Reform UK’s council leader at Nottingham County Council (NCC) has banned some local reporters from receiving the party’s press notices and interviewing him or the 40 elected Reform councillors in the area
Nigel Farage faces mounting pressure to help overturn a “dangerous and chilling” ruling that has barred certain local journalists from engaging with Reform UK.
In a move reminiscent of Donald Trump’s tactics, Reform’s council leader at Nottingham County Council (NCC) has prohibited selected local reporters from receiving the party’s press releases and conducting interviews with him or the 40 elected Reform councillors in the region. The decision has sparked accusations of double standards, as Reform UK publicly champions free speech whilst simultaneously restricting access for certain media organisations.
Farage, Reform UK’s leader, has been called upon to step in and encourage council leader Mick Barton to overturn his decision targeting Nottinghamshire Live/Nottingham Post and journalists from the local democracy reporting service.
Trade union bosses responded with fury to the prohibition and slammed Reform UK’s local leadership for attempting to “bully and coerce” the Nottingham Post and its reporting staff. One MP declared the ruling “sets a chilling precedent” for potential relations between politicians and the press should Mr Farage secure power in Downing Street.
The embargo will only be suspended during emergency situations such as flooding. The limitations were imposed following Nottinghamshire Live’s coverage of proposals for local government reorganisation, reports the Mirror.
Reform’s NCC group has also warned other media organisations it deems to be “consistently misrepresenting our politics, actions, or intentions” that they face identical restrictions. Vocal Reform UK MP Lee Anderson has also declared his intention to boycott Nottinghamshire Live.
He posted on Facebook: “There are some media outlets I will engage with but not you lot.”
Liberal Democrat Culture, Media and Sport spokesman Max Wilkinson wrote a letter to Mr Farage urging him to intervene. He cautioned the Reform UK leader that excluding media outlets could breach the local government’s code of conduct, which requires elected officials to “submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure … accountability”, and forbids withholding information from the public “unless there are clear and lawful reasons for doing so”.
Wilkinson further stated: “Reform’s move to block local journalists from reporting on their work is straight out of Donald Trump’s playbook. It’s a cornerstone of our democracy that politicians of all stripes are held to account – but for some reason Farage’s cronies think they can make themselves exempt.
“This move sets a dangerous and chilling precedent for if Reform were to win power nationally and goes against our deeply rooted British values of freedom of the press. We must stand up to Reform’s assault on those principles.
“Nigel Farage pretends to champion free speech: I’m calling on him to take some responsibility for once in his political career and demand that Nottinghamshire County Council Leader Mick Barton reverses this decision.”
In response to the Lib Dems’ demands, a spokesperson for Reform UK retorted: “Like most political parties these days, the only way the Liberal Democrats can get any media coverage is by attacking Reform UK.”
The Nottingham Post and its online platform, Nottinghamshire Live, are owned by Reach PLC, which also owns the Daily Star. Speaking to the Mirror, Natalie Fahy, editor of the Nottingham Post, accused Mr Barton of “acting ridiculously” after he reinforced the ban during their conversation today.
She stated: “He’s set a really chilling, dangerous precedent for the free press in this country, trying to take a chunk out of democracy, thinking he can rise above basic democratic principles by just sort of laying down the law and saying: ‘No, we’re not going to speak to you. That’s it. Goodbye.'”
The newspaper editor confessed she wasn’t surprised by the ensuing controversy, having observed Reform UK politicians engaging in what she termed “playground politics” since their election in the area. “They have this playground politics, just throwing cheap shots at people all the time, and they don’t behave respectfully,” she remarked.
“So I thought it’s only going to be a matter of time before some kind of massive drama happens.”
Fahy also urged Farage to address the controversy as she expressed concerns about the precedent that could be established should Reform UK gain governmental power. “Nigel Farage needs, as the leader of his party, to set the standard of what’s expected in terms of behaviour for his councils. Because a lot of these councillors are going to be standing to be MPs, aren’t they, when the time comes.
“So what are we going to see in government if he allows this kind of behaviour now? It’s just going to get out of control, and they’ll think they can do whatever they want with the press, and they’ll do the same in government. So we want to hear from Nigel.”
Jo White, the Labour MP for Bassetlaw, accused Reform UK of being “scared of scrutiny by the media”. She continued: “I strongly believe it’s a shutdown of democracy because the role of the press is to hold politicians to account.
“By not speaking to journalists about new policies, new ideas, new proposals, it means that we have a local authority operating in the dark, and people are not being kept up to date with the direction that the county council have taken. They’re elected to take on the responsibilities, but during that process, they have to be held to account, and and they are denying that opportunity.”
Nadia Whittome, the Labour MP for Nottingham East, has criticised a recent decision, describing it as setting a “chilling precedent”. She added: “Local media scrutiny of elected representatives is a vital part of our democracy, but Reform councillors in Nottinghamshire have thrown their toys out of the pram because they can’t stand being held to account for their failings.
“This move sets a chilling precedent and is a window into the real danger a far-right Reform government poses to our democracy. The party claims to be in favour of free speech but is yet again showing its true, authoritarian colours.”
Chris Morley, the National Union of Journalists’ Northern and Midlands senior organiser, expressed concern, stating: “This is a really worrying development. It’s a key part of a local newspaper’s role to hold decision makers to account. If reporters are barred from interviewing key councillors about those decisions, it risks creating a vacuum of democracy. We hope that Reform rethink this very sudden and rash decision, and continue to engage with all parts of the local media.”
The NUJ’s Nottingham branch accused Reform UK of acting “in a way that is somehow both aggressive and cowardly” towards journalists. They stated: “The local party leadership is trying to bully and coerce the Post and its reporters, and dictate terms, while at the same time hiding from democratic scrutiny over the way it is running Nottinghamshire County Council.
“This move by Reform, which claims to support freedom of speech, is part of a sinister, growing wider trend of politicians and activist groups attacking journalists simply for doing their jobs. A trend of public figures bullying and pressuring journalists into reporting the ‘truth’ as they wish it to be presented, while deeply resenting any scrutiny and questioning in return.”
The Reform faction at NCC announced: “The Reform group at Nottinghamshire County Council has banned proactive engagement with journalists from Nottinghamshire Live and the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).
“The ban, which will only be lifted for emergency scenarios like flooding and weather-related cases, incidents at council-run schools, adult social care, or public safety issues, has come into immediate effect.
“The council will stop sending press releases to Nottinghamshire Live and the LDRS reporters with the policy covering the Leader Councillor Mick Barton and the 40 elected Reform councillors. Councillor Barton and his colleagues will not be giving interviews to the two outlets or inviting them to Council events, but reporters from Nottinghamshire Live and LDRS will continue to attend public meetings.”
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