Live text updates. No need to refresh the page, updates will appear automatically16:24 - betterRetailing Team
We have some video updates ready from the march today which we will share with you this Friday. But for now thats all from a successful and extremely well attended day for independent newsagents
15:56 - betterRetailing Team
MP Karen Bradley has delivered the petition to a resounding chorus of PRESS FOR REFORM from the crowd outside the Downing St gates
15:52 - betterRetailing Team
We have had retailers all the way from stenhousemuir today! Sharon said it was not too different from getting up for the papers
15:45 - betterRetailing Team
March on Westminster attended by at least 100-150 retailers and MPs
13:09 - betterRetailing Team
You can listen to that here on iPlayer about 40 mins in: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p00kq86q
13:08 - betterRetailing Team
NFRN Chief Exec Paul Baxter and retailer Chirstine Southern appeared on BBC Radio Kent this morning. She said “We have no choice with our paper wholesalers. We have issues from the publishers who fix the prices of the papers but don’t necessarily retain the margins. The wholesalers increase carriage charges, so we’re being squeezed from both sides.”
12:48 - betterRetailing Team
On a personal note – of 2 years working at betterRetailing, this will be my first visit to NFRN’s headquarters, Yeoman House
12:26 - betterRetailing Team
Clearly need a hashtag too we’ll go with #nfrn as that’s nice and easy to remember!
12:25 - betterRetailing Team
Hopefully we’re back on with Twitter now too, ready for the NFRN’s march on Downing St.
12:04 - betterRetailing Team
A thought on the Wholesalers from one of our bloggers Chander: “There are two suppliers – one supplier increases the charges followed by a similar increase from another supplier within few days. Does the Newsagent have a choice. NO. And what happens when there is no choice. Monopoly. Free market must allow choice.”
11:32 - betterRetailing Team
Having a few problems with the auto update at the moment, so manual refresh for now please! Gremlins…
11:31 - betterRetailing Team
We’ll be leaving to get down there just before 1.30pm, so send us your thoughts in the meantime.
11:22 - betterRetailing Team
However, our blogger Steve Denham had some reservations: “A former NFRN top man once told me that we should only enter a box if we can see the exit. I hope that the current leadership fully understand where the exit will be for this campaign and it’s not an illusion.”
11:20 - betterRetailing Team
Abdul Qadar praised the initiative saying: “Have signed the online petition and so has the family, we have been collecting signatures in the shop and this weekend the Edinburgh branch of the NFRN is taking the press for reform campaign to the Edinburgh Mela and hope to get more signatures.”
11:14 - betterRetailing Team
We had some fascinating thoughts on the issue when we posted about it at the start of September
11:01 - betterRetailing Team
There is an online petition on the government’s e-petitions site, for which you need 100,000 signatures to trigger an automatic debate, but the result has been a rather disappointing 322 so far. However, retailers have been busy across the country and the final amount of signatures is expected to exceed 20,000
10:57 - betterRetailing Team
However, the issue goes deeper than that, and ultimately is one concerned with wholesalers. In 1994 there were 74 wholesale distributors. Today there are just two operating an effective monopoly in the sector
10:52 - betterRetailing Team
So for those who missed it, what’s Press for Reform all about? Well, there’s a question. In short the campaign calls for a full investigation into the news industry by the Competition Commission. The phone hacking scandal is the “tip of the iceberg” claim the NFRN stating that “unethical practices” are rampant in a “sector that lacks any effective regulation.”
10:39 - betterRetailing Team
NFRN members will be gathering from around 2pm at College Green outside the Houses of Parliament. Anyone on their way down?
10:34 - betterRetailing Team
Good morning. This afternoon the culmination of the NFRN’s Press for Reform campaign reaches a climax as newsagents gather in Central London to deliver their petition to Downing Street
Steve Denham
12/10/2011
I been on past lobbying exercises, always with an unsatisfactory result. Will this gain a better level of interest? I recently received a disappointing response on a topic that is on the Government agenda, the Post Office. Interpreting the letter that I got was ‘we are going to invest over a £1billion over the next few years, but don’t expect Government business to change much.’ And that is an issue that is firmly on MPs agenda, what hope an issue that isn’t?
Chander Hingorani
16/10/2011
It was an excellent effort by the NFRN to march to the Downing St and hand over a petition. I sincerely hope it will lead to an investigation of the market abuse and exploitation of the CTNs, hard working, dedicated serving the community. But we have recently seen the power of the industry tycoons and how some of the big names in British politics yield to their power. How can the market behave normally when you have only two suppliers in the distribution business and they seem to act in concert.
But I tend to agree with Steve Denham that you have to see your exit before you enter the box and I am not sure if there is an exit or there is a blockage somewhere.
But having said all that, my best wishes to the NFRN. Keep the flag flying.
Chander Hingorani
25/10/2011
Few days back, the OFT announced an investigation re the market domination by the big four Audit firms and referred it to the Competition Commission. Big four. A very courageous decision by the OFT. So why not News and Mags distribution market which is dominated by the big two, Menzies and Smiths.
OFT, come on be bold and big enough and also refer this to the Competition Commission. Have the courage of your convictions.