Should we be Concerned Over Wiltshire Council’s Refusal to Engage with Melksham News?

The simple answer is yes, very concerned. Following the publication of an article in Melksham News’s last issue questioning the council’s public notice policy, Wiltshire Council has refused to engage with Melksham News, effectively censoring the newspaper. This disgraceful decision could undermine local press freedom, accountability and local democracy….. 

Melksham News, part of the Wiltshire Publications Group, has served their community with integrity, providing factual reporting and holding public institutions accountable for over forty years. However, when recently it reported on criticism of the council for its policy of only using paid-for newspapers to advertise public notices, including the concerns raised by some councillors and the local MP after a motion to debate the issue was denied, Wiltshire Council halted all communications with the newspaper, declining to send press releases or respond to any enquiries. Is this Wiltshire, or North Korea?!

Melksham News claims it has received written confirmation from Wiltshire Council stating they do not feel able to engage with the publication. In a statement from Wiltshire Publications on behalf of Melksham News, they stated, “We are aware of a statement from Cllr Richard Clewer, leader of Wiltshire Council, in the press that raises concerns about our reporting and our supposed ‘campaign’ against Wiltshire Council.”

“In his statement, Cllr Clewer accuses Wiltshire Publications of running an ongoing campaign over the past two years to pressure the council into advertising statutory notices with us. He also claims that we have continued to present a negative narrative because the council has chosen not to advertise with us.”

“We feel these accusations are inaccurate and misrepresent our intentions. We have written only one article on the matter of public notices, published in our issue on 10th October. This followed the council chair’s decision not to consider a motion from Cllr Jon Hubbard. We categorically deny the claims of an ongoing campaign lasting over two years. The issue of public notices was first raised with the council in September 2023, and we have published only this one article on the subject since then. To characterise this as an ongoing campaign is both misleading and unfounded.”

“The matter of public notice policy concerns taxpayers’ money and public access to information. Our role is to ensure that the public is well-informed, especially on issues of transparency and public spending. Any suggestion that we are highlighting these issues for personal gain is not only inaccurate but entirely inappropriate.”

The statement from Melksham News continues, claiming Cllr Clewer stated their reporting has not been impartial. “It is unfair to accuse us of impartiality based on a single article, especially one that was grounded in data obtained via Freedom of Information requests and included a response from the council,” they said. “We do not feel it is the role of a statutory body to judge our editorial decisions. Editorial independence is essential to a free press, and it allows us to hold public institutions accountable. Our responsibility is to the public and presenting information based on fact. By refusing to engage with local media over a single article, the council’s actions undermine the principles of press freedom and open dialogue, which are essential to ensuring accountability and transparency in public institutions.”

Melksham News stated it stands by their reporting, remaining committed, “to informing our readers in an accurate and fair manner, ensuring that the community has access to the information it needs to hold its elected officials to account.” And here at Devizine, we stand by them too, believing we all should. On the last few occasions we’ve published anything about Wiltshire Council it was in support of their recent actions; the extension of the bus timetables, permission for a graffiti wall in Melksham; all pragmatic motions which proves when the council get it right it will be reported positively, even by us!! It is a shame then, to have to spoil the run with this, but silencing constructive criticism is deeply concerning to democracy.

In the midst of the past government’s ‘circus of thievery,’ we are surely all aware of press corruption, undermining press freedom at Conservative conferences and refusing entry to them, and the manipulation of the media to promote their ethos and obliterate opposing opinions. Most of us studied modern history and what happened in 1920’s Germany, don’t make me spell it out. And we’ve even seen this on a local level via unscrupulous control of social media groups by power-tripping councillors, but we’ve yet to realise this is happening to official media groups channelled by the county council, until now.

The shocking fact one lone keyboard warrior’s comment on Melksham News’ original Facebook post ludicrously pointed the finger at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suggesting, “they are doing what Kier Starmer has told them to do as he doesn’t want the truth coming out so he is censoring all news and negative comments and newspapers telling the truth,” is proof enough, I believe, of how deeply the effect of misinformation is ingrained into forming public opinion and causing hysteria with a false narrative; that an a better education system!

How anyone could link this issue with the new Labour government when there’s not a red tie in sight at Wiltshire Council is beyond belief. It retains a Conservative majority and the leader of Wiltshire Council, Richard Clewer, the councillor enforcing this infringement of the common law of freedom of expression is a Conservative too. Yet it is worrying evidence that we need a rebalance in media bias; people believe this shit!! Hey, I stubbed my toe on the wheel of my sofa this morning. It’s blatantly obvious what’s happened here; Keir Starmer broke into my house, and moved my sofa a quarter of an inch to the left! 

I shouldn’t joke, this would be propaganda on an Orwellian level if it wasn’t laughably from a Council boasting being named as the seventh-best council in England in the latest IMPOWER Index, judged by how efficiently it delivers core services in relation to their budgets, as I dangerously bounce over the umpteenth pothole pondering if I should follow up on bias and braggart press releases like this! Someone needs to inform Cllr Clewer we have only left the European Union, Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights still stands in British law, giving us the right to freedom of expression. A right I will exercise, cheers me dears!

The newspaper’s operations manager, Joe McCann said, “local newspapers like ours are essential for holding public bodies to account and ensuring transparency in local government. By cutting off communication, the council is evading scrutiny and potentially controlling the flow of information, which is not just a concern for us as journalists but for the public as well.” Melksham News’s statement suggests similar; “This sets a dangerous precedent, where councils can silence critical voices instead of addressing legitimate concerns, ultimately undermining local democracy. This is an unprecedented move for a local council.”

Wiltshire Councillor Jon Hubbard, who represents Melksham South ward said, “I am deeply concerned and disappointed by the recent correspondence sent to Melksham Independent News, stating that Wiltshire Council will no longer correspond with the newspaper until they approve of the coverage provided. This kind of stance sets a dangerous precedent and threatens the principles of a free and independent press, which plays a vital role in holding local government to account. I sincerely hope that this decision is not politically motivated, as it would undermine the trust between the council and the residents it serves.”

“The press should never be expected to tailor their coverage to meet the approval of those in power—it is their duty to provide fair and accurate reporting to the community. I call on Wiltshire Council to explain why such a step has been deemed necessary and to reaffirm its commitment to transparency, openness, and constructive engagement with all media outlets. Our community deserves nothing less.”

Emma Meese, director at the Independent Community News Network (ICNN), who represents the independent press community, added, “The role of a journalist has always been to scrutinise and provide news that is in the public interest. It is concerning when a local authority decides it will not engage with the largest news provider in the area, for calling it out on its actions. We have to question the motive behind this decision by Wiltshire Council to try and control the narrative.”

Allow me then to speculate, we are, quite simply, face-to-face with a county council desperately clinging onto a dying Conservative philosophy and running scared till the point it fears constructive criticism. Yet by attempting to silence it makes the dangerous assumption we are foolish enough not to conclude from this that they’ve something to hide, and are doing so via manipulation of the media. Either that, or they really did send Keir Starmer to stealthily shift my sofa quarter of an inch to the right causing me to be unnecessarily tetchy this afternoon. Now, excuse me while I go shout at some Gen Zers vaping in the park like the level-headed indoctrinated boomer the mainstream media has convinced me to be!!!

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