Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Brian Leishman (Labour), on Thursday, 22 January 2026, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 22 members in total.

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Local news journalism and STV regional broadcasting

That this House recognises the vital role of regional news journalism in supporting democratic accountability, public engagement in civic life, and community representation across Scotland; notes the proposals by STV to centralise news production and end the separate STV North service, including the removal of studio presentation from Aberdeen and the reduction of regional and local bulletins; expresses concern that these changes would weaken public service broadcasting obligations, reduce media plurality, and harm equal access to high-quality local news; further notes opposition from the National Union of Journalists and the walk-out by STV journalists and staff in protest of the proposals, reflecting serious concern within the industry over the proposals; and calls on Ofcom to reject proposals that undermine regional news provision and instead to uphold strong public service broadcasting commitments that protect regional representation across Scotland.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

2667 

Session

2024-26

Other sponsors

Rebecca Long Bailey

Kim Johnson

Grahame Morris

Jon Trickett

Bell Ribeiro-Addy

Subjects

Local broadcasting Scotland Television Scottish Television

Link

View this Early day motion on edm.parliament.uk