Dirty tricks campaign over Royal Mail sell-off:

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Dirty tricks campaign over Royal Mail sell-off: Opponents of privatisation use names of dead and those with learning difficulties to target MPs

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... paign=1490" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

MP Douglas Carswell claims many of the 351 ‘anti-privatisation’ postcards he has received over the past three weeks were bogus
Campaign group Save Our Royal Mail confirmed it has been distributing the postcards

Douglas Carswell claims many of the 351 'anti-privatisation' postcards he has received over the past three weeks were bogus

A union-backed campaign group which opposes Royal Mail privatisation is using the names and addresses of dead people and those with learning difficulties to target MPs, it emerged last night.

One MP, Douglas Carswell, described his horror when he discovered many of the 351 ‘anti-privatisation’ postcards he has received over the past three weeks were bogus.

He received one postcard in August, and promptly replied to the man to explain his support for the sell-off. Days later, the constituent’s widow responded to say she was confused to receive the MP’s response because her husband had died in March, and could not have sent the card.

He was then contacted by the carer of some adults with learning difficulties whose names and addresses had also been used for the cards.

Other constituents simply got in touch ‘wanting to know why I had written to them about Royal Mail,’ which Mr Carswell initially found ‘curious’ before he started to become suspicious, he said.

He added that many of the postcards used ‘a remarkably similar style of handwriting’ – and not one of them had a stamp attached to it.

Campaign group Save Our Royal Mail, which is supported and funded by the Communication Workers Union, confirmed last night that it has been distributing the postcards.

Ministers insist the privatisation of the Royal Mail, which is expected to see the State-owned business valued at up to £3billion, will not stop them from running a six-day service.

But the CWU is vehemently opposed to the privatisation, which is due to take place at some point over the next eight months.

Billy Hayes, the CWU general secretary, yesterday handed a petition with 160,000 signatures from members of the public who oppose the sell-off to Downing Street.

And around one million of their postcards have been printed and distributed, warning MPs that privatisation will mean higher prices and the end of the six-day service.

The postcard simply needs the ‘sender’ to fill in the MP’s name, their own name and their address before attaching a stamp.

Campaign group Save Our Royal Mail, which is supported and funded by the Communication Workers Union, confirmed last night that it has been distributing the postcards

Mr Carswell said the campaign had shown ‘extraordinarily poor judgment’ about how to fight for an issue in ‘the internet era, where authenticity is everything’.

He also raised his suspicions about the fact that none of the postcards had a stamp.

The MP for Clacton said: ‘Normally, if 351 local people were to write to me, but not use a stamp, their postcards wouldn’t get through unless I coughed up for the unpaid postage.

'Not this time. Somehow these unstamped postcards are getting into the mail system without the normal rules being applied.’

Last night, a Save Our Royal Mail spokesman said the campaign group was ‘very disappointed’ about the rogue postcards, particularly as they had caused distress in the case of the widow.

He explained how the one million postcards have been distributed to CWU members. They have then handed them out to people at stalls in town centres.

He added: ‘When you are producing that many postcards, it is very difficult to keep control of all of them.’

Sources at the Department for Business said: ‘We would hope that all of the people whose names have been put on the postcards are genuine and have given their consent.’

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Its a complete non story bigged up by the daily wail - it sounds as though 1 person has done it and they make a full article on it no doubt egged on by the side mouth talking MP.



He really does talk out of the side of his mouth.

[Sidley]

Or has it been done deliberately to discredit the campaign?

[pinstripe]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... t-MPs.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A union-backed campaign group which opposes Royal Mail privatisation is using the names and addresses of dead people and those with learning difficulties to target MPs, it emerged last night.

One MP, Douglas Carswell, described his horror when he discovered many of the 351 ‘anti-privatisation’ postcards he has received over the past three weeks were bogus.

He received one postcard in August, and promptly replied to the man to explain his support for the sell-off. Days later, the constituent’s widow responded to say she was confused to receive the MP’s response because her husband had died in March, and could not have sent the card.

He was then contacted by the carer of some adults with learning difficulties whose names and addresses had also been used for the cards.

Other constituents simply got in touch ‘wanting to know why I had written to them about Royal Mail,’ which Mr Carswell initially found ‘curious’ before he started to become suspicious, he said.

He added that many of the postcards used ‘a remarkably similar style of handwriting’ – and not one of them had a stamp attached to it.

Campaign group Save Our Royal Mail, which is supported and funded by the Communication Workers Union, confirmed last night that it has been distributing the postcards.

Ministers insist the privatisation of the Royal Mail, which is expected to see the State-owned business valued at up to £3billion, will not stop them from running a six-day service

But the CWU is vehemently opposed to the privatisation, which is due to take place at some point over the next eight months.

Billy Hayes, the CWU general secretary, yesterday handed a petition with 160,000 signatures from members of the public who oppose the sell-off to Downing Street.

And around one million of their postcards have been printed and distributed, warning MPs that privatisation will mean higher prices and the end of the six-day service.

The postcard simply needs the ‘sender’ to fill in the MP’s name, their own name and their address before attaching a stamp.

Mr Carswell said the campaign had shown ‘extraordinarily poor judgment’ about how to fight for an issue in ‘the internet era, where authenticity is everything’.

He also raised his suspicions about the fact that none of the postcards had a stamp.

The MP for Clacton said: ‘Normally, if 351 local people were to write to me, but not use a stamp, their postcards wouldn’t get through unless I coughed up for the unpaid postage.

'Not this time. Somehow these unstamped postcards are getting into the mail system without the normal rules being applied.’

Last night, a Save Our Royal Mail spokesman said the campaign group was ‘very disappointed’ about the rogue postcards, particularly as they had caused distress in the case of the widow.

He explained how the one million postcards have been distributed to CWU members. They have then handed them out to people at stalls in town centres.

He added: ‘When you are producing that many postcards, it is very difficult to keep control of all of them.’

Sources at the Department for Business said: ‘We would hope that all of the people whose names have been put on the postcards are genuine and have given their consent.’

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"One MP, Douglas Carswell, described his horror when he discovered many of the 351 ‘anti-privatisation’ postcards he has received over the past three weeks were bogus"

Oh the horror of it all. I hope he gets counseling, he'll need it, especially if the news that he burned his toast is true.

[BingBong]

It really is time to stop messing about and really move forward with industrial action. No more games.

[demon]

bull s**t

[Red Robbo]

Did they vote for him ??

[frogger]

more government lies to get the public on their side!

[UnhappyGremlin]

May sound conspiratorial, but it is also possible that some manager or other such person has done it to discredit the campaign.

[scoobydo79]

I dont believe a word of this.

[k979aaa]

There even bringing the dead into this now anything they can do they seem to lower our society to the depths of depravity yet another TORY MP anyone would think he was dead especially his constituents he has spoken in only 17 debates this year far below the average. Look here http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/11621/ ... ll/clacton" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; need I say more.

[k979aaa]

Ps here is his voting record http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mp.php?id= ... #divisions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; only 71.7% again below average why do we pay these people?