Newsletter ‘lifts the curtain’ on covering General Election count
A political correspondent took readers ‘behind the scenes’ of last week’s General Election in a feature for a rapidly-growing newsletter.
Stewart Paterson, political correspondent for the Glasgow Times, shared what it was like to cover one of the biggest nights in politics for The Glasgow Wrap, a daily newsletter published by the Herald and Times titles.
It was the seventh General Election Stewart had covered in a career which began in 1999.
He told Wrap editor Marissa Macwhirter: “The election counts are really good, especially when there is a big change for one party or another.
“In 2015 it was great seeing it change, a big shift — and the same again tonight. Regardless of who wins it, it’s interesting seeing how people are thinking and how their motivations can change.”
In the article, Stewart describes how the count takes place in Glasgow, with counting staff first verifying the ballot papers before the actually tallying up begins.
Describing what happens next, Stewart said: “At that point, there’s not much writing we can do.
“All you’re doing is observing and looking. People watching. You can see who’s smiling and who’s happy. And you can see who’s a bit concerned.
“Suddenly all of these people have lost their jobs.
“Yesterday they had a well-paid job making nearly £85,000 a year and then tomorrow, they don’t have it. They do get some payout — none of them are going to a food bank on Tuesday morning. But there’s still that sense of purpose. What do you do?
“If they’ve been an MP for the last nine years, they maybe thought they had another five years at least. And now they don’t. What do they do?”
