The Guardian view on Reform UK v the Nottingham Post: a council's boycott of its local paper is both petty and alarming | Editorial

"The decision by Nottinghamshire council's Reform UK leader, Mick Barton, to ban his councillors from speaking to the Nottingham Post is as absurd as it is troubling. The recently elected leader of a council with a budget of 668m ought to be eager to communicate with residents about his plans. Yet Mr Barton's skin is apparently so thin that just three months after winning power, he announced the boycott in response to a news report about local government reforms."

"An earlier row focused on a video interview given by James Walker-Gurley, which went viral after the cabinet member struggled to answer questions. This was embarrassing. But there was nothing unusual about the issues raised by the reporter, or about the local government story that prompted the ban. The Nottingham Post's journalists were simply doing their job of scrutinising public authorities."

"Labour's proposed overhaul of local government in England is far-reaching. In counties including Nottinghamshire, ministers aim to replace multiple tiers with one and create new mayoralties. The area covered by Nottingham city council is likely to be expanded. It is right that such changes are debated, and unsurprising if local politicians disagree about the details. Yet rather than tell Mr Barton to stop picking fights with the press and concentrate on running the county,"

Nottinghamshire council leader Mick Barton banned his councillors from speaking to the Nottingham Post after a news report on proposed local government reforms. A viral video of cabinet member James Walker-Gurley struggling in a reporter interview had earlier caused embarrassment. Nottingham Post journalists were performing scrutiny of public authorities. Ministers plan to replace multiple tiers of county government with a single tier and create new mayoralties, with likely expansion of Nottingham city council's area. Instead of discouraging Barton, senior party colleagues including MP Lee Anderson joined the boycott. The Nottingham Post, founded in 1878, has defended investigative reporting amid financial pressures and legal challenges.

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