Stephen Hammond’s response to my request to see his letter to Councillor Judge on the subject of parking in Wimbledon Village neatly illustrates the way that politicians avoid answering questions.
He told your reporter: "I think that my constituents would be horrified if what they told me or wrote to me in confidence was openly available". No one would argue with that and such confidences are properly protected by the Freedom of Information Act.
But Mr Hammond knows perfectly well that the letter I want to see does not contain his constituents’ confidences so what is the real reason for refusing to disclose it?
Is it not time that Wimbledon was represented by someone who can commit to communicating openly with the electorate and rejects the use of misleading debating tricks to keep us in the dark?
Joe Ruston
by email
- Send your letters to: letters@wimbledonguardian.co.uk
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