Media shuns Tory party conference over demands for attendance fee

UK Conservatives are only party to charge press delegates for accreditation at annual gathering

It looks as if there will be empty seats in the rows usually reserved for members of the press at the annual Conservative party conference in Manchester this autumn, with media organisations across the political spectrum refusing to pay recently imposed fees.

No other British political party charges for press accreditation, but last year a fee was introduced by the Conservative party. This summer the charge of 137 for each journalist's application is being challenged by a broad coalition of newsrooms, on the basis that paying for media access sets a bad and undemocratic precedent.