BBC local radio cuts: What the politicians say

Kim Johnson, Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside was keen to praise the “fantastic local journalism” the BBC provides.

Government cuts to BBC radio are an out-and-out attack on the fantastic local journalism that serves communities such as @bbcmerseyside in Liverpool.

Democracies need local, quality, investigative journalism to thrive and I stand by @NUJofficial in demanding an end to these cuts pic.twitter.com/QFYTXs0eVs

— Kim Johnson MP (@KimJohnsonMP) November 1, 2022

Emma Hardy, Labour MP for Hull West and Hessle, took to the commons to speak about the sense of “belonging and companionship” local radio brings to listeners, particularly isolated ones.

“The power of local radio is huge when it comes to connecting people in their hour of need. Local Radio brings a feeling of belonging and companionship -especially @RadioHumberside to those who are isolated from everyday interactions.”@EmmaHardyMP – Badass #localradio pic.twitter.com/GK53pGDW5k

— TheSmileMaker –⊗ (@Kofi_Smiles) November 1, 2022

Humberside has become somethng of a key battleground in the fight against the BBC cuts – it was two Radio Humberside presenters that were first to put their heads above the parapet and warn of the threat of mass redundancies that the BBC’s official announcement seemed to have overlooked.

It was refreshing then to see Hardy’s Conservative neighbour, Cleethorpes MP Martin Vickers, also weighing into the debate, describing the cuts as an “own goal.” Perhaps unsurprisingly as a 72-year-old Conservative, Vickers isn’t the most prolific tweeter (he does have an account, but his most recent tweet was from April, about railways in the Western Balkans.)

Vickers chose the House of Commons instead to tell Lopez: “Many of my constituents have already made clear how unhappy they are with what the BBC describe as changes to accommodate ‘changing audience expectations.’ What many of my constituents expect is to be able to listen to their local station – Radio Humberside. They don’t support the BBC’s obsession with their on-line presence, especially not at the expense of receiving more local news and programming.

“I was pleased to hear from the minister when she was responding to questions in the Commons today make clear that the government are not at all happy that these announcements were made without making ministers aware. This was yet another own goal by the BBC and they must rethink.”

Staying in Humberside, it seems fitting to return to Andy Comfort, BBC Radio Humberside’s popular afternoon show host who was among the first to call attention to the alleged massive redundancy threat on Twitter. He had done some basic sums that the BBC top brass might like to take a look at.

It’s a common trope for journalists to use bizarre measurements for their comparisons, from football pitches to double decker buses. Comfort went with the time-honoured cups of coffee to reveal just how much of a burden local radio is on the public purse.

BBC Local Radio gets 4.6% of the licence fee. Out of £159 a year, that’s £7.36 per household per year – the price of a couple of posh coffees – for around 100 hours of original, locally made programming every week on 39 stations. 64% of weekday daytime output is speech content.

— Andy Comfort (@andycomfort) November 2, 2022