon (Hywel Williams). Both publications appear weekly.

The robust tradition of community-based Welsh language news continues in the form of papurau bro, and I must list them. These are voluntary activities, and I am honoured to record the hard work of teams of volunteers and dedicated individuals who work monthly to produce—forgive me, Hansard—Llanw Lly^n, Y Ffynnon, Yr Wylan, Llafar Bro, Llais Ardudwy, Y Dydd, Dail Dysynni, Y Blewyn Glas and Pethe Penllyn. Those are all in one constituency. We also have a weekly newspaper in Welsh, Y Cyfnod, although that is up for sale—it is looking for owners—so hon. Members can see the vulnerability.

Clearly, with the decline in commercial print media, Wales urgently needs redress through broadcast media. The UK Government have committed to having a “Scottish News at Six” programme, without considering making similar commitments in Wales. The media provide a crucial role in holding Government to account for their actions and flushing out weak policy, corruption and self-interest. Wales’s democracy and our national institutions will not flourish in darkness. Politics is strengthened by the light of scrutiny and grows stronger in weathering the storm of public interest. It is always a temptation for Governments to avoid the awkwardness of public accountability—it makes for an easier life—but the long-term cost is disengagement from democracy, which is a far greater threat. A “Wales Six” should be just the beginning. We need more opportunities to hear our own stories, and to celebrate and mourn with the world through our voices in both the national languages of Wales.

On the significance of local journalists and publications in representing the lives and needs of the communities they serve, Wales has seen its local newspaper groups being bought out by giant multinational companies, as has been mentioned of the UK as a whole. Our communities deserve better. Local newspapers play a fundamental role in keeping people on top of the issues affecting their communities. The Cambrian News—the local weekly bilingual newspaper distributed in mid-Wales—has managed more or less to remain an independent voice. Certainly, journalists such as Alex Jones do not shy away from posing awkward questions, and Arwyn Roberts, of the Herald newspapers, has portrayed the communities that he loves in his photojournalism over the years.

As a local MP and a former local news reporter, I recognise the democratic value of a regional newspaper to hold politicians and local councils to account. The local journalist, by recalling campaign promises and doing the mill work of attending council meetings, makes politicians accountable to the communities they purport to represent. Despite the Daily Post being the best-selling regional newspaper in Wales, it suffers from the perpetual problem of dwindling staff numbers due to “continuing tough business conditions”, to quote one of its reporters. Cuts have become the default business strategy to survive amid the falling revenues and print sales and the boom in free online media. Its newsroom has been stretched thin, with journalists having to work longer hours under significantly more pressure to keep the publication alive. I am sure that that scenario is not unique to the Daily Post.

In conclusion, I call on the UK Government to hold an inquiry into the future of Welsh print media, to assess the current levels of distribution and the state of current publications. I also ask them to review the potential of an increased role for the Welsh Government in safeguarding the existence and independence of struggling community newspapers and ensuring media plurality. We cannot let print media outlets close down and do nothing about the serious void that that would leave in our communities. Their absence would be a major loss, not only to individual readers but to our civil society as a whole. I am sure you would agree with me, Mr Nuttall: democracy needs watchdogs with a powerful bark.

--- Later in debate ---

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I emphasise that, although Plaid Cymru is expected to talk about Welsh-language matters, e need to bear in mind that 20% of Wales speaks Welsh and 80% of Wales speaks English. In terms of plurality of media in Wales, it is equally significant to look at the accountability of democracy in English as in Welsh.

[Matt Hancock]

I could not agree more with the hon. Lady. I am a strong supporter of the Welsh language and of S4C—I love it so much I even had an unnecessary argument about who came up with it. It is incredibly important that people are held to account in a language that is understood by local citizens. That is what democratic accountability is all about, and that includes in Welsh. I take her point. I thought that the additional support we have announced for S4C would get a warmer welcome from the hon. Member for Cardiff West. The millions of pounds extra for S4C underlines the Government’s support for the Welsh language.

My hon. Friend the Member for Castle Point (Rebecca Harris) and others made the point that local papers are often more unbiased, and are certainly perceived to be. They have to cater for the whole community to survive. She mentioned that they also campaign on behalf of local communities, whether about local deliveries on unadopted roads or elderly residents. In my case, a few years ago the Haverhill Echo campaigned to bring the Olympic torch to Haverhill. The paper also campaigned alongside the Thetford and Brandon Times to save the Brandon day care centre, which we successfully did this year. Engaging in campaigns of value to the local population is a classic role of the local newspaper.

The hon. Member for Cardiff West mentioned new technology. Indeed, many hon. Members have rightly pointed out that this industry is changing at dramatic speed. We need to ensure that the technology works for the public interest of journalism, and initiatives are under way to ensure that. Google’s Digital News Initiative was launched with €150 million to support digital local news journalism. A number of UK publishers, including publishers of local media Trinity Mirror, Johnston Press and The Ferret, are receiving funding from that. However, we have to see how the market develops and keep a close eye on it to ensure that it is sustainable, because local accountability matters.

On the call for an inquiry, we have to see how the BBC initiative beds down and how the business rates support, which comes in only on Saturday, works in practice. We keep this question under constant review. This area is of great significance and is of importance to the Government. Of course, I am happy to debate it in the House at any point. Rather than having a single fixed inquiry, we will keep it under constant review, and I will be surprised if the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland does not ensure that that is the case.