POLITICAL OPINION: When a newspaper becomes the campaigner, who scrutinises the newspaper?

A strong local press matters. Newspapers should scrutinise councils, challenge politicians and ask uncomfortable questions. I have no problem whatsoever with the Chronicle & Echo doing that to me or to West Northamptonshire Council.

But there is a difference between reporting the news and trying to make the news.

The Chronicle & Echo has launched its own “Park the Charges” campaign, calling on the Council to scrap parking charges across council-owned car parks and premium on-street spaces on weekends in the run-up to Christmas, as well as Christmas Eve. It is actively inviting readers to join that campaign. 

Let's be clear. That isn't impartial reporting. It is lobbying.

The newspaper's editor is entitled to campaign for whatever policy they choose. But once they do so, they have moved beyond simply reporting the arguments and have chosen a side in a debate about how public money should be spent.

What concerns me is where the same campaigning enthusiasm is when it comes to explaining the real financial pressures facing local government.

Where is the campaign about the rapidly growing cost of looking after vulnerable children? Where is the sustained focus on rising adult social care demand? Where is the explanation that councils across the country are wrestling with statutory services whose costs and demand continue to increase? These are not abstract accounting problems.

West Northamptonshire Council has recently reported significant in-year financial pressures, driven heavily by children's and adult social care. Our latest financial monitoring forecast a £13.1 million council-wide overspend for 2026/27, even after £8.5 million of general contingencies, with major pressures in the Children's Trust and Adult Social Care. 

That is the context in which the Chronicle & Echo is asking the council to voluntarily give an estimated £100,000 in parking income.

Calling it “free parking” doesn't make it free. Someone still has to pay and this would be all of the taxpayers across West Northamptonshire rather than just those that are using the town centre facilities.

If that income disappears, the money must be found elsewhere. That means reducing expenditure, finding additional income, adding to the financial pressures or potentially drawing further on reserves that are already finite and cannot be spent twice. We are also heading towards another extremely challenging council budget.

Of course I want Northampton town centre to thrive. I want busy shops, successful businesses, packed restaurants, and families enjoying Christmas in our town centre. That is precisely why the Council and its partners are delivering WinterFest and working to make the Market Square a festive destination. The Chronicle & Echo itself acknowledges those plans. 

But responsible local government cannot be reduced to whichever giveaway makes the easiest headline or generates the most social media clicks. 

There is a legitimate debate to be had about parking. If the Chronicle & Echo believes free parking is the answer, make the argument. But balanced reporting should also tell readers what that decision costs and where the money should come from.

Tell readers about the pressures on children's services. Tell them about adult social care. Explain the pressure on council reserves. Explain the choices we face in setting the next budget. Then let the public form its own judgement.

That, to me, is the proper role of a newspaper. Not deciding what the answer should be and then recruiting its readership to pressure elected representatives to delivering it.

I will always defend the right of the press to challenge this Council and its leadership. But scrutiny works both ways.

When a newspaper's editor decides to turn their publication into a campaign vehicle seeking to influence how public money is spent but not highlighting where that additional cost will be met from, they should expect their own judgement and impartiality to be questioned too.

So, campaign if you wish. But don't confuse campaigning with responsible, impartial journalism. And if you believe West Northamptonshire Council should give up and estimated £100,000 of income which would need to come from elsewhere, tell your readers what you would cut, what you would charge for instead, or where you would find the money.

Because good governing means balancing the Council’s books. A newspaper campaign doesn't have to.