{"id":814902,"date":"2026-03-09T18:11:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:11:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/814902\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T18:11:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:11:21","slug":"west-leeds-dispatch-briefs-mps-in-westminster-on-future-of-local-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/814902\/","title":{"rendered":"West Leeds Dispatch briefs MPs in Westminster on future of local news"},"content":{"rendered":"

By John Baron, Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Wednesday I took some time away from West Leeds\u00a0to take part in a national briefing in Westminster on the growing crisis in local journalism.<\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t already know, the business model for local journalism is broken. Advertising which once sustained a highly profitable industry some 30 years ago has since disappeared to other sources online, including tech giants like Google and Meta. <\/p>\n

While newspaper audiences have largely moved online, newspaper companies have found online operations much more difficult to monetise.<\/p>\n

MPs heard stark warnings about the rising number of \u201cnews deserts\u201d across the UK and the urgent need to support trusted and accountable local reporting. <\/p>\n

\"\"WLD editor John Baron (left) speaks to Guy Dumas, Senior Parliamentary Assistant to Leeds South West and Morley MP Mark Sewards.<\/p>\n

They heard how hundreds of newsrooms have been lost across the UK as big tech disrupts business models and journalists\u2019 jobs disappear. <\/p>\n

The event \u2013 in Portcullis House, just over the road from Parliament \u2013 was held by the\u00a0Public Interest News Foundation<\/a>\u00a0(PINF) and the Media All-Party Parliamentary Group <\/a>(APPG). It showed that some 4 million people in the UK now live in areas with no reliable local news provision.<\/p>\n

It was heartening that MPs and their staff from across the political spectrum took time to speak to PINF and representatives from fellow independent publishers across the UK including London, the Isle of Wight, Bedfordshire, Wiltshire, Bristol \u2013 and, of course, West Leeds. <\/p>\n

Many MPs I spoke to had concerns over how local journalism had been in steady decline over a number of years, mainly thanks to cost cutting from large mainstream legacy media organisations.<\/p>\n

\"\"Former Pudsey MP Stuart Andrew (now Daventry\u2019s MP) takes a look at the local news map with Beckie Shuker, PINF\u2019s Campaign and Communications Manager.<\/p>\n

PINF told MPs that when trusted local news disappears, public understanding of local issues declines, misinformation spreads more easily, and communities lose vital scrutiny of councils, emergency services, developers and public bodies.<\/p>\n

Local journalism also provides connection and civic participation, helping residents understand decisions affecting schools, roads, planning, healthcare and community safety.<\/p>\n

Looking back at our content over the past ten days, WLD has shone a light on planning and licensing applications, council decision-making, a possible town council by-election in Horsforth, night-time air flights, the \u00a320m Pride in Place schemes for Armley and Farnley as well as building sales as the council looks to balance its books. We know that public interest journalism is very important to you, our readers.<\/p>\n

Much of what we do via our team of community reporters includes connecting people to events, groups and organisations. <\/p>\n

We don\u2019t shout enough about what difference we make. For instance, an extra 15 people recently attended the meeting of a new ADHD support group in West Leeds thanks to our publicity. Last year we referred more than 29,000 clicks through to applications on the council\u2019s planning portal and our links to the council\u2019s Leeds Local Plan public consultation were clicked on almost 5,000 times. <\/p>\n

But good local journalism takes time, effort and money.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

At the event, PINF called for four key interventions:<\/p>\n