Keir Starmer: Regional media like The Northern Echo is so important

After so many weeks on the campaign trail, which obviously came at the end of several years in opposition and then in the early days, weeks and months in power in communities up and down the country, it feels a bit like a family reunion when I see all the people I’ve met in different parts of the country.

There’s a sort of mixed feeling because I’ve always felt that – and I say this to Cabinet members – you may think that answering questions in Parliament is the most difficult thing that you’re going to have to do, just wait until you get in front of regional media because somehow you always ask us the question that we’ve been secretly hoping was the one that wouldn’t get asked!

But there is a really serious point that underpins this because nobody knows your local areas and issues in the way that you do, and I don’t think there’s any other sort of media outlets, interrogators, interviewers who can put the questions in the way that you do because you understand what’s happening on your patch the way nobody else does, and in a sense, I think because you’re able to translate it into what matters where you are, it makes it more meaningful.

For example, general statistics only go so far like growing economy or the amount of money going to the NHS, but it doesn’t work very well when you get to communities, it’s the localities to areas where what you do is so important. There’s no one more committed to shining the torch on those issues.

And of course, running campaigns, which has always been an important part of regional media, often on things like knife crime, which get picked up at the local level very often.

With sadly grieving families who, quite remarkably, turned their grief into something more positive for other people and I’ve always been rather humble by meeting particularly parents or children who’ve been killed one way or the other, they’re able to pick themselves up and run a campaign.

But then you amplify it: on the fly tipping and antisocial behaviour for example. It’s such a force for good, and I think respected by millions, and I strongly feel people go to their local regional media as a trusted source in a way that they don’t quite believe they can get to a trusted source elsewhere.

And I think that makes it really the more important what you’re doing and I hope you feel that that’s not just words, because certainly when I’m out and about, we always try to have space for local and regional media, whether that’s on TV or huddles with local papers and it’s rare that we leave that out of our schedule, and if we do please raise the concern because I do think that if we mean what we say and say, what we do is really important, then we have to back that up with actions as well as words, which means taking the time to talk to you and take your questions.

The reach of local regional media is going up so there is a good news story here, but the pressure is huge and the challenges coming up at the same time. But it is important that you keep holding us to account.

Keep advocating for your regions, because, obviously here in Downing Street is where we have a laser focus of communities that you’re advocating for delivering on their priorities, and you must hold us to account for that: from the economy, putting money back in people’s pockets, safer streets, getting more police officers on the streets, getting the NHS back on its feet and delivering more appointments and bringing down those waiting lists.

And I’m really pleased that we made a commitment to do 2 million extra NHS waiting appointments in the first year of government, but we’ve done that within several months and the waiting list is coming down now for the 5th month in a row during winter.

We consider that to be considerable achievements, but you of course need and will translate that into what’s happening in your area and put us questions in relation to it. More opportunities for every child with breakfast clubs opening soon in an area near you. More teachers in the classroom and making sure that young people have the skills that they need.

And then importantly with what goes with that is pushing power out of Westminster and Whitehall closer to people where they are in their communities. I do not believe that people in Westminster can make the best decisions about communities across the United Kingdom because the best decisions are nearly always made by those with skin in the game, and we need to have the courage, therefore, to push power out and deliver our Plan for Change, rebuilding our country and to restore people’s trust in politics.

I said when I stood outside Downing Street the day after the election that we would be a government of service.

But that means that this isn’t just my place of work and my home, a commute of 22 seconds, but actually, it’s where you’re entitled to be, to push us, so we are doing what we said we would do which is being a government or service. So thank you for what you do.

Thank you for all of the work that you do holding us to account. Yes, it’s uncomfortable at times I’ll be perfectly honest about that and there are questions you put to us which we’d rather you didn’t put or not quite the same way and we know we aren’t going to get away without an answer.

But as uncomfortable though it is it is really important and it’s really important we’re open about that because particularly at the moment, we have to remind ourselves what living in democracy really is, where politicians can’t just say things and get away with it. They’ve got to say things, and then they’ve got to face questions of what they’ve said and particularly when it’s put in the context of local communities, local areas and local regions.