On January 13th 2026 we outnumbered far-right group Cumbria Action at a council meeting where withdrawing from the City of Sanctuary network was proposed.
It was covered in the local press and it made us question “if we hadn’t been there what would we take from the coverage?”.
Take a moment to look at these headlines and images in the local press.
Whilst looking at the images, ask yourself these questions:
Who has the press chosen to centre in the images? What story do the images tell? How is the motion which was brought to the council presented in the headlines?
Before we get into it, here is our experience of the day:
We arrived as a coalition of organisations and the public led by Cumberland Sanctuary Network. We definitely outnumbered Cumbria Action.
As the gallery only has space for 50 everyone was asked to wait in the foyer. Security asked us to line up to one side. Mostly those opposing the motion did what he asked. Those who ignored the request, mostly there in support of Cumbria Action, continued to crowd the door. When the doors opened they pushed ahead and dominated the gallery.
In the majority of coverage the headline picture features those opposing City of Sanctuary in the gallery. Most coverage mentions high numbers and “many more outside who could not fit in”. None mentioned that we were the majority, or that those left outside were mostly there in solidarity with people seeking asylum.
Written coverage by the BBC featured a quote from Cumbria Action but not from our side. The article by ITV didn’t feature quotes from either side of protestors.
This, alongside the most common choice of cover photograph, was an editorial choice. It’s one that matters. Why? Because it makes it look like the far-right were in the majority when they weren’t. It makes it sound like Cumbria Action is speaking for ‘the people’ and the council are ignoring them.
Honestly? We weren’t surprised. We get a lot of press requests. Many of which we turn down. In the last year we’ve had a large number of requests about the protests at Dalton Islamic Centre or racist hate crime.
Yet when we went to the local press about our Summit, a joyful event with high profile Black and Brown speakers leading the way in the anti-racist movement attracting over 400 attendees, we got zero coverage…
When you look at local news we ask you to question it. Which stories are ignored in favour of those which attract controversy, emotionally charged reactions, or whip up racism?
