This article is based on a letter published in The New European (3/7/2024)

A recent article published in The New European speculated that if “Starmer wins a majority of 218 or bigger”, he will have the power to amend the Royal Charter on the self-regulation of the press.  He would not.

For any amendment to be made, the charter requires not only a two-thirds majority vote in the Commons, but additionally, a two-thirds majority vote in the Lords and the unanimous support of the Board of the Press Recognition Panel (PRP). Only 22% of peers eligible to vote in the House of Lords take the Labour whip; a proportion that will not be directly affected by the outcome of the general election. Members of the PRP board are apolitical.

Any government could enact primary legislation to introduce accountability for the press.  This would require only a simple majority, like legislation in other areas.

But the Royal Charter system, based on the Leveson recommendations, is constitutionally immune to the whims and designs of the government of the day. It was developed to pass the test of time, and to protect press freedom and the public from wrongdoing regardless of who is in power at any particular time. That is why it has commanded the support of not only the victims of press abuse, but also press freedom advocates like Article 19 and the National Union of Journalists.

The New European article pointed out that some newspapers have campaigned very hard against the prospect of a "Starmer super majority".  For the reasons set out above, this is unlikely to be related to any concerns about the Royal Charter.  But that is not to say that press regulation is not relevant.

For the last 12 years Conservative Governments - often against the views and wishes of their own MPs - have bent over backwards to hand out policy favours to national newspapers.  This has included steps to undermine the Leveson system of independent regulation.

We should not be surprised that those same newspapers, as the election nears, have trumpeted the "super majority" phrase - a line first put out by a representative of the Conservative Party, and intended to damage the Labour vote.

This is the latest case of newspapers rewarding politicians who have put press interests ahead of the public with favourable coverage.