The Royston Crow has been mentioned in today’s Autumn Budget, with Chancellor Philip Hammond claiming we would be welcoming it.

On the back of referring to a £650 million pot to help regenerate high streets, a change in how rates are calculated from 2021 and cutting rates by a third for small businesses, Mr Hammond told the House of Commons: “I will also extend the £1,500 local newspaper discount for a further year.

“Mr Deputy Speaker, whatever the national press says, I have been assured of a warm welcome from the Royston Crow and the Keswick Reminder.”

The statement has been followed with a series of tweets to the Crow, asking us if we do indeed welcome Mr Hammond’s Budget.

To answer that question, Crow editor Nick Gill said: “As a local weekly newspaper we pride ourselves on our neutral reporting of political issues, so we certainly wouldn’t be endorsing – nor lambasting – Mr Hammond’s Budget. Instead, we will leave it to our readers to decide whether this is a good Autumn Budget for residents and businesses in the North Herts and South Cambs area.

“He has certainly got our attention, though, and we have a sneaky suspicion either North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald or South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen may have had a word in the Chancellor’s ear – but nobody asked us.

“It’s either that or he has taken a liking to the name... the Crow is proud to say it’s often referred to as having one of the best – or strangest, depending on what you read – newspaper names in the UK and beyond.”