I’ve been a regular reader for more than 50 years. I was born in Smethwick, a Black Country town that is dominated by council houses. It’s an industrial town, a Labour heartland, and was known nationally for metal goods and the prominent Labour politician PC Gordon Walker. Smethwick saw an influx of west African and Asian immigrants. Many people know it for the notorious 1964 Tory slogan: “If you want a nigger for a neighbour, vote Labour.”
At Holly Lodge grammar school, I read the Times, the only quality paper pushed by sixth-form masters. I remember vividly the difficulty I had in reading it. There were so many words outside my vocabulary. After that I read more widely, finding the Manchester Guardian and becoming hooked on Letter from America by Alistair Cooke. I owe more to the Guardian than most of my degree courses. Although a poor geography undergraduate, I can now appreciate that in the 1950s the subject made little or no reference to the politics that influenced economic and social issues.
From my position as a former secondary school teacher, college of education lecturer and independent inspector, I can now appreciate the value of reading the Guardian and the Observer on a regular basis. My favourite writers are Polly Toynbee (by some distance my number one), Will Hutton, William Keegan and Andrew Rawnsley.
Coming from a working-class background, Smethwickian heritage and a commitment to social justice, I feel strongly that everyone should read a quality newspaper to form a viewpoint based on reasoned argument and evidence.
The Brexit disaster illustrated the contempt of many for “expert” and professional arguments on both sides, self-interest being dominant in many cases. For me, the most interesting and informed comments come from readers’ letters, which so often add relevant information on major issues of the day, such as the NHS and education, thus providing current evidence that supports the thrust of most major articles and ensures greater objectivity.
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