I must admit I was surprised when I heard Chris Fisher had been invited to question the finalists for the Mid-Norfolk selection. Chris is political editor of Norfolk’s leading paper, the Eastern Daily Press, a paper I admire as a journalist.
But it has a reputation of not being Tory friendly, and I must admit I found this to be the case during my role as Eastern Region Press Officer for Conservatives during last year’s general election. It was like drawing teeth to get them interested in what we were doing, though I found the response varied depending on who I spoke to.
I remember calling their Norwich newsdesk in exasperation in the run-up to voting day and complaining about yet another double page spread on Charles Clarke (Norwich South MP) and asked them to tell me exactly how many column inches coverage we had been given in comparison to Labour in the election campaign. As a result, their reporter and photographer came out that weekend and gave us great coverage too. But phew, it was hard work.
I will admit they have been very supportive of Gillian Shepherd, maybe other Tory MPs too I have not worked closely with, so there seems to be no real rhyme or reason for these perceived difficulties which began before my arrival on the scene.
So I would like to congratulate the clever person whose brainwave it was to have invited Chris, the Jeremy Paxman of local media, as their question master. It was a stroke of genius and a gesture much appreciated by Chris which he describes in his column today.
During the Mid-Norfolk selection process, I bumped into a Tory stalwart who mentioned that Chris was being “a pain in the neck”, trying to get info and names. I replied that Chris was merely doing his job, and what was the problem with that?
Hopefully, this person will now have have changed his views about openness too, having seen how successful it can work both ways. Although it takes time to restore trust and build bridges, this is a great start, let’s hope it continues.
