Week after week in the County Times we have the dubious pleasure of reading columns from both the local Tory MP and leader of the County Council.The local Labour Party has requested that we too have a column, we wouldn't mind so much if, in particular the leader of the County Council stuck to his brief, but no he spends most of the time knocking the Labour Government and Labour's only right to reply is via the letters page.
We all know what he is up to, as he is hoping to be the next MP for Crawley, Labour's Laura Moffat will certainly have something to say about this.
Well try as we might to get a regular column in the County Times the Editor steadfastly refuses.
Here is the first letter sent to the Editor which was published at the end of March
Dear Letters Editor
L.N Price (Letters Page March 20th ) 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 front page report last week 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 West Sussex 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 Millson 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 your pages to one of these.
Yours sincerely
Carol Hayton
Horsham Labour Party
Clarence Road
We then followed up with
Dear Letters Editor
On reading the note accompanying my recent letter ( letters , March 27th ) it is clear to me that your editor has missed the point. I could accept that the County Times should reflect the political make-up of the area that it serves, if you ensured that your political correspondents stuck to addressing the agenda of the local government body to which they have been elected. After all, I am sure many of us would be interested to read in Henry Smith’s column an explanation for the appalling state of the roads, or the reason why the County Council steadfastly refuses to offer up land in a way that that would help to address the dire need for affordable homes in our area. He could even respond to Peter Bates, (Letters March 27th ) who is apparently still waiting for a reply to his concerns about the massive amount of county council funds spent on publicity. Instead of which Mr. Smith dedicates the entire space allocated to him to attacking the Government on national issues and makes barely a reference to the County Council. Morwen Milson has an inclination to the same approach.
If, as it appears, you prefer the bulk of the political comment to be on national issues, it would be appropriate, in the spirit of unbiased reporting, to offer a right of response from a representative of the ruling group nationally, to this barrage of criticism from the opposition.
Yours sincerely
Carol Hayton
Horsham Labour Party
Clarence Road
This was once more rejected and on each occasion the County Times added an explanation at the end of each letter complete with a spicy uppercut. In the 17th April Edition the paper did offer the right of reply to a government minister if they could find time out from filling out expenses claims!
Horsham Labour Party does not condone any form of misuse of the public purse and that goes for our Tory MP Francis Maude who claims more than £20 000 a year for a London home, when his constituency is just a train ride away.
Similarly we condemn the expenses claimed by leading Tory cabinet members both on the District and County Council.
Why should our elected representatives receive more in allowances that many of us earn from our full time day jobs.
Which leads me back to the Leader of West Suusex County Council. Each week he rails against the Government for its excesses, while he pockets tens of thousands of pounds each year in allowances, scooped up out of our council tax payments.
Life at the top of the West Sussex political tree doesn't appear to suit our Henry as from time to time he appears to lose his memory. No worse a case of memory loss occurred this winter when he harangued the government for not doing enough to protect the less well off from fuel poverty.
We thank the County Times for publishing our response.
Dear Sir,
Having read Henry Smith’s article ‘Winter starts to bite’ printed in the WSCT on Friday 28th November 2008, I thought perhaps Smith was suffering from a raging case of selective amnesia. The Labour Government takes fuel poverty seriously and since 1997, has, year on year introduced measures to tackle this inequality. Everyone over the age of sixty now receives up to £250 a year and the most vulnerable receive up to £400. Compare this to the cold dark days of the Tories, who failed even to recognise that fuel poverty existed. In 1995, the then Tory government, made winter fuel payments of a mere £65 million. Last year our Government had increased this figure to £2 billion. The Labour Government responds to real concerns, while I ask your readers to cast their minds back to comments made by Tory ministers. Their
response was to suggest that those who could not afford to heat their homes
should wrap up warm, put on an extra jumper or take up knitting.
Perhaps Henry Smith’s words would have been more genuine if he had first confessed and then condemned the policies of Thatcher and then Major, when his party was in power.
I fully support working with energy companies to deliver better value for all customers and in particular, ensure the cheapest gas and electricity, to those least able to heat their homes. But again Smith’s comments are frankly laughable, his
is the party who threw away our opportunity to regulate our power providers, when first Thatcher and then Major undertook a programme of knock down sell offs of the Nation’s ‘ family silver’ (Macmillan) in a series of privatisation capers. Lets remember we used to own our nation's gas and electricity providers and had a majority share holding in BP.
Privatisation was supposed to provide us with choice and cheaper fuel prices, through competition. With the French government being a major share holder in the energy giant EDF, it now appears that in fact we are subsiding the French rather than providing the best deal for UK households. Another irony there, don’t you think Mr Smith?
The Labour Party recognises the real threat of fuel poverty and will continue to develop policies to end it. Can I pay tribute to a second article in the same paper entitled ‘BRRR! How to keep warm and well this winter’ This informative piece provided information about a whole range of government initiatives including the numbers for the energy efficient advice centre (0800 512012), the home heat help line (0800336699) and Warm Front (08000729006)
Ray Chapman
Secretary, Horsham Labour Party