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For my beloved Annalise, Scarlet, Rosella, and Ivor Munro
New to this edition
• Overview and analysis of the ‘Brexit’ negotiations, the ‘meaningful’ parliamentary vote on the EU Withdrawal Agreement, and the likely scenarios facing the United Kingdom as it prepares to leave the European Union.
• Updates on the outcome of the 2017 ‘snap’ general election; the growing reach of combined authorities; and recent party-political realignments, including the decline of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) and emergence of the ‘Independent Group’ of MPs.
• Fully revised and updated chapters on major policy areas, including the NHS, schools, social care, and housing.
• Revised topical feature ideas, current issues, and further reading lists at the end of each chapter.
Preface: earthquakes and aftershocks
The preface to the fifth edition of Essential Public Affairs for Journalists began with my tacit apology for opening each new edition with a despairing lament about the impossibility of future-proofing the book in the face of the relentless political earthquakes that have rocked Britain since the financial crash. Two years on, and the stylus descends on a cracked record. As I sit down to write this biennial missive, the aftershocks of the ‘Brexit’ referendum and the 2017 ‘snap’ general election continue to play out, live and in real time, in Parliament, church hall gatherings of Jacob Rees-Mogg’s European Research Group, and the negotiating chambers of Brussels. The United Kingdom once more stands on a political precipice.
Keeping this book current has never been easy. Work on the second edition started the very week the Coalition was formed; the third was penned amid one of the most frenzied periods of legislative reform in modern times; the fourth edition’s schedule was extended to accommodate the outcome of the October 2014 Scottish independence referendum but was powerless to predict that of the 2015 election that ensued weeks after its publication; and, though it was able to record the result of the ‘Brexit’ vote, David Cameron’s resignation as prime minister, and Theresa May’s coronation in his place, the fifth volume failed to allow for a premature election the following year which was (theoretically) precluded by the 2011 Fixed Term Parliaments Act.
But few of these milestones, momentous though all of them were, stand comparison with that which awaits us in the coming months, as the United Kingdom stands on the threshold of finally departing the European Union—more than forty-five years after it (reluctantly) joined the then ‘Common Market’. Though our publishing timetable has once more been stretched, allowing us to capture the result of the (first) ‘meaningful’ Commons vote on Mrs May’s ‘final’ Brexit deal in December 2018, who knows what will have come to pass by the time this edition hits the shelves? Everything from another election to a second referendum remain distinct possibilities—and, even if both are averted, Mrs May’s personal fate remains far from certain.
Other than extensive coverage of Brexit and its manifold repercussions, though, what else can you expect to find in the latest edition of EPAFJ? Aside from all the usual pedagogic updates—new current issues, topical feature ideas, and further reading lists—the book has been revised to take in the latest political realignments at Westminster and elsewhere, from the return of hung parliaments and uneasy Commons alliances to the recalibration of Scottish
parliamentary politics and the post-referendum collapse of UKIP. Elsewhere, there are significant updates reflecting the growing provincial power of combined authorities and the enhanced and (temporarily) suspended devolutionary arrangements in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively, along with myriad revisions to chapters focusing on perennially active policy areas like education, health, social care, and housing.
One of the most noticeable changes to seasoned readers, however, will be the omission of certain ingredients which became mainstays of earlier editions. For instance, no longer will you find tables chronicling the stages in Wales’s historical absorption into the United Kingdom or Scotland’s path towards selfdetermination, let alone ones listing the present composition of the UK Cabinet or current tax and benefit rates—increasing hostages to fortune in such volatile, fast-changing times. But perhaps the biggest single achievement of this edition (if it can be couched in such terms) is that it can justifiably claim to be leaner and meaner than any of those preceding it: nearly 40,000 words ‘lighter’, it has finally delivered on a long-standing request from my (long-suffering) editors to bring its length into line with its stalwart OUP stablemate, McNae’s Essential Law for Journalists. At risk of boasting, I got there in the end!
Praise for Essential Public Affairs for Journalists
An essential guide for everybody in our trade. Finding your way around public bodies and laws is to discover how much of Britain works. And his time in journalism has taught James Morrison what journalists need to know: where and how to find stories.
