ANGRY PROTESTERS AND MPS SLAM THE BBC AS THEY HAND IN A PETITION TO DOWNING STREET TODAY
ANGRY protesters and MPs today slammed the BBC over cutbacks to 39 local radio stations - as the public were urged to join the fight by downloading a protest song.
The proposals by BBC bosses would force local radio stations to share content after 2pm and at weekends. The plans have been branded as discriminatory towards the elderly and disabled and have been criticised in Parliament.
Protesters today(Monday, July 3rd 2023)attended 10 Downing Street to hand in a petition which was organised by the National Federation of the Blind of the UK (NFBUK) and backed by over 220 local organisations and at least 40 MPs from across all parties (see list below).
The NFBUK, the National Union of Journalists and concerned musicians are calling up the public to download a song called'Need My Local Radio'by Scots-based singer Beldon Haigh. If the track gets into the download charts, protestors say the BBC may be forced to give it airplay. All profits from the song - which can be downloaded at NeedMyLocalRadio.com - are being donated to the NFBUK.
Andrew Hodgson, President of the NFBUK, said: "The NUJ, the NFBUK and more than 220 other supporting organisations are calling on all lovers of local radio and music to download Beldon Haigh's song Need My Local Radio, a tune of love and in support of the joys, value and place in the community of local radio - and a plea to the BBC to think again."
Singer Beldon Haigh, who was among the delegation that attended Downing Street, said: "As a musician I care passionately about the BBC,it's always held a special place in the hearts of the UK communities and given a means of expression to local musicians and other artists.It's been said in Parliament that the BBC is effectively trying to get rid of local radio. This would be a terrible loss for entire communities, especially for the vulnerable and the lonely. I've been told that people within the BBC may be scared to speak out so I hope this song is a way of giving a voice to everybody who is affected.
"Local Radio is a key part of the UK cultural eco-system and is worth investing into and protecting. The proposed cuts don't seem to consider that. The presenters in these regions are much loved and cherished but that special relationship also appears to be under threat, all in the name of a perception of digital progress. I thought that the government was trying to level up Britain, but cutting back on local content and local presenters isn't levelling anything up. Quite the reverse in my opinion."
Sarah Gayton, Campaign Coordinator for the NFBUK, said: "Making these cruel cuts and changes to the daily schedules will isolate people who are already marginalised from society and disconnect them from what is happening where they live. The proposed changes will result in the afternoon and weekend shows being shared across regions, and late night shows being replaced with a national show, with many presenters losing their jobs. This will rip the heart and soul out of local public broadcasting."
Paul Siegert, NUJ National Broadcasting Organiser, said: "So far BBC bosses have been tone deaf to the criticism about their plans to try and kill off local radio so it's time to turn up the volume of the campaign. We are urging everyone to spend a pound and download the song. Let's get it in the charts and make it impossible for BBC radio stations to refuse to play it."
Campaigners say that the BBC - which traditionally purports to champion transparency - is guilty of secrecy and double standards over the proposals.
Sarah Gayton said: "The NFBUK asked for the BBC's Equality Impact Assessment and a Public Value Test on the proposed changes through a Freedom of Information request but the BBC said it was exempt from providing this information."
On May 25, 'Need My Local Radio' was uploaded to BBC Introducing. BBC radio stations were contacted and asked to consider playing it.
* You can download 'Need My Local Radio' via major platforms or by visiting NeedMyLocalRadio.com or use the following QR Code:
ISSUED IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE NFBUK AND BELDON HAIGH BY KBA
CONTACT SARAH GAYTON OF THE NFBUK ON 07903 155858, BELODON HAIGH ON 07711 307722
YOU CAN VIEW A VIDEO OF THE SONG AT https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpNYIGzmeJM
PLEASE SEE LIST OF MPs BELOW WHO HAVE SIGNED THE PETITION
Supporting MPs So Far:
1 Sarah Champion MP Rotherham
2 Simon Fell MP Barrow and Furness
3 Helen Morgan MP North Shropshire
4 Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP Streatham
5 Dame Caroline Dinenage MP Gosport
6 Bob Blackman MP Harrow East
7 Emma Hardy MP Hull West and Hessle
8 Henry Smith MP Crawley
9 Robin Walker MP Worcester
10 Ben Bradshaw MP Exeter
11 Paul Blomfield MP for Sheffield Central
12 Claudia Webbe MP Member of Parliament for Leicester East
13Ian Byrne MP Liverpool West Derby
14 Derek Thomas MP West Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly (St Ives)
15 Nadia Whittome, MP for Nottingham East
16Sir John Lewis MP, New Forest East
17Diana Johnson MP, Kingston upon Hull, North
18Wera Hobhouse MP, Bath
19 Kim Johnson MP, Liverpool Riverside
20 Richard Foord MP, Tiverton & Honiton
21 Duncan Baker MP North Norfolk
22 Jo Gideon MP Stoke-on-Trent Central
23 Tim Farron MP, Westmorland and Lonsdale
24 Rachael Maskell MP, York Central
25Andrew Lewer MBE MP, Northampton South
26Grahame Morris MP, Easington
27Peter Dowd MP, Bootle
28Zarah Sultana MP, Coventry South
29Mick Whitley MP, Birkenhead
30Peter Aldous MP, Waveney
31Sir Peter Bottomley, Worthing West
32John McDonnell, Hayes
33Andy McDonald, Middlesborough
34Rebecca Long-Bailey, Salford
35Ian Byrne, Liverpool West Derby
36Mike Amesbury, Weaver Vale
37Emma Lewell-Buck, South Shields
38Robin Walker, Worcester
39Martin Vickers, Cleethorpes
40Valerie Vaz, Walsall South
Supporting Lords So Far:
