Anti-Brexit poster barred from Metro
CAMPAIGNERS FROM ‘NE4EU’ ACCUSE METRO BOSSES OF HYPOCRISY
Reporter NEXUS have blocked anti-Brexit adverts from being displayed on the Metro, arguing it’s too political to be shown on public transport.
The ‘NE4EU’ campaign, which is calling for a second referendum on European Union membership, has accused Metro bosses of hypocrisy over the move.
Nexus has previously allowed adverts from a group advocating a vegan lifestyle, which NE4EU said showed there was a precedent for material of a political nature to be approved.
When the pro-EU campaign had discussions with the advertising agency which sells the right to display posters on the trains, Nexus stepped in to block it.
David Hardman of NE4EU: “After working with Nexus’ media company for months developing a information poster, we discovered Nexus has a policy that allows them to pick and choose which adverts they feel comfortable displaying.
“They are happy to have posters that campaign to make the country vegan but not one to inform people what Brexit will mean for the people of the North East.
“We are proud of the North East and we don’t want people to be misled into thinking that Brexit will make anything better in our great region.
“Our poster is meant to start a discussion that shows people how much the EU has done for the North East.”
Nexus hit back by pointing out they have a long-standing policy of barring political advertising on the system which actively call for changes to be made to Government policy or the law.
A spokesperson said: “Like other urban transit networks, we don’t allow advertising in support of political NE4EU’s anti-Brexit poster campaigns to appear on Metro, and never have done. “The NE4EU campaign approached the agency which sells space on Metro about a campaign, but we could not permit it when it was referred to us. “The NE4EU campaign has raised the example of ‘go vegan’ lifestyle posters which appeared in 2016, and suggested we are being inconsistent. “The vegan campaign did not, however, ask for Government action or a change to the law or public policy – it’s the difference between a poster encouraging people to give up smoking, which we could allow, and a poster calling for cigarettes to be made illegal, which we could not.”