Politicians like Theresa May are seeking to control the news agenda by making unchallenged pronouncements

The age of political deference is over but MPs are finding new ways to avoid the media glare, says Will Gore

No questions thank you, I'm the PM (Reuters)

Once upon a time, politicians expected a certain deference from journalists. They largely got it too, with questions asked almost apologetically – and certainly not on the doorstep at weekends. Respect came with the job.

The relationship between politicians and the media has plainly changed since the submissiveness of the post-war years, shaped by scandal, changing social mores, and technology. Tabloid exposes and shouty headlines of the 1980s left parliament unsettled, arguably provoking the spin-dominated era of Tony Blair, Alastair Campbell et al, as politicians sought to regain control of the narrative.

The pendulum has swung back and forth again in the years since: the damning MPs’ expenses scandal put politicians on the defensive; then the Leveson Inquiry forced the media onto the back foot. Each side seeks constantly to wrest the initiative.