Party Politics and the Provincial Press in Early Twentieth Century England: The Case of the South West

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Based on the evidence of Devon and Cornwall, politicians continued to regard the provincial press as highly influential in determining their readers' party political affiliations well into the twentieth century. Until at least 1914, many of the leading local and regional newspapers were owned by prominent local politicians. After 1918, especially following the amalgamation of the two main Conservative and Liberal papers, local politicians felt keenly their lack of a reliable source of press support. The cost of funding a party political newspaper became too high for all but the richest politicians. Moreover, the status of the provincial press was increasingly undermined by improved rail communications, allowing the national press to compete even in farthest Cornwall. The wireless also reduced the importance of the provincial press from the late 1920s. The real political influence of the provincial press is impossible to assess with any certainty. Newspapermen believed that, despite the often substantial expenditure by politicians, a strongly party political paper was more likely to alienate non-partisan readers, leading to neither political nor commerical success. Modern research also suggests that partisan newspapers are probably only partially successful, doing more to reinforce their readers' existing opinions than to convert non-believers.