1 Lord Cashman CBE
2 Claire Fox, Baroness Fox of Buckley
3 Lord Blunkett
4 Lord Holmes
5 Baroness Lister of Burtersett
6 Lord Smith of Finsbury, Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge .
Supporting Organisations So Far:
1 National Pensioners Convention
2 Access Committee for Leeds
3 Action Disability Kensington and Chelsea (ADKC)
4 Action Hampshire
5 Action on Disability London
6 Age Concern Liverpool & Sefton
7 Age Concern North Norfolk
8 Age UK Birmingham
9 Age UK Bolton
10 Age UK Bradford District
11 Age UK Gloucestershire
12 Age UK Lancashire
13 Age UK Portsmouth
14 Age UK Sandwell
15 Age UK Staffordshire
16 Alström Syndrome UK and Breaking Down Barriers
17 Atherstone District Gateway Club
18 Avon Talking Magazine
19 Avril Coelho Creations
20 Aylesbury Talking Newspaper
21 BaNES Third Sector Group (3SG)
22 Barnardo's Child & Family Centres, Peterborough and Cambridgeshire
23 Barnsley CVS
24 Bedfordshire Branch NARPO National Association of Retired Police Officers
25 Better Lives, Knowsley
26 Beyond Sight Loss
27 Blackburn and District Blind Society
28 BlindAid, London
29 Bolton Newstalk Sensory Centre
30 Boston and South Holland Talking Newspaper
31 Bowls Hampshire
32 Breathing Space
33 Bristol Older People's Forum
34 Bromley District Talking News
35 Buxton Talking Newspaper
36 Calderdale Forum 50 Plus
37 Camsight
38 CHARNWOOD TALKING NEWS
39 CHAT2Us Gosport
40 Chelmsford Area Access Group
41 Chelmsford Talking Newspaper
42 CHESHAM PIONEERS BLIND AND PARTIALLY SIGHTED BOWLERS
43 Chippenham & District Talking Newspapers
44 Chorley Sightseekers
45 Chronic Illness Inclusion
46 Communities 1st
47 Community Action Malvern & District
48 Community Action Sutton
49 Connected Voice Newcastle upon Tyne
50 Copeland Talking Newspaper
51 County Durham Talking Newspaper
52 Coventry Resource Centre for the Blind
53 Craven Cassette (Talking newspaper charity)
54 Cross key homes
55 Cumbria CVS Council for Voluntary Service
56 Darlington Talking Newspaper Newspaper
57 Devon in Sight
58 disAbility Cornwall & Isles of Scilly
59 Dorset Blind Assocation
60 Durham Branch National Association Of Retired Police Officers
61 Earth Balance Shed, Bedlington
62 East Cheshire Eye Society
63 East Shropshire Talking Newspaper
64 East Sussex Vision Support
65 Eastbourne Blind Society
66 Eastleigh Mens Shed
67 Elmbridge Runnymede and Spelthorne Talking Newspaper
68 Esme's Umbrella (the charity dedicated to people who develop Charles Bonnet Syndrome after sight loss)
69 EVESHAM TALKING NEWSPAPER
70 Evesham Volunteer Centre
71 Forest Sensory Services
72 Forest Talk, Talking Newspaper for the Blind in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire
73 Friends Through Pain
74 Galloways Support Through Sight Loss
75 Goalball UK
76 Gosport Access Group and Disability Forum
77 Gosport Partners through Pain
78 Gosport U3a
79 Gosport Voluntary Action
80 Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People
81 Hackney CVS (Hackney Council for Voluntary Service)
82 Hackney Disability BackUp
83 Hambleton Community Action, Northallerton
84 Harrogate & District Community Action
85 Hart Voluntary Action, Hampshire
86 Havant Talking News
87 Wycombe Talking Newspaper
88 Headway Tamworth and Lichfield Brain Injury Support Group
89 Heart of England Mencap
90 Henshaws Society for the Blind
91 Herefordshire Federation WI
92 Humberside National Association of Retired Police Officers
93 Inclusion London
94 Inclusive Farm Northampton
95 Inclusive Norwich
96 Iscatape, Talking Newspaper in Exeter
97 iSightCornwall
98 Keighley and District Talking Newspaper
99 KickBack Recovery Community CIO
100 Kings Lynn Talking Newspaper association
101 Kingston Talking Newspaper
102 York Talking News
103 Leicester Disabled People's Access group
104 Lewes and District Talking Newspaper
105 Lincoln & Lindsey Blind Society
106 London Sports Club for the Blind
107 London to Morocco
108 Luton All Women's Centre
109 Macular Society
110 Maidenhead & District Talking Newspaper for the Blind
