Local newsagents and post offices hit by unfair trade - MP pledges support

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has signed a commons motion urging the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) to review the anti-competitive and damaging practices in the news and magazine supply chain that is crippling small shops and newsage nts in our community.

Tim is backing the campaign run by the Association of News Retailing (ANR).

The Parliamentary Motion supports ANR's recent submission to the OFT outlining evidence of the continued abuse of retailers and of consumer detriment caused by the current news and magazine supply chain system, including:

• Retailers are receiving only 60% of on-promotion magazines they ordered.
• Wholesalers significantly increasing their own profits on the back of carriage charge increases far above the rate of increasing haulage costs.
• Prices of other products being increased to subsidise the declining profitability of newspapers and magazines.
• Newspaper and magazine availability being worryingly low - between 68% and 76%.

Tim said: "Backing this motion along with 33 other MP's should make the government listen. We need to do more to help small newsagents and shops in our area. For many villages in the South Lakes these shops are the hub of our community and it is important we help them in any way we can."