§ 11.34 p.m.
§ Mr. Alan Fitch (Wigan)I welcome the opportunity tonight to ventilate in the House the future of the newspaper industry in the North of England, because I think that the proposal to cease publication of certain national newspapers in Manchester and to transfer their publication and printing to London is a retrograde step. We in the North—and my geographical definition of the North includes not only the North-West, but Yorkshire and the North-East—believe that we are in danger of becoming an economic and social no-man's-land between Scotland, with its newly found oil resources, on the one hand and, on the other hand, the Midlands and the South, with their ready access to the Continent of Europe.
We are witnessing another drift to the South, this time in newspaper production. It is ironic that, while the Government are pursuing policies to give more power to the regions, a policy of decentralisation or devolution, the newspaper owners are pursuing a directly opposite policy. They want a centralised industry, which would mean less news space devoted to regional problems and, as a North-West Member of Parliament, I deplore this. Regional democracy is not served by a withdrawal to London.
I have sometimes criticised the newspaper industry for being faceless and too remote, but this will make it even more so. Since 1752, the printed word originated and published in Manchester has gone out in an ever growing volume until it has become the representative viewpoint of the whole of the North of England. Now it is in danger of being swallowed up and disappearing from sight 1302 because of that centralisation, albeit here in the professed search for viability, which is affecting all our lives more and more. Centralisation in the national newspaper industry comes with the introduction of new technologies for printing, which are costly to finance and costly in human terms for those who are about to lose their employment in order to pave the way for the maximisation of profits.
Certain production stages are to be moved from Manchester to London, with the eventual loss of more than 700 jobs in an area where unemployment is already causing concern. Other switches already completed have yet to be seen to be having the effect desired of them. The Manchester Guardian did not succeed in staving off financial problems by dropping "Manchester" from its title and assuming a national role. Commendable though its efforts were, the Daily Express did not maintain its Scottish circulation in full after switching production from Glasgow to Manchester.
How may we be sure that centralisation, even with the new technology, will give the newspaper industry the viability it needs and the readers the service they should have? Manchester journalists at the Daily Mirror, whose group is spending a total of £2.8 million in new printing methods, point out that between December 1974 and December 1975 northern sales went up by an average of 17,000 copies a day, despite disruption resulting from the company's announcement of its plans. In the same period, the London published Daily Mirror dropped 229,000 copies.
The management does not even seriously challenge the claim that the lion's share of the newspaper's profits comes from its Manchester operation. It says that the £1 million-plus savings in 1977 from the implementation of its plans will be almost certainly swallowed by increased newsprint prices in 1976.
With the narrowness of these margins and the limited amount of capital available for investment, the smallest error in expected performance could put in jeopardy the London operation and the jobs of those workers transferred to produce editions formerly planned and produced in Manchester.
What of the new technology, its costs and implications? There is a belief. 1303 which has some substance, that a product such as a newspaper that is "master-minded" 200 miles away will lack that amount of local flavour that maintains its acceptability and sales. It will not be enough to include only the Andy Capp cartoon to keep up the sales of the Daily Mirror in the North. Northern readers too will be denied some of the convenience of access to the columns of the papers of their choice.
Already there is concern about the drawing up of the shopping list for the new technology hardware by the Daily Mirror group newspapers. One supplier says that the equipment for which the company is paying £1 million could be bought for £300,000. This equipment is planned to be in use by the autumn of this year. However, the Daily Telegraph, which is spending over £2 million on its plans and prints at the same Manchester premises with the same staff as the Daily Mirror, does not envisage its method operating before the autumn of next year.
Although employers and unions are taking part at national level in talks on the new technology and manpower, the haste to implement the Manchester proposals is worrying. A printing research authority views five years as necessary to evaluate fully the functions and requirements of the new technology and only in very favourable circumstances could the operation be completed in just over two years. Mr. Rex Winsbury, in a working paper prepared for the Royal Commission on the Press, warns of the American experience of using the "big bang" approach to the introduction of the new technology, where all the old methods are discarded at one go and are substituted by the new. Some phasing was found to be preferable.
