When political shifts occur, all views get equal priority

In our series on life at The Independent, associate editor Sean O’Grady says presenting a range of opinions is crucial when covering a story such as the Labour Party split

It is one of our abiding values that we do not tell our readers how to vote, nor how to think. It wouldn’t work anyway. No one is perfect, and we have sometimes erred, but we have always tried to allow a plurality of opinions to be heard. This was a founding principle in 1986. When, a few years ago, we renamed our Comment section “Voices” we, so to speak, lent a louder voice to that ambition. For a time we even entertained Nigel Farage as a regular columnist, just as we had Ken Livingstone and now Chuka Umunna.

Which brings us to the launch of the new Indepedent Group, which, if you were being pernickety you could say was a bit of a contradiction in terms (ie you can’t be a completely independent member of any group).

The Independent editorial applauded the sentiments behind the move, but we could never advise voters to back it because, first, it would be contrary to our general approach and, second, in any case we do not yet have a clear idea of what, if anything, this new grouping will eventually stand for.

What we could do, however, is publish as wide a range of opinions on this development as we could – including a “seven dwarves” cartoon by Dave Brown. We certainly ran a popular piece by Mr Umunna, and, in addition, articles broadly in favour by Sir Vince Cable. Against that we enjoyed some reasoned criticism from shadow cabinet member Jon Trickett; disdain from Annie Corcoran, self-described “feminist-lefty (both handed and politics)”; and a wry take by Matthew Norman. We have also run readers’ letters on the subject, while I offered a little personal memory of the SDP, and John Rentoul, as chief political commentator, some cool analysis.

The Independent has always had a bias towards reform, and strong sympathy for electoral change and a political system that more closely suits the nation’s needs. Contrary to the sort of thing one often hears, the British constitution and the party system can be flexible and has changed much over the years. The next decade or so may bring even more momentous changes. It is as well to hear all the voices. Yours Sean O’Grady Associate editor