A government minister has called on his constituents to boycott a regional daily after it printed an editorial on his refusal to speak to its reporters.
James Wharton, pictured left, who is known as the ‘Northern Powerhouse Minister’, has hit out after Northern Echo editor Peter Barron accused him of “blacklisting” the paper.
Peter decided to go public with Mr Wharton’s position on the Echo in an editorial today, saying he had been told to inform his reporters not to call the Stockton South MP over the Darlington-based title’s “continual political bias”.
In the piece Peter admitted the paper had sided “on balance” with Labour at the last election, but added it had also welcomed Mr Wharton’s appointment to the ministerial role and printed a front page editorial in which the Conservative had outlined the benefits of the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ initiative.
Wrote Peter: “Over the 17 years of my editorship, we’ve criticised – and praised – politicians of all colours when the need has arisen.
“It is true that The Northern Echo’s editorial comment sided, on balance, with the Labour Party at the last election but it was hardly a ringing endorsement rammed down the throats of our readers on the front page.
“It was a thoughtful view, reflecting on the disproportionate public sector cuts the North-East had faced during David Cameron’s first term in power while repeating the doubts we’d regularly expressed about Ed Miliband’s leadership.
“When a newspaper expresses an opinion on every other publication day, it would seem odd to me not to express an opinion on perhaps the most crucial day in five years.”
The Echo recently criticised Mr Wharton’s decision not to attend an emergency House of Commons debate on the steel crisis on Teesside, an issue on which the paper has campaigned.
In light of the editorial’s publication, he has now called on his constituents to avoid buying the paper altogether in a message on his Facebook page.
He wrote: “Now this long lasting disagreement has been brought to the fore I would again ask that any constituent with a concern about anything they read in the Echo please feel free to contact me directly. Or even better, don’t read it.
“There are other ways to get more balanced local news.”
Mr Wharton, whose official title is Parliamentary Under Secretary of State with responsibility for the Northern Powerhouse, told HTFP his policy of not speaking to the Echo comes after a “fractious” relationship with the paper over a number of years.
He said: “I recognise local papers will not always print things I like.
“My two main local papers are the (Teesside) Gazette and the Northern Echo. Both have had a go at me but I find the Gazette to be balanced and fair.
“I find the Northern Echo to be somewhat the opposite.”
Mr Wharton claimed he had been cropped out of photographs by the Echo, not named in stories where Labour MPs had been given credit and that he had been subjected to a “sustained campaign” against him in the run-up to May’s General Election.
He added: “This is not something that’s happened overnight, this is at least four years.
“They’re not always unfair but the prevalence of unfair reporting and attacks on me over a long period of time means I don’t believe it’s worth engaging with the Echo, and that’s a real shame.”
In his editorial, Peter said he found Mr Wharton’s accusations of political bias “ironic” because he has recently dealt with complaints from Independent and Liberal Democrat supporters about his decision to give Richmondshire’s Conservative MP, Rishi Sunak, his own weekly column in the Echo’s Newsquest sister title, the Darlington & Stockton Times.
He concluded: “In my view, it is important that The Northern Echo’s readers know that, when articles relating to Mr Wharton don’t include a comment from him, it has never been for the want of trying.
“It is important for them to know that the Northern Powerhouse minister has blacklisted the only paper with ‘Northern’ in its title – a title which has championed the north for nearly 150 years and was recently credited with playing an important role in the campaign to bring the Hitachi train-building factory to the region.
“James Wharton is an ambitious politician – but heaven help him if he ever has to deal with a truly hostile press.”
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Urging voters to boycott a business… not really the way to help generate a Northern Powerhouse.
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Modern MPs really don’t like this democracy/free spech malarkey do they?
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For a minister responsible for economic regeneration to actually urge constituents to boycott a long-established and respected business – thus undermining its financial viability – is absolutely priceless.
Where do political parties find these people?
By refusing to speak to the Echo, he’s also effectively declining to speak to a sizeable slab of his electorate. Moreover, he’s also implying that he’ll only speak to papers that he likes.
Even alongside the low standards expected of MPs and ministers, this behaviour borders on moronic. Is he really the right man for the job?
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It sounds (and looks) as though James Wharton still has some growing up to do.
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I know Black Sheep. Is it me or does he look like Roger the Dodger from the Beano? Besides, where’s his beer belly, wads of spare cash bulging out of his pockets claimed from his ‘expenses’ and beard? It’s mandatory for the elder politician to grow a manly beard to hide the double chins… Just c’mon, James Wharton, get with it will you?!!!
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Would someone kindly return Mr Wharton’s dummy to his pram?
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Perhaps the Minister is unsuited to the job.
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I think we need to find out more about Mr Wharton!
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I think we’ll find neither the paper or MP has the influence they think they have
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He sounds cool. Wish i was like him
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Well done Peter Barron. When you annoy a politician it’s a feather in your cap. When you annoy someone like Wharton then it’s massive kudos.
But Peter needs to be careful. There’s a bit of form to worry about when it comes to editors of North East papers upsetting Government minsters 😉
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I think most people are boycotting the regional press looking at the last lot of ABC results
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The MP doesn’t have a divine right to publicity of any sort, just as the Northern Echo doesn’t have the right to kick a contact repeatedly and expect them to keep coming back for more.
Over the years this has happened more and more; local press acting like the nationals, and biting the hands which feed them in the process. Perhaps one day they’ll understand that if they do that, then they run the risk of losing their bread and butter contacts in the process…
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Disgraceful
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Peter Barron is a long-serving, professional and entirely reasonable man. Wharton should just grow up and sort it out with the editor, like generations of previous politicians have done, usually to the benefit of both sides.
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Poor Diddums. Did nasty man upset your Northern Powerhouse?
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Hardly the first time this has happened between an MP and an editor! The MP does sound a bit precious. Whatever the background, this situation doesn’t help the public, ie readers. So sort it out chaps, a pint or two at the pub should do it!
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Oh dear, Wharton’s tantrum goes from bad to worse. I made a reasonable remark on his Facebook page and it’s been deleted and I’ve been unfriended. A bullseye for me I reckon.
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