The Daily Mirror's Manchester journalists have already produced alternative proposals which would lessen the number of redundancies among themselves and printers and give them more immediate control over maintaining the northern element in the publication. The National Union of Journalists, too, is seeking to ensure that the new technology is the servant rather than the master. It believes that the process should be tailored to suit the product rather than 1304 the other way round. To that end the union is seeking the co-operation of the print unions in obtaining an independent investigation of the possibilities and suitability of new technology for newspaper production. It is also seeking to ensure that any new technology that is adopted is capable of meeting the editorial needs of the Press, and it stresses the need for full consultation and agreement with journalists before commitment to its introduction.
It is at this point, perhaps, that we should ask how the industry might heed the recommendations of the Royal Commission on the Press. Already it has been necessary to delay the Commission's interim report by a month. The severity of the crisis in the national newspaper industry should not obliterate the need to heed the Commission's recommendations, nor presage the massacre of newspaper production in Manchester and those involved in it.
The crisis is the result of a number of factors, including pricing policy, reliance on advertising revenue, failure to bring in previously new methods of production and the correctly-sized work forces to go with them, soaring newsprint prices, charges for transport, postage and telephones, and the general economic situation, of which the activity of the newspaper industry is one of the earliest indicators, if not the first.
The industry cannot and should not be relieved of the responsibility to find solutions to many of its problems, but in its present state it will be unable to do so in a form that is tolerable to publishers and workers without some outside help. Certainly proprietors of the older type condemn Government aid as a threat to editorial integrity. However, with Continental examples at hand, there is a growing feeling, especially among the managers and accountants who are now increasingly responsible for the running of newspapers, that a one-off operation could be assimilated without harmful effects.
It might be in the national interest for Government aid through preferentially-rated loans to be offered to enable the industry to re-equip and meet its social obligations to those made redundant by lump sum compensation income maintenance or the improvement of pension provisions. Another suitable area for 1305 Government assistance might be towards the stabilisation, not the subsidisation, of newsprint prices. Yet again, consideration might be given to preferential rates for post and telecommunication facilities.
Important also is the retraining of employees, either to work the new processes in the industry or to work elsewhere. For example, most of the 400 highly skilled printers in Manchester are unlikely to be able to find comparable employment elsewhere. All these factors must be thoroughly considered and approached rationally at a time when there is much concern that the variety of views and news presentation in the national Press should be maintained and, if possible, extended. The position in Manchester, which for a number of newspapers also distributes copies to Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of Wales, must be subject to special scrutiny with regard to maintaining and furthering regional interests at a time when Parliament and the country is giving consideration to the need for devolution.
A healthy newspaper industry is essential to our democratic system. Production in London will mean not only redundancies. Redundancies can lead to lack of faith in the future prospects of an industry. I understand that the United Kingdom Press Gazette, once teeming with "situations vacant", has now a virtual famine of orthodox newspaper jobs. If there are not jobs, good people will cease to be attracted to journalism.
Journalists want to see the chance of a stable career. When redundancies occur in smaller numbers, they do not make the same impact as large-scale redundancies, but they have the same individual effect. Unemployment is as much a personal problem whether a person is one of a hundred or one of a thousand redundant people.
Perhaps I may finish on a slightly literary note. My memory is getting dimmer and dimmer, but I can remember a master at my school talking about Shakespeare and saying that he thought the most tragic lines in all of Shakespeare's works was "Othello's occupation gone." When the occupation of a journalist goes, or that of Plessey worker in Wigan, or a Thorn worker in Skelmersdale, it means for him a certain amount of personal tragedy.
§ 11.48 p.m.
§ Mr. George Rodgers (Chorley)I am deeply grateful, Mr. Deputy Speaker, that my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Fitch) has invited me to share his debate. I promise that I shall not abuse his generosity by invading the time which the Minister will require to reply to the many interesting and valid points that have been raised.
I accept completely, if somewhat reluctantly, that the purpose of the Press in our system of society is to operate at a profit. However, I am not prepared to accept that that is its sole function. Surely the role of a newspaper industry is to provide a service, to present information and entertainment to a wide range of readers whose interests are influenced by various factors—by their own particular surroundings, their local authority, their local football team, the economic and industrial prospects of the region in which they reside, the activity, or lack of activity, of their Member of Parliament, and a whole host of neighbourhood issues.
