The Press is fiercely proud of its non-partisan, impartial stance on political issues.

We believe in constructively tackling all parties on their policies and performance and giving praise where it’s due, rather than attempting to suggest to readers that they should support one set of political dogma against another.

In the run up to a General Election we receive very many letters supporting one party or another, often from party activists and sometimes in an orchestrated fashion.

This makes it extremely difficult to achieve a balance and can lead to accusations of bias and a lack of fairness towards smaller parties, in particular.

For that reason, we have decided to enter a self-imposed period of election purdah on our letters pages from April 23 until after polling day, a policy which is extremely common in local newspapers across the country.

Our columnists will also refrain from voicing support for any particular party during this period.

We will, of course, continue to cover both the local and General elections in as detailed and balanced a way as possible on our news pages every day.