A group of MPs has thrown its weight behind the National Union of Journalists’ planned union-wide day of action, signing a parliamentary petition to welcome the move.

The NUJ, under the banner ‘Stand Up for Journalism’, plans to stage a number of events on November 5, which it says will highlight “a deepening crisis in the industry” caused by job cuts.

And 23 MPs have now added their name to an Early Day Motion in support, which was tabled by Labour’s John McDonnell, MP for Hayes and Harlington, and calls for an investigation into the effect that the concentration of media ownership and staffing cuts have on media standards.

The Motion reads: “[This House] notes the concern expressed by politicians, community organisations and the public over declining standards in many media; notes that journalists themselves have expressed similar concerns; welcomes the day of action being taken by media workers in the UK and across Europe on 5th November; believes that there is a link between concentration of media ownership, profiteering by media companies, staffing cuts and declining standards; and urges the relevant authorities to investigate the effects such factors have on media standards.”

According to the NUJ the day of action will see a protest at the Society of Editors conference in Manchester on November 5, and an evening rally in London.

Thousands of NUJ members around the UK and Ireland are expected to take part in workplace protests, and the union says journalists in capital cities across Europe will also in with a series of activities co-ordinated with the European Federation of Journalists.