111 March Talking Newspaper for the Blind
112 MertonVision
113 Middlesex Association for the Blind
114 Mothers' Union Diocese of Leicester
115 My Sight Notts
116 My Sight Team Yorkshire Coast Sight Support
117 My Sight York
118 My Vision Oxfordshire
119 N-Vision, Blackpool
120 Nantwich Show
121 National Association of Disabled Staff Networks (NADSN)
122 New Earswick Disabled Swimming Club
123 Newcastle Vision Support
124 Northampton Mencap
125 Northern Academy of Performing Arts, Hull
126 Nottingham Community and Voluntary Serivce
127 Nova Wakefield District Ltd
128 One Westminster
129 Open Sight Hampshire
130 Otley & District Talking News
131 Outlookers
132 Oxford & District Talking Newspaper for the Blind
133 Oxford and District Amateur Radio Society
134 Oxford Talking Newspaper (Oxtalk)
135 Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action
136 Paston Farm Community Foundation
137 Plymouth & West Devon Talking Newspaper
138 Pocklington Lodge TA Committee
139 Pontefract and Castleford Talking Newspaper
140 Possibility People
141 Redditch Assocation for the Blind
142 Ringwood & Fording Bridge Talking News
143 RNIB
144 Rossendale Talking Newspaper
145 SACMHA Health and Social Care, Sheffield
146 Sandwell Talking News
147 Sandwell Visually Impaired (SVI)
148 Secretary, Gosport Older Person's Forum
149 Sheffield Mencap & Gateway
150 Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind
151 Sid Vale and East Devon Talking Newspaper
152 Sight and Mind CIC
153 Sight for Surrey
154 Sight Support Derbyshire
155 Sight Support Hull & East Yorkshire
156 Sight Vision Support
157 Silver Voices
158 Solihull Borough Talking Newspaper
159 Soundwaves talking newspaper
160 South Lakes Talking Newspaper Association
161 Southampton Area Talking Echo
162 Southampton Sight
163 Southport Talking Newspaper
164 St Albans & District Talking Newspaper
165 Support 4 Sight
166 Surrey Coalition of Disabled People
167 SYFAB
168 Talking News Federation
169 Teentalk CIC
170 The Blaydon Shed
171 The Burton Street Foundation
172 The Dawlish and Teignmouth Area Talking Newspaper (Hear and Now)
173 The Meerbrook Park Users Trust
174 The Partially Sighted Society
175 The Plough Arts Centre. Great Torrington, Devon
176 The School of Artisan Food, Nottinghamshire
177 Thomas Pocklington Trust
178 Vision Norfolk
179 Vision Support, Chester
180 Vista Leicestershire
181 Visually Impaired in Camden
182 Visually Impaired Society of Richmond
183 Voluntary Action Sheffield
184 Voluntary Action Swindon
185 Voluntary Support North Surrey
186 Volunteer Cornwall
187 Volunteer Link Up (West Oxon)
188 VONNE Voluntary Organisations' Network North East
189 Wakefield District Sight Aid
190 Walsall Society for the Blind
191 Wandsworth Blind Bowling Club
192 Warwickshire Bowls Association
193 Waveney Words
194 Weston Retired Bowls England
195 Wiltshire Federation of Women's Institutes
196 Winchester and District Talking Newspaper
197 WinVisible women with visible and invisible disabilities
198 Wirral Society of the Blind and Partially Sighted
199 Witney Talking News
200 Woking Talking Newspaper (1988) Association
201 Women in Rural Enterprise WIRE
202 Worcester Talking Newspaper, (Worcester News and Equipment Services for the Blind)
203 New Milton & New Forest Talking Newspaper
204 Greenstede Talking News
205 Havering Talking Newspaper
206 Windsor Talking Newspaper (RCN 271879)
207 Reading's Talking news
208 Rugby Talking Newspaper
209 St Edmundsbury Newstalk
210 Greenwich Talking Newspaper Association
211 Kenilworth, Warwick and Leamington Spa Talking Newspaper
212 BDAN, Bedford and District Audio News
213 Birmingham Talking Newspapers for the Blind and Visually Impaired (BTNBVI)
214 Vision Support Barrow and Districts
215 Trowbridge Talking News
216 Talking News Islington for the Blind
217 Wallingford & District Talking Newspaper
218 Disability Rights UK
219 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
220 Hertfordshire Federation of WI's
221 Eastbourne Talking Newspaper Association