How to be an MP by Paul Flynn

Author:Paul Flynn [Paul Flynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781849543019
Publisher: Biteback Publishing
Published: 2011-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

How to Write for the Papers

The Votingham Argus may well appreciate a regular column. It can be a very useful conduit to the constituents but secondary to other media.

It does not always work. Nicholas Bennett (Pembrokeshire 1983–87) wrote probably a record four weekly columns for constituency newspapers. Nevertheless, he lost his seat with a huge swing against him. Overexposure may have incited anxiety among his constituents.

Ask for payment, even a microscopic one. Otherwise bread is taken out of the mouths of underpaid local hacks. Personal tax must be paid on fees. The rest should be channelled into a local charity or a fund for charitable donations. The cash must be declared in the Members’ Interests book. Pocketing it is not worth the resentment aroused. It is helpful to explain that there is no personal profit from the articles. Genuinely cash-strapped papers sometimes claim they cannot afford the pittance demanded. I was paid for many years for a column I wrote for a paper in a neighbouring constituency. They passed the job over to an MP who represented their city and promptly ended the modest payments on the grounds of poverty. I strongly advised the Member to continue the link with his flock and make clear to the journalists the basis on which he was working.

David Taylor wrote columns weekly for three local papers. He wrote engagingly and skilfully on national and Leicestershire life. He won an enviable rapport with his constituents. He always refused payments. David had a winning technique: he selected a readable formula. He avoided a slab of words and worked on the assumption that while all newspaper readers take in the headlines, only 1 per cent read the thousand-word features. He divided the contributions into word morsels of minimum length. Four or five short items of less than 150 words were perfect.

There are other ways to make columns worthwhile. Insist on an attractive format on a well-read page. Push for illustrations and write with an eye for photo opportunities. The Commons supplies dozens of chances for a newsworthy picture every week. Even a picture of a visiting school party or pensioners’ group is of interest in Votingham. The most unattractive pictures are those with a line-up of smiling faces. Do something that’s visually interesting. Jump up in the air, climb a tree, sit on the top of a post box. If a boring line-up is unavoidable, it’s worth taking the far left position with a small group. That will give prominence to your name as papers invariably list names left to right. This is dangerous in large groups, though, where the extremities may be cropped.

Always be alert to your surroundings. An election campaign for London Mayor with Frank Dobson serves as a cautionary tale. A cunning new Labour wheeze had been planned. Tony Blair was to be photographed flanked by the candidates for Mayor and Deputy Mayor, Frank Dobson and Trevor Phillips, in front of a statue named London Pride – the work of a sculptor also named Frank Dobson.

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