MP Challenged over Leaflet Smear

5.00.00pm GMT Thu 10th Jan 2008

Andrew Simpson, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Northampton North, has today written to Labour MP Sally Keeble and asked her to explain a statement made in her latest Northampton Labour Rose leaflet that 'Lib Dems would ruin the Post Office…and want to sell off our door-to-door postal delivery service''

"This smacks of desperate smear tactics" said Andrew Simpson "Sally Keeble is making a statement about Lib Dem policy without any substance to her claims. It is ironic she states this when it is her Labour Government that is decimating the Post Office network by closing 2,500 post offices across the country, including 7 in Northampton Borough".

The Northampton Labour Rose leaflet states "The Lib Dems would ruin the Post Office. They want to sell off our door-to-door postal delivery service - which is the mainstay of the Post Office".

"This sort of spin and accusation is what gets politicians and politics a bad name". continued Andrew ". I hope Sally Keeble will now retract this statement, withdraw the leaflet and stick to the facts in future. It doesn't bode well for an informed and constructive debate at the next General Election if she is already resorting to such desperate tactics".

Notes to editors

Lib Dem policy on Royal Mail and the Post Office is available at http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/RoyalMail2006.pdf

Main points are as follows:

• Take Post Office Ltd - currently a subsidiary of Royal Mail Group - out of the Group and maintain it in the public sector.

• Provide a Statutory guarantee requiring maintenance of the universal service obligation (door-to door service) at a uniform tariff

• The majority of shares in Royal Mail - 51% to be divided equally between the Government and a Trust for Royal Mail staff - the remaining 49% to be sold to staff and small investors and then the open market.

• Invest the £2 billion raised in maintaining and expanding the Post Office network

Letter to Mrs Sally Keeble:

Sally Keeble MP

Unit 5

Barratt House

Kingsthorpe Road

Northampton

NN2 6EZ

10 January 2008

Dear Mrs Keeble,

Northampton Labour Rose leaflet

I have recently come across the attached leaflet from yourself to constituents in which you claim 'Lib Dems would ruin the Post Office. They want to sell off our door-to-door postal delivery service - which is the mainstay of the Post Office'

I would ask you to substantiate the claims you are making in this statement and where your evidence is in stating that 'Lib Dems would ruin the Post Office'.

Liberal Democrat policy on Royal Mail and the Post Office is publicly available on our web site at www.libdems.org.uk and if you check it you will see that it does not correspond with the claims you are making in your leaflet.

Therefore I would be grateful if you could either provide evidence and substantiation for your claim or otherwise I would ask you to withdraw your leaflet from circulation and print a retraction in a future edition.

I am sure you would agree that such accusations should be based on hard evidence. Anything else does little to engage people in the political process and helps none of us in providing a platform for informed debate at the next election.

Yours sincerely,

Cllr Andrew Simpson

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate

Northampton North Constituency