What Price on Reporting Democracy?

By Erik Geddes

It costs four pence per day in electricity to run the average laptop.
Now politicians have clashed with the SECC for charging £101.97 (plus VAT) for the use of a socket at the Glasgow North East by-election, on 12 November.
Bob Doris, SNP MSP for Glasgow, said: ‘Charges like these only serve to squeeze out local journalists and newspapers who deliver a vital service in reporting the democratic process.
‘It might be okay for the BBC and The Daily Record – but not for the local news organisations.
‘Journalists should not have to pay to report the democratic process; it should be open to all.
‘The count shouldn’t have been at the SECC, it should have been in the constituency.’
Patrick Harvie, Green MSP was also outraged at the cost.
He said: ‘Glasgow City Council should be ashamed of themselves for trying to charge journalists for something as basic as plugging in their phones and laptops, especially on a long night covering a by election.
‘The actual cost of the power used would be too low to calculate, and this must never happen again.’
The cost of all electrical power at elections and by-elections was previously incurred by Glasgow City Council (GCC) but cuts in budgets at local government level have resulted in the SECC charging the users.
Kirsten McAlonan, PR Manager at the SECC, said: ‘The by-election was quite an unusual scenario as we are used to promoters coming here with their own external electrical engineers.
‘On this occasion we had to charge the journalists and news organisations for use of each power point, as GCC was not able to justify the cost of all the power on the night being met by the Council Tax payers.
‘The SECC operates as an empty hall and we had to bring in electrical engineers to install power points.’
This scenario has been confirmed by the council, who have no plans to revert back to covering the charge on electricity and will use the SECC again at next year’s General Election.
The spokesperson from GCC added that they had ‘no opinion’ on the £101.97 (plus VAT) tariff imposed.
However, James Doherty, President of the National Union of Journalists, was unimpressed with the costs associated with delivering news.
He said: ‘There should be no bar, financial or otherwise, placed on working journalists who have a right to cover local and national elections.’
Meanwhile, Willie Bain MP, the victor of the by-election, is also keen to establish the reason behind such a substantial charge.
He said: ‘I am happy to take up why this charge was implemented with the Returning Officer.
‘The electoral process should be about making access to the press as open as possible.’