June 2021
Councillor Michael Barnacle
Newsletter Editorial Policy
I note from the May edition that you say the newsletter is politically neutral. As you are aware, I changed my political allegiance at PKC in March and sent you my statement on the 3 reasons why, which you were originally going to publish in my column for May but then, on reflection, changed your mind, stating it was too political at election time. I note, however, that you allowed Councillor Watters to make political points in his column. I find it strange that you are happy to print reader’s political opinions at election time but not those from all local Elected Councillors, most of whom are elected representing a political party and usually campaign for those parties at election time.
The above suggests it is not a level playing field. The idea that Elected Councillors should not be able to comment before an election to either Holyrood or Westminster, when national policies directly affect their local authority is quite frankly “a denial of democracy”. I was particularly aggrieved that you did not, at the very least, print the opening paragraph of my statement and the principal reason for my change of allegiance, in relation to my successful lobbying of the Conservative Group to endorse my proposal for a funded “pilot” Area Committee for Kinross-shire that I have been campaigning for as an Elected Member since 1999; whilst allowing Councillor Watters to challenge the speed with which other Elected Members wish to bring this proposal to fruition (it has been frustrated by officer obfuscation for years), when his party made no such commitment in their failed budget motion. Whilst I am under no illusion that my statement would have made any difference to the eventual outcome in Perthshire South and Kinross-shire, I challenge above the way the newsletter have handled things for the May edition, by way of broader principle.
I assume you are the sole arbiter of editorial content and have not been influenced by others with a different political agenda. Finally, I believe this to be the first occasion in over 20 years as a Councillor that I have made criticism of the newsletter and hopefully it will be the last; because in all other respects than my comments above, I find it an excellent local publication and think you do a wonderful job in putting it together every month.
Cllr Michael Barnacle Scottish Conservative and Unionist Councillor