Local Newspapers — [Mrs. Janet Dean in the Chair]

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 2:30 pm on 13 January 2010.

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Photo of Paul Burstow Paul Burstow Shadow Chief Whip (Commons) 2:30, 13 January 2010

Absolutely. That is the reason why I wanted the debate and why I was so pleased that my name came out of the hat soon after applying for the debate. I agree entirely with the hon. Gentleman's point.

Many councils have for a long time produced publications that do not compete directly with the local press. They are often magazines that are published less frequently than newspapers and focus on council services. They can provide a useful service. However, they have to be clearly different from newspapers and must not provide a new service to the local public. My council produces such a magazine, the Sutton Scene, which definitely does not compete with local newspapers.

Just imagine that a beleaguered Prime Minister decided to hire a team of journalists and commentators to produce a daily newspaper that created a positive image of the Government, talking up their achievements and promoting them as well as it could-[Interruption.] It might be impossible even for the best journalist in the world. Such a publication would always be on message, and there would be a huge cost to the taxpayer. Clearly, there would be a lot of laughter as a result, but there would also be an outcry, because clearly that is not right, but it is what is happening locally. Taxpayers' money is being used to pay for the production and distribution of loss-making, council-run newspapers.

A sinister trend is emerging in some local government quarters of directly competing with local independent newspapers, even to the extent of putting them out of business. One council that has developed such an approach is Tower Hamlets council. It has adopted an aggressive approach to running its weekly newspaper, East End Life. The council's head of commercial operations, Chris Payne, set out the philosophy behind East End Life at a conference in Sheffield in 2008. Many independent local papers, he said,

"churn out a negative diet of crime and grime, often attacking their local council and generally creating a negative impression".

Council papers, by contrast,

"help create a positive place-shaping agenda, talking up an area and its residents' achievements, celebrating diversity and opportunity for all. Look at your local newspapers, paid-for and free...Then ask yourself: can you do a better, brighter, more cost-effective, informative, entertaining, valued and positive local paper?"

That vision of a state-run local newspaper goes well beyond providing local residents with information about council services.