JOURNAL NEWSPAPER

That this House recognises that the Journal newspaper in the North East plays a prominent and exemplary role in defending and promoting the interests of the region and helps to overcome its physical and political distance from the centre of power in the UK;notes the effectiveness ofmany specific campaigns including Taste North East England, which seeks to persuade consumers, retailers, hoteliers and restauranteurs to buy local, use local, eat local and the subsequent campaign, Think North East England First, which extended the positive discrimination message to other goods and services; welcomes the recent report from the Campaign to Protect Rural England which says that the money spent on local produce in local shops is worth three times as many jobs for the region as those spent in big stores; and recommends that more should be done to encourage small businesses and farm stores to set up ahead of the national and international brands as part ofrevitalising high streets and local economies.