Labour Party Member, Carol Hayton, joined in the debate on the West Sussex County Times' letter page about the political bias of the newspaper. This letter and the editor's response to it were printed in today's paper.
L.N. Price (letters, March 20) is spot on when he describes the 'blue wash' that provides the background to your editorial comment each week. It is sad to see the creeping nature of that blue wash now devaluing the public information role of your paper.
Even your Horsham edition front page report on March 20 was laced with a ridiculously partisan tone that made it hard to take the reporting seriously. Having described a 'beleaguered' and 'under-pressure' chancellor visiting Millais School, your reporter then suggested that he needed somehow to defend the decision to hold the summit in our area.
Surely, being selected as the venue for such an important event that would not only bring positive attention but also a boost to the local economy, is something that should be welcomed by the County Times on behalf of us all.
Fortunately the pupils and staff of Millais School were more positive about the visit and the photograph on the front page of a smiling and relaxed chancellor at the school is at odds with the written report.
It really is time that the County Times realised that, if it is to retain interested readership, it should convey a more balanced view within its pages. There have been repeated calls in recent weeks for more balance in political content and more information from your political columnists rather than tub-thumping.
In response to these calls we get a column from the leader of the Lib Dems on the county council. The Lib Dems are hardly famed for their effectiveness in opposition and, true to form, rather than provide balance and information, Morwen Wilson has dedicated her slot to agreeing with the Tories or, like Henry Smith, carping on about issues that have nothing to do with county council business.
We have Labour representation on the county council, a Labour MEP for the region, a Labour MP in the county and, of course, a Labour government.
If the County Times would seriously like to take up the challenge of balanced news reporting it could offer a small amount of space in its pages to one of these.
Carol Hayton
Horsham Labour Party
On publication, the editor added this lengthy response:
Editor's note: the County Times quite properly reflects the political make-up of the areas it serves. The Horsham and South Downs editions of the County Times are represented by a Conservative-controlled Horsham district council which has no Labour representation.The note gives no reasonable explanation for why Horsham's MP also has a weekly column in the Crawley edition of the paper, and does not even mention that.
Both elected MPs are Conservatives and each has a weekly column in the appropriate edition.
As a county title, we carry a weekly column from the leader of the West Sussex county council and from the leader of the official opposition. Their parties are Conservative and Lib Dem.
In Crawley, where we have an edition of the County Times, the MP is Labour and she has a weekly column and a considerable number of her press releases are also included.
On Crawley borough council the ruling group isd Conservative and the official opposition is Labour and both are offered a weekly platform for comment - although only the Conservative leader has chosen to take advantage of this on a regular basis.
Incidentally, in the run-up to the last general election we did give considerable coverage to the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Labour party in Horsham who ran an excellent campaign - although he promptly defected to the Conservatives and will be standing as a Conservative candidate in the next general election.