Kevin Maguire, Associate Editor, The Daily Mirror
A work of extraordinary range and ambition that brilliantly succeeds in laying bare the workings of our nation. Above all else this is a readable, useable book; the information is accessible and the analysis is snappy and fair-minded.
Justin Webb, Presenter, The Today Programme, BBC Radio 4
If this compendious volume had been at my elbow, explaining how all the bits join together as I started out in journalism, many things would have been easier to understand and write about.
Michael White, Assistant Editor and former Political Editor, The Guardian Journalists need to know what they need to know. Government, at every level, and public bodies are where they will find the stories that really affect their readers, listeners, and the viewers. This is a practical guide to help cut through the bureaucracy, jargon, smokescreens, and secrecy.
Bob Satchwell, Executive Director, Society of Editors
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my colleagues on the NCTJ public affairs board. Thanks, too, are due to the various other lecturers and journalists who reviewed the chapters as I wrote them, for their invariably salient advice. Special mention must go to the ever-green David Kett (the nearest that Britain has to a public affairs ‘guru’), Mandy Ball, and Janet Jones, the NCTJ’s (now) erstwhile chief examiner, who waded stolidly through raw manuscripts for the first four editions of EPAFJ and whose suggestions for fine-tuning (as I frantically searched for edits) invariably improved the result. I would also like to thank the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), the National Archive, and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) for their prompt responses to requests for data, and their willingness for us to reproduce tables and charts in this and earlier volumes (which we have credited where this is the case). Thanks also to the various other government departments, executive agencies, and quangos that have helped with enquiries in relation to this and the previous editions: HM Treasury; the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP); the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Europe Delivery Group; the School Improvement Division of the Department for Education (DfE); the Care Quality Commission (CQC); the Department of Health (DoH); the United Nations Department of Public Information (UNSPI); the Directorate General for Budget of the European Commission (DG Budget); and the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Finally, I’d like to thank the ‘class of 95’ on my first paper, the North Devon Journal—James Cornish, Mark Devane, Tahira Yaqoob, Kent Upshon, Matt Radley, and Rob Baker—for keeping my spirits up.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to all the authors and publishers of copyright material which appears in this book, and in particular to the following for permission to reprint material from the sources indicated:
This book contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0., on which, see http://www.nationalarchives. gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/open-government-licence.htm. Crown Copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller, HMSO (under the terms of the Click Use licence).
The Basildon Echo: extract from Cornell, A., ‘Basildon councillors’ £72,000 “pay rise” slammed in independent report’ (July 2018) at https://www.echonews.co.uk/news/16370912.panel-calls-for-cuts-to-chairman-allowances/ [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
The British Broadcasting Corporation: extract from ‘A&E performance in Wales worst on record’ (March 2018) at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ukwales-43499444 [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
The British Medical Association: for Figure 6.1 ’How the Conservatives’ NHS internal market was structured’ from BMA, (2014), Commissioning structure at: http://bma.org.uk/commissioning [Last accessed 1 October 2014]
Lancashire County Council: for extract from ‘Consultation on street lighting maintenance 2018’ at http://www3.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/consultation/responses/response.asp?ID=347 [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
The Mirror: for extract from Bloom, A., ‘Employment rate hits highest in 47 years as Britain finally gets a (tiny) pay rise’ at https://www.mirror.co.uk/ news/politics/employment-rate-hits-754-highest-12376965 [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
The National Audit Office: an extract from Comptroller and Auditor General, ‘Financial sustainability of local authorities 2018’ available at https://www. nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Financial-sustainabilty-of-localauthorites-2018.pdf [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
Press and Journal: for an extract from Ross, C., ‘Child protection chiefs face questions over publication of Clyde Campbell report’ (February 2018) available at https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/inverness/1420795/ child-protection-chiefs-face-questions-over-publication-of-clyde-campbell-report/ [Last accessed 13 February 2019]
4.4
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5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.7
6.1
9.1
Guide to the book’s features
Each chapter in Essential Public Affairs for Journalists contains a selection of features to help you to navigate your way through the book and to direct you to sources of further information.
