Allison Pearson on common sense and community

1 a week for your first six months

Dear Telegraph Reader,
Have you, your spouse, your partner or your friends found yourself shouting at the TV news (or the radio) wondering how on earth they have failed to mention X or why they keep banging on about Y?
Believe me, you are not the only one. Your frustration is shared by millions. Trust in the broadcast media has declined rapidly because, increasingly, it seems to reflect the views and the values of those who go to the same metropolitan dinner parties.
Out here in the real world, people are worried about the things that really matter. Will I get my child into a decent school? Will my kids ever be able to afford their own home? How can I retrain as we enter a major recession? Is it possible to do my job and still honour caring responsibilities to my elderly parents? Will I find dignity in old age when our care system is broken? Why do I have to pay the TV licence when so much on the BBC disregards or insults people like me? Why didn’t the police even bother to look for the man who burgled our house? Why did those horrible youths who killed the patently wonderful PC Andrew Harper get such an insultingly short sentence? Why, so often, does our system seem to over-rule the instincts of ordinary decent people and let the bad guys get away with murder?
Every week, when I sit down to write my Wednesday column in The Telegraph, concerns like those are at the forefront of my mind. I see my job as speaking up for the silent majority, for men and women who lack a voice in a world where, if you don’t subscribe to fashionable left-wing causes, you’re called “inappropriate” or “something-phobic”.
People like us have been made to feel like a beleaguered minority. But who gave the Conservatives a whacking majority at the general election and protected our country from the lunatic extremism of Jeremy Corbyn? We did.
I’m proud that readers email to say it’s a huge relief to know that they’re not alone. I rejoice that Telegraph subscribers call the paper a “haven” for those who don’t get offended by views other than their own. Whenever possible, I try to see the funny side. Let’s face it, with the coronabeast laying waste to life as we know it, people are incredibly grateful for a laugh.
Recently, with my colleague Liam Halligan, I set up a Telegraph podcast calledPlanet Normal. I wasn’t really sure what a podcast was to be honest, but I thought it would be good for people like us to have a current-affairs show they could listen to without inducing cardiac arrest.
If you’re looking for something to reassure you that you haven’t gone mad. If you’re in search of like-minds who prefer common sense to identity politics. If you prefer pets to politicians. If you relish good writing and good humour and believe the silent majority deserves to be heard, then please consider joining the Telegraph community.
We’re a really nice bunch. And it’s one form of news media you won’t need to shout at. Promise.
Join us as a Telegraph subscriber for just 1 a week for your first six months.
Allison Pearson, Telegraph Columnist