I find it absolutely ironic that I have been refused a press pass this morning for the Alderley Ward by-election count at Macclesfield Town Hall tomorrow.
The Returning Officer Erika Wenzel, who is also the Chief Executive of Cheshire East Council, has refused my request on the grounds that I am not an accredited journalist.
It is ridiculous that I can't obtain a press pass for a local by-election when I had one for the Tatton Constituency count in May where I interviewed all the candidates including the now Chancellor George Osborne. I also had a press pass issued by Clarence House for Prince Charles' recent visit to Quarry Bank, which Erika Wenzal attended.
I may not be an accredited journalist but that has not been a problem before when Cheshire East have sent me all their news, which they wish me to share with our readers. I am a professional person, I work closely with the police, local schools, charities, churches etc and George Osborne's office. I work hard to ensure my articles are accurate, I steer clear of scandal and I never sensationalise stories because I have no need to.
Last month we had 6,483 unique users visit alderleyedge.com alone, in addition to the thousands who visited wilmslow.co.uk. Given the population of Alderley Edge is probably less than 5,000 this level of traffic almost certainly means that alderleyedge.com is the media property with the greatest reach within Alderley Edge.
If it hadn't been for my coverage of the by-election, which included interviews with both candidates and provided more comprehensive coverage than the local paper, a lot of local residents probably wouldn't have known why they had received a polling card and who the candidates were.
So, when the count takes place tomorrow I won't be present to interview the candidates, Matthew Lloyd and Oliver Romain, and report the result in our usual professional and timely manner. I have however been told I will be sent a press release and accompanying photos which I am allowed to share with our readers.
If you're still undecided who to vote for today see our interviews with Matthew Lloyd and Oliver Romain to find out more about who they are, why they decided to stand for election and what they consider to be the key issues affecting local residents. The polling stations are open until 10pm.
Update: See comment below.
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Liberal Democratic candidate Oliver Romain was also very supportive and in the meantime had offered to transfer one of his tickets to me.
This support is much appreciated and I will now be able to report on the result of the local by-election tomorrow as intended.
After I added this yesterday to say a press pass had been arranged for me I received a phone call from the Cheshire East Press Office to say an 'observer' rather than a press pass had been organised for me.
This didn't actually didn't make any difference to my ability to cover this morning's by-election but presumably could do at May's election so I will have to give them some thought.
Common sense doesn't ever come into it when it comes to anything run / payed for by the government, especially councils, so I wouldn't take it personally ;-)
I understand the council's concern about opening the floodgates to any 'blogger' but having a press pass isn't a measure of quality - having looked in to it you don't seem to need any qualifications in journalism to obtain one.
If I hadn't attended today to report on the local by-election there wouldn't have been a single 'journalist' there, accredited or not, because the local paper didn't send one.
Where are these hundreds of bloggers trying to breach the floodgates of democracy in order to spread the word about a by-election in which barely 2000 people voted? Perhaps we had better install a firewall along the by-pass to keep them out.
AlderleyEdge.Com is a brilliant example of what we should be encouraging... people getting on and doing things for themselves whilst at the same time strengthening the connections which make communities more resilient.
It's frightening that these small minded council officials will be responsible for implementing spending cuts.
Sites such as this are flourishing because times are changing. Newspapers can no longer be relied upon to provide comprehensive local news coverage due to the economics of doing so under their traditional publishing model - as illustrated by the fact that Lisa was the only reporter present at the by-election. Therefore rules such as these need to move with the times.
With regards to the press pass issue, your reporting of local issues is better than of the alternatives and you should become an accredited Journo and you have my vote.
As far as my role is concerned, for the record, my involvement was a bit more just being 'supportive'.
I asked Lisa if she would like to attend the count on the 22nd September because I thought it would be a good idea for her to be there. I explained she would need a press pass and provided the location and time of the count and the election office number.
When Lisa was having difficulty with obtaining a pass, she contacted Frank and only informed the candidates after the article was published and some time after Frank was informed. Frank responded to Lisa's request for help minutes after the article was published and but some hours after being asked to help.
I offered Lisa one of my tickets within a few minutes of receiving notification of the above article, this would have deprived one of my team entry but solved the problem immediately.
I work in media and have attended a number of high-level government events and organised quite a few. I can tell you that Cheshire East's election office's requirement to require a journalist to be 'accredited' is utterly spurious.
I look forward to next May's local council elections and trust that the Cheshire East will not be requiring Lisa to join a journalists' union before being allowed a press pass!
Actually I responded as soon as I read the email. Just so happens I was in a meeting, about the forthcoming Spending Review as it happens, when the email came through. I walked down the corridor and had a discussion with Democratic Services and they agreed to issue a pass.
I am sorry you feel that you have not been given enough credit. I just hadn't realised that my efforts to obtain a press pass for the by-election would be viewed as a point scoring exercise.
I certainly didn't see it that way, as I explained by email, the reason I contacted Frank first, having spent a week speaking to various people and not having any of my calls returned, was because he is a Borough Councillor so I thought he would know the people involved and know who the decision maker was.
At this point I didn't know I was going to be refused a pass, to be honest that hadn't really occurred to me as I had had no problem obtaining a pass in May. I just assumed I was either not talking to the right person or that they didn't consider my request very important.
I am sorry but I didn't think it necessary to include you in this initial email, it never crossed my mind this would be a big issue for you and I am sure that the fact Frank spoke to Democratic Services who agreed to issue a pass didn't have any effect on the way people voted and therefore the outcome of the by-election.
You also suggested that I respond via a comment. I have not suggested that this affected the outcome of the election. I do however feel you could have reported the issue more accurately.
You have now made your position much more transparent.
I felt compelled to respond because I felt my integrity and that of alderleyedge.com was questioned both on the site and by email. Oliver had expressed his concern over how balanced my reporting was by email on the morning of the count.
I do feel I covered the by-election fairly and accurately. Once Frank Keegan had confirmed I had a pass Oliver sent me an email asking that I report his immediate offer of help, because Frank had already arranged the pass before he had chance to respond.
I felt I had done this by thanking all three and mentioning that Oliver had offered me a ticket. I didn't go in to detail about the wheres and whens because I didn't think our readers would be interested in all this detail. I certainly didn't leave information out to present an unbalanced account.
I would like to apologise for letting my frustration result in a comment which I now regret, but I would also like to stress that I always strive to be honest and fair and I will continue to do so in the future. Pleasing everyone isn't easy so I am sorry for any disappointment this has caused.
Stick to your guns.
Keep up the great work Lisa. Pass or no pass, so many of us rate the website as a superb local communication tool.
Ms Wenzel (or rather her team, I can't imagine she toils over such trivia when she has such a BIG job to do, very mind vast salary to justify ;) would seem to be the prime candidate who needs to say sorry. The petty-mindedness which is rife in local (never mind national) politics never ceases to amaze me. As for the point-scoring exercise going on, well that speaks for itself...
Thanks for providing the only real source of useful local information.
If there are going to be cuts in local authority spending and therefore services, it should start right at the top and not with the people who actually supply the services at grass routes level.
I vote for a 50% (or more) cut in ALL Senior managers salaries and perks in East Cheshire. Lets get some reality back into these pen pushers lives. We have put up with too much for too long!!