I seriously suggest that the flow of information from all these quarters and from many others is placed at risk by the intention of national newspaper proprietors to concentrate production of national newspaper proprietors to concentrate production of national dailies in London. It has been mooted that northern people, being rough, uncouth characters, would hardly notice whether a newspaper was published in Manchester or Timbuktu, so long as it contained its quota of "crime, crumpet and comics". In fact, the advance of the very newspaper that contains all these ingredients in abundance has been halted in the North.
The truth is, indeed, that the northern editions of the national newspapers have demonstrated their ability to cover late stories and sporting events with great accuracy and that their staffs have a true identity with their readers because they live and work in the North. I am convinced that even with the greatest technical advances in the world a London-based operation could not continue to serve the North as efficiently and as successfully in circulation terms as the present operation.
It is unfortunate, to say the least, that plans should be announced for a major 1307 upheaval in the industry at the very time when a Royal Commission is conducting an inquiry into the state of the Press. My overwhelming anxiety is that there should not be a diminishing of the quality of a service that is the entitlement of those living in the northern regions.
The other factor of substance is the devastating effect the introduction of a facsimile process of publishing would have on the work force of the northern base of the industry. I appreciate that I must tread delicately as I do not wish to intrude on any negotiations between unions and management. A useful understanding has been reached that any redundancies should be of a voluntary nature, although future job opportunities in an area already under terrible stress would vanish for ever.
The loss of jobs that is envisaged is devastating. The programme of planned unemployment affects those who serve the Daily Mirror group, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph employs 137 people and that work force is to be reduced to 47. It employs 55 journalists and the intention is to thin the number down to 10.
We have devoted considerable time recently to devolution, yet we witness a situation in which people who have put down roots and committed themselves to mortgages and families in the North-West now face a total change in their living standards and life styles. This is the consequence of yet another industry centralising its activities in the already overcrowded South-East.
I conclude by emphasising that the trade unions concerned are not being bloody-minded. It is recognised that new technology could eliminate much of the duplication and over-manning, and the unions suggest that this could be met by voluntary redundancies and voluntary early retirements to lessen the social consequences.
The production of many news features, advertising and racing pages could well be sent North by photo-composition without disturbing the special qualities of the Manchester editions. All this can be accommodated, albeit painfully. However, it remains essential that other pages should retain and enhance the northern flavour. The alternative proposals put forward by the unions are genuine and 1308 realistic. It would be tragic if no action were taken to prevent a drift towards strife and hostility. I hope that tonight my hon. Friend is able to indicate the Government's awareness of and concern about this looming problem.
§ 11.53 p.m.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Trade (Mr. Eric Deakins)The whole House will be grateful to my hon. Friend the Member for Wigan (Mr. Fitch) for initiating this short debate on one aspect of the newspaper industry. My hon. Friend was kind enough to give me some indication of the points he would be making and I am grateful for that courtesy. This is an important subject and my hon. Friend has made his points fully and clearly in a moderate and helpful way.
Before turning to the particular points my hon. Friend has made I shall devote a little of the time available to me to putting them in the perspective of the British newspaper scene. The industry is of special importance to the life of the community. We have a large and varied Press compared with many other countries. Although over the years there have been casualties, we still have a fair number of national daily and Sunday newspapers giving a wide range of views and comment. By what in its way is a formidable distribution operation, they circulate widely throughout Britain day in and day out.
Then, in addition to this daily availability of national newspapers, there are regional morning, evening, and Sunday newspapers which serve sizeable catchment areas and particularly in the North. They begin to focus rather more closely than the national Press on issues of particular importance in particular areas.
I now turn to the subject with which my hon. Friend has dealt this evening and the issues which are of particular concern to him. I refer to the implications of the changes which may come about from the way national newspapers propose to tackle their very real problems. The House will know that many national newspapers, although centred on London, produce their northern editions in Manchester. Concern was expressed by my hon. Friend, and also by my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Rodgers), that changes in the techniques of newspaper production would include 1309 less composition in Manchester. There may be differing views about particular proposals, but I am sure there will be general agreement that it is right that the industry should be giving careful, realistic and constructive thought to its future.