Glossar y
A
academy Labour’s successor to Conservatives’ city technology colleges (CTCs), these semi-independent state schools (many funded by private capital) are allowed to specialize and deviate from the
Current issues
‘ rst-past-th for British m (MPs). Like one member electors plac preference. the votes cas lowestplace
Glossary terms
Key terms are emboldened in the text and are de ned in a glossary at the end of the book.
■ Post-Brexit threats to Scottish devolution? To fast-t control of policy areas previously overseen by the E ment’s EU Withdrawal Bill Act proposes that twenty retained by the Westminster government—to ensure in place across the United Kingdom. The SNP conde undermine devolution—prompting a mass walkout
Ke y points
1. Britain’s Parliament is a ‘bicame chamber, the House of Common legislation (the House of Lords).
Current issues
Current issues highlight contemporary topics that are particularly relevant to journalists and provide a starting point for further exploration.
Further reading
Bower, T. (2016) Broken Vows: Tony Blair—The Tragedy o Unvarnished character study of Labour’s longest-se tigative journalist Bower, with a particular focus on run-up to the Iraq War.
Budge, I., Crewe, I., McKay, D., and Newton, K. (2007) Th
Ke y points
A bulleted list outlining core facts and gures most vital to success in the Essential Public Affairs exam is supplied at the end of each chapter.
Further reading
Take your learning further by using the reading lists at the end of each chapter to nd more detailed information on a speci c topic.
Topical feature ideas
Topical feature ideas at the end of chapters suggest possible sources for a story on each subject.
Topical feature idea
Recently published o cial statistics show that the propo who are members of political parties doubled between 2 low of 0.8 per cent to 1.6 per cent. Though still a fraction in party membership prompts your editor to ask you to c how many adults in your evening paper’s catchment are
In the margin, you will also nd a number of icons with the following meanings:
This icon indicates discussion of an issue concerned with devolution in the United Kingdom. It allows you to see at a glance where devolved subjects are explored.
This icon occurs where there is discussion of public affairs reporting in practice.
The online resources icon appears to remind you when additional or updated material can be found on the book’s accompanying website: www.oup.com/uk/morrison6e
Guide to the online resources
Essential Public Affairs for Journalists is accompanied by online resources, featuring a range of helpful additional materials to augment the printed text. These resources are available free of charge and can be found online at:
www.oup.com/uk/morrison6e
Additional and updated tables
Tables with information that changes regularly can be found in an updated form online, alongside additional tables that do not appear in the book.
Topical feature ideas
Further topical feature ideas are provided to help you to consider where to find a story or to prepare for the NCTJ portfolio assessment.
Web
links
Useful websites relating to the topics in each chapter are listed to allow you to find further information.
Introduction
Confessions of a local council reporter
I’ll never forget the name Mervyn Lane. From the moment I arrived as a naive raw recruit on the North Devon Journal—bristling with high ideas, most of them hugely unrealistic and some more than a little ‘conspiracy theorist’—the local council leader and I were destined to clash. I’d been taken on as a junior reporter without a car (or, for that matter, driving licence) and was hired only on condition I passed my test within six months of starting. Logically enough, I was immediately posted to Bideford—the area’s ‘second town’, some ten miles west of the paper’s Barnstaple headquarters—but still expected to soldier into head office each day, and cover a sprawling patch of rustic terrain into the bargain.
To top it all, I was required to generate a district edition single-handedly each week, filling three pages of news and finding at least one front-page lead without fail. Bideford being Bideford, there were few obvious sources of scoops: the edgiest events tended to be an annual Easter fair, known dubiously (but all too descriptively) as ‘Cow Pat Fun Day’, and the occasional drugs raid on a pintsized sink estate at East-the-Water: the town’s ungrammatically named answer to Moss Side.
Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t long before I was scrutinizing the local authority for inspiration (or, more accurately, out of desperation). Little did I know how fruitful this would be. Those wintry evenings spent pinching myself awake through meetings of Torridge District Council’s planning subcommittee invariably threw up a last-minute gem that, with a bit of creative editing (and barring news of an international sheep-rustling scam), would generate enough ire to merit a splash.
From the humdrum (‘Supermarket Threat to Town Centre’) to the absurd (‘Ships in Our Back Garden’), Torridge seldom failed to deliver the goods. Inevitably, it was only a matter of time before I crossed swords with the
