MPS CALL FOR POST AND MAIL SHOWDOWN

23-10-2009

Planned changes at the Birmingham Post and Mail have run into parliamentary opposition, with Northfield MP Richard Burden demanding a meeting with owners Trinity Mirror.

Burden laid down an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons yesterday voicing opposition to the proposals, which will see the Post going weekly, and the Mail switching to overnight production.

In the MP’s words, this will leave “Birmingham, a city of over a million people, without a live daily newspaper”.

The motion notes that, “Trinity Mirror has not sought the views of Birmingham's citizens nor their elected representatives in this House before making its decisions” and demands a meeting with the company’s executives with a view to discussing alternative proposals.

More than 80 jobs will be lost at the Post and Mail’s Fort Dunlop HQ if the scheme goes ahead, including 40 in the newsroom – prompting a ballot among disgruntled workers for industrial action.

DISCUSS THIS ON THE STIRRER FORUM