LETTER: Will other parties buy ad space?

Of course it doesn’t.

It merely takes money from one party for five pages of publicity for our ‘strong, stable leader’ to win the next election. 
I trust that the other parties will be able to raise enough money to buy similar valuable space in the next few issues of your paper.

Anyway, at least you have persuaded me which party will not get my vote.

Iris Cannon

Hasland

Editor’s footnote — The Derbyshire Times does not support any political party, regardless of whether they advertise in our pages or not. All legitimate political parties may advertise - and a number are planning to do so in the run-up to the election.

But there is a clear distinction between paid advertisements from third parties and the editorial independence of the newspaper and its journalism. Advertising is vital to keep papers like this going - it pays for the professional journalists who help to hold politicans - of any and every party - to account.