Posener's Politics: Are the masters of the dark art really so bad?

The rent boys of Government is how prominent Labour supporter and author Ken Follett recently described spin doctors.

A senior press officer from Wycombe District Council was quite taken aback by the phrase when I spoke to him the other day. 'Is that how they are describing my profession now', he quipped.

But what kind of reputation do the so called masters of the dark art deserve at the local government level? The relationship between a journalist and a council press officer is critical in many respects. When an irate caller rings us up with a complaint against the council, whether it's about overflowing dog-poo bins or positive parking, the press officer can often confirm straight away if the story stands up. It is then their duty to give us a right of reply to any article we are going to print. This is, of course, their chance to put a spin on the chain of events. But I think press officers in local government are pretty open and honest.

Another one of their vital roles is to act as mediators between councillors and the paper when relationships between the two groups hot-up. Occasionally, elected representatives can get a little upset when a newspaper tries to make them accountable on issues they believe should not be in the public domain. The recent revelation in the Free Press that the council taxpayer could face a bill of up to £25 million to help finance the Western Sector development in High Wycombe is a good example. District councillors were furious with our exclusive, saying it would damage the project. We believe the figure should be made public. The council press officer, although he or she would not like to admit it to their masters, can see both sides of the story and do their best to get relations back on an even-keel.

However, council press offices are not without their faults and changes could be made to help open up local government. Unlike the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Wycombe's council refuses on many issues to let us talk directly to council officers without prior permission. Buckinghamshire County Council is letting us talk directly to officers more and more, so maybe it's time for less stringent rules at district level.

Press officers are also open to accusations that they try to kill or dampen down stories on the orders of their bosses for party political reasons. Labour Government policy initiatives these days don't seem to get the press office of the Tory-controlled county council into a faxing frenzy. As one local government spin doctor remarked it's a case of 'he who pays the piper calls the tune.'