Behind Local News Weekly: The fast and furious local news campaign which saved a city’s famous industry
Hello, and welcome to our weekly round up of local journalism here in the UK.
A campaign to keep train building in Derby, spearheaded by DerbyshireLive and the Derby Telegraph, was named campaign of the year at the Regional Press Awards. Agenda Editor Zena Hawley takes us inside what turned out to be a hugely important journalism endeavour for the East Midlands city…
It all started when rumours that production could cease at one of Derby’s most important companies — train maker Alstom — circulated for a while but without seeming to have much foundation initially. Everyone was aware that there could be a gap in the orders in 2024–2026 but assumed it would be filled.
But what started out as a rumour soon turned out to be a fact — one of Derby’s most important companies looked set to cease production within weeks, on March 31, 2024, with the potential loss of 15,000 jobs — both in the Litchurch Lane factory and the supply chain relying on its continued existence.
Train maker Alstom is important to Derby in many ways, not least because of the economic benefits to the city and country of the only surviving company in the UK that designs, manufactures and tests trains on one site — but also because Alstom represents almost 200 years of unbroken train manufacture in the city.
A similar crisis in 2012, when the company was known as Bombardier, evoked a call to arms by the Derby Telegraph and it was always inevitable that, with Alstom under crisis, the Derby Telegraph and DerbyshireLive would once again lead from the front in trying to save one of its most important industries. We were the ones with the voice that could shout about, and publicise what everyone was trying to do — Save Alstom and Derby’s Train Industry.
So it was without hesitation that the newspaper, together with its sister website DerbyshireLive, began a steady campaign — with me taking overall charge — of linking up with other concerned organisations such as Derby City Council, Marketing Derby and the union Unite and making sure that lobbying of MPs, Parliament and the public went into full swing.
It was a relatively short campaign compared to some but it was fast and furious with information hard to come by at Government level but at local level, action was being taken on an almost daily basis.
My main aim was of course to keep all interested parties informed. So when it was decided that banners and posters would be on display at the next Derby County home match, it was vitally important to let fans and the public know as soon as possible so they could throw their weight behind the campaign and grab them to display and wave.
Equally important was winning over the trust of city councillors and the management of Alstom to enable the message to reach even higher levels. I worked with then Derby City Council leader Baggy Shanker, who shared with me, exclusively, correspondence he was sending to ministers in London urging the then Government to sign off a new contract that would give Alstom enough work to carry on and not close, move or mothball the valuable Derby plant.
Mr Shanker had sent his letter twice in September 2023, and a third in October, requesting a meeting to discuss the growing crisis but with no response. So I contacted the Department for Transport asking why it had not responded to Mr Shanker — by 11.28pm the same night, Mr Shanker not only had a response from Transport Secretary Mark Harper but he was also being offered a meeting
I also had the ear of the Alstom management, local MPs and eventually the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and the current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer — the latter who expressed his desire to get involved in the campaign to save Alstom. He said he was ‘proud’ to support Derby’s campaign to save train maker Alstom and thanked Derby Telegraph/Derbyshire Live for being involved because of the “power of the local media”.
As March 31, 2024 passed — the day the final new train rolled off the production line — the situation was looking bleak. I continued to look at every avenue to keep the situation and the campaign profiled with almost daily pieces about the company, including talking to workers either forced to take voluntary redundancy because of the uncertainty and also those facing compulsory redundancy.
The dire situation was mentioned at the highest levels in Parliament and the publicity prompted an emergency debate in the House of Commons involving ministers and local MPs. As the situation became more desperate and intense, I urged readers to email MPs and also to sign a petition that had now been circulated around the city, started by the unions.
The Alstom campaign also included a logo — Save Our Trains Do The Deal — which was produced and appeared on digital signs at the next Derby County home match at Pride Park. DerbyshireLive carried front-page headlines urging the Government to save the city’s 185-year-old train-building industry. And urgent questions were asked in the House of Commons again.
So it was with some joy and delight that news that the Government had managed to break through red tape to award a new £370m contract to Alstom for ten trains was greeted in June, guaranteeing work and lifting the threat of closure and redundancy at Alstom.
The campaign gained praise in Parliament and Baggy Shanker, by now MP for Derby South, referred to the “integral” role of Derby Telegraph/Derbyshire Live in retaining Alstom in the city during his maiden speech in the house.
The campaign may have been relatively short but it had its challenges. It was one of those situations where you dare hardly be off duty in case you miss something — making sure that I liaised with everyone involved to keep everything fresh and up-to-date and also to be ready to challenge both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer when the need arose, which it did on three occasions each that I met them.
I really couldn’t believe that we had won Campaign of the Year — up against six other strong regional campaigns — but I am immensely proud that we did and in doing so once again flew the flag for Derby Telegraph/Derbyshire Live and the city. I am on record saying that I waved my arms around like an idiot when I heard the announcement at the Press Awards. That was pure unadulterated spontaneous joy that we had not only won the award but we had helped to do something even bigger and very real — save the trainmaking industry in Derby for another 200 years!
What we’ve been reading:
- Sad news this week as one of the country’s oldest hyperlocal websites announced it had closed down. Rochdale Online was founded in June 1998. HoldTheFrontPage has the story here.
- What are likely to be National World’s final set of accounts before a takeover is completed were published last week. Press Gazette’s report is here.
- Newsletter pioneer Michael MacLeod was the subject of the journalism.co.uk podcast. You can hear it here.
Also in local news this week:
The editor of the newsroom named news brand of the year at the Regional Press Awards has spoken of her pride at her team’s success — and of the weight of responsibility which sits on the shoulders of reporters.
London website’s campaign to help save community facilities chalks up new success
A newsroom’s campaign to help save vital community facilities in London has chalked up another success after the future of one of the world’s oldest tennis clubs had its future secured.
Publisher’s newsrooms unite to launch endometriosis campaign
Local newsrooms across the UK have joined forces to demand better support for women suffering from endometriosis.
An editor has shared the thought process which resulted in his local newspaper splashing on the case of a high-profile former police officer who was due to appear in court accused of serious child sex offences.
A man has appeared in court this week to plead guilty to eight offences after being exposed by a local journalist’s investigation.
Awards honour for sports journalist who helped double subscriptions
A journalist who covers Wolverhampton Wanderers should be ‘held aloft as one of the finest examples in regional news’ according to judges at the Regional Press Awards.
Reach launches second standalone superfans website — All Out Fighting
Publisher Reach has unveiled its second standalone sports website launch this year — All Out Fighting.
Thanks for reading,
Behind Local News
