Every week, millions of people rely on their local newspapers and websites to keep them informed of what is happening in their area. When seen together, they can paint a picture of life in the UK in a way no other collection of stories can. Life is local – and this is a look at the front pages which stood out over the last seven days
It’s been one of those weeks when editors up and down the country have been clearing away the news from their front pages in favour of sport. Maybe it’s just that time of the season, but there has been a rash of managerial changes at football clubs.
Perhaps it tells you something about local opinion towards Derby manager Steve McClaren that when his sacking was announced, it only made the blurb on the front of the Derby Telegraph – but the arrival of his successor, Gary Rowett, took the splash:
In Teesside, the departure of Aitor Karanka as manager of Middlesbrough was welcomed by many, even if the timing was a bit of a surprise. The Gazette was damning in its front page:
Good news in football can make the front page too – especially when you’re doing well in the Champions League against the odds. The miracle turnaround at Leicester City continued this week, and victory over Seville was, of course, front page news:
Also doing well this week were South Shields FC who were pushing for a place in the final of the FA Vase. Their first leg went well (prompting the front page below) with that place secured after the second leg yesterday afternoon:
Off the pitch events dominated the front page of the Swindon Advertiser this week as fans sought assurances about the future of their club:
While in Coventry, just being able to get into the stadium might be an achievement for Coventry City fans with this twist in the club’s long-running sorry saga:
While in North Wales, the whole team has been locked out of one ground:
And in London, chants from Millwall fans aimed at Spurs players made front page news:
If football is one national sport in the UK, then surely Brexit – and discussions about it – are another. Scottish politicians proved world-class at this during the week, with pending Brexit blending with Scottish independence, and prompting a slew of great fronts on regional titles north of the border this week:
Brexit was also front page news in Preston, where a survey suggested Lancastrians were thinking twice about their decision to vote for Brexit
While the Dudley News reported on how a local MP was so determined to make sure his voted in favour of triggering Article 50 that he was wheeled into the House of Commons, just weeks after being hospitalised with a grave illness:
The issue of EU citizen rights in the UK once Brexit happens has been national news for weeks – but one village in Scotland is making sure overseas residents feel welcome by producing posters saying as much:
In Bradford, a break-up of a different nature could be on the cards, with two MPs seeking to break their constituencies away from the city:
Talking of politicians with isolationist tendencies, Donald Trump made two front pages in the regional press this week. First off, in Scotland where a tie a charity raffle raised several thousand pounds:
And this warning/promise of a visit to Northern Ireland in 2019 was front page news in Belfast:
Agenda-setting stories from the regional press this week included the Liverpool Echo’s investigation into how much you can lose at a high-stakes gambling machine, and how quickly:
The MEN uncovered an Alder Hey-style scandal over stored body parts:
And the Daily Echo had a quite remarkable front page, showing the moments after a man was stabbed in the street:
Remember the UKIP campaigner who relieved himself in a garden during the Stoke by-election? He was front page news in Stoke this week as he dodged court by saying sorry:
The Croydon Advertiser reminded us yet again that the regional press is at its strongest when it doesn’t let go – with a front page about the Croydon tram crash in which liability was finally admitted:
The Derbyshire Times delivered a powerful insight into what it is like to be homeless:
Finally this week, several front pages made brilliant through headlines which surely screamed: Buy me