We are all aware of the general criticism that British industry has been slow in adjusting to the need for change and, in particular, in grasping the opportunities offered by new technology. This new technology is not only a question of producing goods faster and cheaper, but of providing a better working environment for those who spend their lives in an industrial setting.
Among British newspapers, it is fair to say that provincial and local newspapers have been in the lead among those taking advantage of new technologies; the nationals less so. But there has been a change of outlook and a growing awareness on both sides within the national newspaper industry that the new technologies have potential for achieving a more secure future. I am glad to say that managements and unions are now together taking a fundamental look at the industry's needs and future.
Such a review has implications for what has to be done, how it is to be done and where it has to be done. In the age in which we live, we must accept that this will bring into play questions of carrying out some operations in one place and some in another, of using to the best advantage techniques for receipt of news in one place, and doing all or part of the production process in another. In a sense, the production process is not complete until the reader has his copy of the newspaper in his hands. New techniques make possible better newspapers and the means of restraining costs. The industry needs to take advantage of them. The stark alternative is a decline in the number of newspapers, with all that that involves for job opportunities and employment.
I have said that the new techniques offer greater efficiency, but they also involve fewer jobs. Essentially, this is a matter for the industry itself. Where a major change in operation is in prospect, it is important that it should be made carefully and in an atmosphere conducive to getting the answers as nearly right as it 1310 is ever possible. There must be the fullest possible consultation between management and the unions concerned. Both sides of the industry must work together in a constructive spirit in joint approaches to problems, each bringing, on the one hand, the contribution of its practical experience and, on the other hand, a determination to help the industry to enjoy the full benefit of the latest technology.
My hon. Friend raised the question whether, if editing and composition of the northern editions of national newspapers were transferred from Manchester to London, their northern content and flavour would be lost. This is a perfectly valid point, but it is not one which is peculiar to the northern editions. It is already familiar to the national newspapers, because regional editions for other parts of the country are also produced. Some are produced in Manchester and some in London. Some national newspapers produce all their regional editions in London.
But wherever the editing and composition are done, the news is local and is gathered locally. The regional editions have to appeal to readers in the region. If they do not meet the needs of those readers, if the quality of service referred to by my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley is not there, they will not sell. It will certainly be important for the industry to watch the situation carefully, but the managements concerned are well aware of the possible problems and have expressed their determination to ensure that the northern flavour of the northern editions is maintained.
The House will know that the Press is the subject of a remit to a Royal Commission which has already done a good deal of work on the various issues germane to its inquiries. When, in the autumn of last year, both sides of the national newspaper industry were expressing anxieties about the economics of their industry, the Royal Commission saw this as a matter in which it should be involved. With every blessing from the Government, a team from within the Royal Commission got to work on a special and urgent inquiry into the national newspaper industry. The Commission was aiming at an interim report on this sector by the end of the present 1311 month. However, both sides of the industry asked the Royal Commission to defer its report so that it could take account of a submission reflecting these deliberations between management and unions.
The Commission agreed and I understand it now has the end of February in mind for its interim report. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has told the House that when the report is available the Government will give it the closest attention. My hon. Friend will recognise that in the meantime it might be better for me not to comment in detail on the points he has made. I have noted them and will, of course bear them in mind. For the present, I will go back to something I said earlier—namely, the importance we attach to the fullest possible consultation between management and unions.
1312 I think that we would all agree that it is inevitable that operating practices must change. This cannot be done without affecting in one way or another those who work in the industry. But we are always anxious that everyone should have full opportunity to contribute to the thinking on the way new developments are handled.
I am very grateful to my hon. Friend for giving me the opportunity of making clear the Government's interest in these developments and saying that at the appropriate time we—and I am sure everyone in the industry too—will give close attention to the interim report of the Royal Commission.
§ Question put and agreed to.
§ Adjourned accordingly at one minute past Twelve o'clock.