BBC local radio staff continue 48-hour strike in protest at cuts to programmes

Hundreds of BBC local radio staff are continuing a 48-hour strike in a continuing dispute about cuts to services that will see stations sharing more programmes during the week and at weekends.

Dozens of MPs have raised repeated concerns about the plans - with several of them meeting the corporation’s Director General Tim Davie on Tuesday (6 June) to discuss their worries. The BBC says the changes are necessary to modernise its local services to deliver “greater value to communities”.

What cuts are being made?

Cuts to BBC local radio were first announced in October last year. Under the plans, £19 million of funding will be moved to online and multimedia content so a wider range of people can access BBC output relevant to their area.

As a result, around half of the BBC’s 39 local stations will start sharing an afternoon drivetime programme in the week, while regional late-night shows will be replaced with one programme broadcast across England. The changes are due to be implemented in the coming months.

Staff, unions and MPs have raised concerns about the impact on older and disabled listeners, and are critical of the way the process has been managed. Existing presenters, some with decades of on-air experience, were required to reapply for their jobs by submitting demo reels. Some said they’d seen an impact on their mental health, while others told NationalWorld that managers had treated employees with “arrogance and disregard”.

NationalWorld revealed last month that - despite BBC denials - employees were told their redundancy payments could be withdrawn if they spoke publicly about the changes. We also reported on criticism of remarks made by one executive, Rhodri Talfan-Davies, who suggested the BBC’s online service was more “professional” than its local radio offering. In response, he said his comments had been misrepresented.

Last week, members of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) passed - by 93% - a vote of no confidence in the corporation’s senior leadership team. They’d already rejected concessions from the BBC to avert today’s strike, which began this morning.

What has the impact of the strike been?

BBC local radio output was significantly affected on the first day of the strike (7 June). Most stations were forced to share some programmes, while a number of outlets replaced their local news bulletins with BBC Radio 2’s summaries.

Regional TV news bulletins were also impacted as NUJ members producing them walked out in solidarity with their radio colleagues. Several programmes - like South Today and Midlands Today - weren’t broadcast at all, with some regions seeing an episode of Garden Rescue instead of the usual teatime bulletin at 6:30pm.

What are MPs doing?

Dozens of Members of Parliament have lobbied the BBC to change course. Yesterday, MPs from the Humber Estuary met Tim Davie to discuss what they called the “damaging” cuts. One of them - Diana Johnson - said she now hoped for a “constructive” dialogue.

What has the BBC said?

In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: “We understand this is a difficult period of change for many colleagues and we will continue to support everyone affected by the plans to strengthen our local online services across news and audio”.

“Our goal is to deliver a local service across TV, radio and online that offers more value to more people in more local communities. While the plans do impact on individual roles, we are maintaining our overall investment in local services and expect our overall level of editorial staffing across England to remain unchanged”.