Brian Paddick’s Campaign Newspaper

According to LibDem Voice Liberal Democrat Mayoral candidate Brian Paddick has a new campaign ‘newspaper’ which is about to arrive on your doorstep anytime now but if you’re too excited to wait you can download a pdf version of it.

One article states that the “The Labour dominated police authority has backed plans that will lead to the closure of many older police stations across the capital. They want to have a small number of large police centres instead.”

This claim is a little problematic, the Metropolitan Police Authority isn’t ‘Labour dominated’ according to most understanding of maths – there are 23 members of which 4 are Labour Assembly Members (Len Duvall, Joanne McCartney, Nicky Gavron and Jennette Arnold) plus Labour Peer and former Assembly Member Lord Harris who was appointed by the Home Secretary as an independent member.

The paper goes on to state that “As London Mayor, Brian Paddick will work to protect London’s police stations.”

What isn’t explained in the paper and doesn’t seem to appear anywhere on Paddick’s website is that Londoners have had the opportunity to participate in borough specific consultations, some of which are still open.

There’s no need to wait until May 1st to have your say on this important issue – if you live in Barnet, Brent, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Merton, Wandsworth or Westminster you still have a few days to respond.

If you live in Lewisham, Southwark or Waltham Forest the deadline for responses is today, 6th March.

Exact dates and forms can be found at www.mpa.gov.uk

By the way, someone at LibDem HQ might want to correct the reference to “eight years of a Labour Mayor” as being unable to count how many years there are between 2004 (the year Livingstone was re-admitted to the Labour Party) and 2008 isn’t going to be much help when it comes to convincing Londoners that spending pledges add up.

It’s probably fair if we update voters on the statement that: “As we go to press, Labour Mayor Ken Livingstone had remained silent on the post office closures that will hit so many Londoners.”

Now we don’t know when the LibDems went to print but it must have a few weeks ago because the Mayor announced he was “considering a legal challenge” back on the 19th of February.

And we all know that having digs at Boris Johnson can be fun but there’s something a bit ‘off’ about referring to him as an “Oxfordshire Tory MP” when the guy lives in the capital. If you disagree with his policies tell us but Londoners deserve an election fought without the snide comments.

And we’re sorry, but it’s pretty shoddy to rely on people being able to read the miniscule, italicised print on that horrid green background which states:

“The Liberal Democrats would like to use the information above to contact you from time o time to keep you informed of campaigns we may think of interest to you.

Please write to us if you do not wish to be contacted in this way.”

Why should Londoners have to write separately rather than just tick a box in order to avoid getting a ton of spam about LibDem campaigns and why is this opt out option printed so much smaller than anything else?