BEING politically independent has been part of our core values here at Warrington-Worldwide and as we approach a General Election it is more important than ever to be unbiased in our coverage.
We work with all the mainstream political parties, The Greens and independents and anyone else, as and when they supply us with their news items or when we feel a need to hold them to account for issues impacting our town.
In our reporting we endeavour to give a right of reply, if not at time of reporting due to time constraints or lack of contact details, in a follow-up article.
Having voted for all mainstream parties at some point in my life I have chosen to become politically independent, for two reasons. Firstly because I have friends across the political spectrum and secondly I believe working in the media it is important to try and give a balanced view so people can make their own minds up on who to vote for.
My mantra has always been “vote for the best person for the job” in the area where you live.
As a result, we have had to step back from our plans to work with The Lead.
In their first newsletter to land in my inbox, I was being urged to donate money to fund journalists to help kick out the current Government, which I’m afraid is simply something I can not sign up for – not that I am endorsing the current Government, far from it! Some of the recent ongoings have been nothing short of shambolic – in my opinion.
While I was going to be paid to provide a weekly round-up of news and opinion from Warrington, I have had to put my principles before profit.
I don’t care how good or bad a Government is, or who is in power, I don’t believe it is my job to dictate who our readers should vote for – and I certainly don’t believe readers should be paying me to help make up their minds.
Millions sacrificed their lives to ensure we had freedom of choice and that is what a democracy is, freedom to choose who you vote for. So here at Warrington Worldwide we will not be dictating to you who to vote for – we will just stick to our job or reporting the news for free, while holding those in power to account as and when deemed necessary, while also reporting on their activities in the town we serve.
So while I pass on my best wishes to the team at The Lead I can not compromise our independence or my ethos of principle before profit.
For context this was the content of the Lead’s newsletter.
Here we go…
Here we finally, actually go. The best opportunity in a generation for a genuine, tectonic shift in the politics of this country.
We say opportunity, because this election is far from a done deal: The Tories are an abysmal party of government, but they’ve been historically very good at clinging on to power. We intend to play our part in loosening their grip. And if they do indeed lose power, we intend to hold the new government to account – and to ensure it lives up to the once-in-generation opportunity of its mandate.
Our job at The Lead over the next six weeks will be to cover the election – from our local editions up and down the North, through the inner cities, all the way to Westminster itself.
And we have assembled the perfect team for the job. From our dedicated team at The Lead North and our ten new regional titles, to our national Senior Editors who will be pushing to find the key stories that resonate far beyond London, to our newly appointed Westminster Editor who will be reporting deep from inside the bubble, we will have every angle covered.
You can expect nuanced and insightful stories from your communities, whether you are in a marginal or in a seemingly safe seat; incumbents and challengers held to account; exclusive election hustings; and much more.
And we need you with us – to support our work in the run up to the general election. And, even more importantly, after the election is won.
We want to make sure that a historic Conservative defeat is translated into an equally historic progressive victory. We will work day in, day out, to bring our new ministers the stories, the facts, and the analysis to persuade them to govern more boldly than many of them are likely to campaign.
To support our work – click the “donate” button at the top of this newsletter. And if you want us to cover something the rest of the media is not, reply to this email.
The Lead
