Iain Dale has a post today criticising the coalition for trailing certain aspects of the Defence Review in the press before announcing it in Parliament. This plays into a broader theme in politics (which went into overdrive under Blair and Brown), which was to make big policy announcements on TV sofas and in the papers before casually dropping into the Commons to confirm it. It is something that the Tories promised to end if they got into government.
The process was repeated this evening, as certain aspects of the Spending Review, due to be announced tomorrow, have made it into the press, specifically regarding the funding of the BBC and the World Service. But what is behind this? Leaks are common in politics and are one of many ways in which politicians attempt to shape the news agenda. Iain Dale is right to suggest that this is disrespectful to Parliament as an institution, but he's wrong to make a big deal out of it.
Journalists and politicians have close relationships. They need each other. So when something huge like the Spending Review comes along all of the journalists in Westminster will be working incredibly hard to get some details first. Because they need the scoop. Because, frankly, it's no good to them when it's announced in Parliament. Once Cameron stands up to make a speech like today, I can blog what he's saying faster than the BBC or the Guardian can write copy and get it put online, let alone put it into a print edition.
So journalists are all after the exclusive - once it's in the public domain a story is useless. Which is why they will have been working every contact they have over the past few weeks to get snippets of the big announcements this week. And why it would be wrong to suggest that every leaked story is an example of a politician trying to get a journalist onside or to further their cause. Sometimes journalists can have information a politician wants them not to publish, or publish in a favourable way. It's not just a one way street...
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