Tories head towards being a 'reclusive cult?

[albion]

https://www.theguardian.com/politic...riticised-for-137-fee-to-report-on-conference


Still cheaper than Scientology.

 

[AndyRM]

Grudgingly, I can kind of see their point, if it's genuine. Organising events and providing free access to people who don't show up is a right PITA.

 

[spen666]

Whilst it seems a bonkers move by the Tories ( or indeed any political party), it is laughable the outrage of the press to think they have some god given right to attend whatever private meeting they want.

It is up to the organiser of a meeting in a private venue who they choose to admit or not, or on what basis

Do the Guardian demand free tickets to pop concerts, sporting events etc?

Like I say at the start, it seems a strange move to restrict publicity by any political party. There again, the conferences seem to be irrelevant these days. Nothing like Neil Kinnock's speech re Militant back in the 80s etc

 

[The Crofted Crest]

Do the Guardian demand free tickets to pop concerts, sporting events etc?

They get sent them free of charge. Don't even need to ask, never mind demand.

 

[icowden]

Whilst it seems a bonkers move by the Tories ( or indeed any political party), it is laughable the outrage of the press to think they have some god given right to attend whatever private meeting they want.

It's not a private meeting. The annual conference of a major political party is a public matter. The Conservative has been trying to restrict press access to things for some time. This is something associated with fascist governments not open governments.

Do the Guardian demand free tickets to pop concerts, sporting events etc?

They don't have to. If you are putting on a pop concert you *want* it to be reviewed. Sporting events are a bit different as they know that demand allows them to charge for the rights to broadcast anything.

Like I say at the start, it seems a strange move to restrict publicity by any political party. There again, the conferences seem to be irrelevant these days. Nothing like Neil Kinnock's speech re Militant back in the 80s etc

Oh come on - Theresa May's dance moves?

 

[spen666]

It's not a private meeting. The annual conference of a major political party is a public matter.....

What nonsense.

It is a private meeting of Conservative members / delegates.
The public have absolutely no right of admission to any party conference.
historically the parties admit the press because they want the publicity that goes with it.

That does not make it a public conference

The public may be interested in what is happening. That does not make it a public matter.

 

[icowden]

The public have absolutely no right of admission to any party conference.
historically the parties admit the press because they want the publicity that goes with it.

The press disagree with you:-

But the Foreign Press Association of UK-based overseas media said the party had failed to show any evidence for no-shows on such a scale – and argued that wider principles were at stake.

“In fact, this decision sets a dangerous precedent for countries all over the world who will use this decision to justify financial and other barriers to media scrutiny of the political process,” it said.

“We have not found any comparable charges in any other country in the world, let alone in any other democracy … We therefore call upon the Tory party conference organisers to scrap or refund the charges and allow fair and free reporting for all.”

The open letter was signed by nearly 300 media groups including Agence France-Presse, the New York Times, the Washington Post, Le Monde, The Hindu, Yomiuri Shimbun, Der Spiegel and the Sydney Morning Herald.

 

[spen666]

The press disagree with you:-

The would wouldn't they, given my comment is about the conduct of the press

 

[albion]

I demand these private meetins stay private.

But unfortunately the in league press will promote it with the usual pack of lies.
The stuff vomiting Truss by the Torygraph was fun.( auto spell got in on he act)

 

[Mr Celine]

If the press refuse to cover the conference how will we know if Spen is arrested outside the conference for wearing a Brighton top wth the number 5 and 'Never Enough' printed on the back?

 

[Salty seadog]

Whilst it seems a bonkers move by the Tories ( or indeed any political party), it is laughable the outrage of the press to think they have some god given right to attend whatever private meeting they want.

It is up to the organiser of a meeting in a private venue who they choose to admit or not, or on what basis

Do the Guardian demand free tickets to pop concerts, sporting events etc?

Like I say at the start, it seems a strange move to restrict publicity by any political party. There again, the conferences seem to be irrelevant these days. Nothing like Neil Kinnock's speech re Militant back in the 80s etc

They get sent them free of charge. Don't even need to ask, never mind demand.

The Big difference being that one group like publicity, the other..... Not so much.

 

[the snail]

This is right out of the trump playbook, remove access for any of the press that are critical. Still, as long as they have gbeebies they'll be fine.

 

[Deleted member 121]

What nonsense.

It is a private meeting of Conservative members / delegates.
The public have absolutely no right of admission to any party conference.
historically the parties admit the press because they want the publicity that goes with it.

That does not make it a public conference

The public may be interested in what is happening. That does not make it a public matter.

The issue isn't that it is a private or public conference. It is the admission charges which could go up to £880. They want the press there, clearly. But they want them to be charged for it, which is unprecedented in the world of "free press".

A letter in protest signed by 300 news organisations and including those from US, France, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia really puts us in an isolated bucket when it comes to this. For an isolationist, i reckon this is an exciting development...

 

[Beebo]

The point they seem to be making is that lots of press seek accreditation but then don’t bother to turn up.
Maybe the answer is a refundable deposit which is repaid when you actually arrive at the venue.

 

[AndyRM]

The point they seem to be making is that lots of press seek accreditation but then don’t bother to turn up.
Maybe the answer is a refundable deposit which is repaid when you actually arrive at the venue.

That sounds dangerously close to actually making sense.