Hurrah for the transfer no vote (From Gazette Series)

Hurrah for the transfer no vote

SIR - First of all, I and many others I know cannot be more pleased with the result of the recent election with regard to council housing transfer.

I cannot, however, believe that David Drew and the Labour Party have been accused of unfairly influencing a vote on the future of council housing in Stroud district, considering that they were restrained from offering their opinion all the way through this farce, whilst those who were in favour of the Hill and Vale Housing have had free rein to bombard tenants in a variety of ways to coerce, blackmail and frighten them into voting yes to this project.

For example, I was personally told by a local councilor that "what worried" her was that "if there was to be a 'no' vote, then the housing stock would be given to the first association that came along."

I wasn't aware we were living in a dictatorship. I thought this country had a policy of free speech, and a right to one's own opinion! Hilary Fowles should be rewarded, not punished, for speaking out to the Gazette. She is 100 percent correct in sticking to her principles, and to look to the best possible solution for her constituents - after all councilors are voted in by the people, and are supposed to be there for the people, to put the people's views forward, and to work for the people, and for what the people want.

As for the idea that only information that was first passed by those who wanted the Hill and Vale association to succeed would be permitted to be sent out, that is preposterous. This smacks of a controlled world, where only those who agree with the top men are allowed to speak. I know I have personally been verbally attacked through this newspaper for expressing my views.

As for Cllr Jeffreys' remarks in last week's Gazette, "I feel extremely frustrated. I have always accepted it was the tenants' choice. But it has not been a level playing field. I feel they have been unfairly influenced", the only people who had an unfair influence, were those who wanted everything their own way.

The only letters or leaflets we received during the campaign that were not of the council's doing, were one letter from the Stand Alone Group, and a letter from David Drew, who was only permitted to send it after the vote had started and many people had already sent off their voting slips.

On the other hand we were bombarded with information for the transfer, including videos, letters, cards left by council repair men, people knocking on our doors. If there was any unfairness, it was that the 'yes' campaigners had it all their own way, and some, like myself, felt we needed to make our views heard through the newspaper, to try and prevent a catastrophe, because there was no fair for/against information to be had.

Those who wanted the changes were prepared to squander the council resources, already depleted by their own admission, and plan to continue to do so in the next few years. So, in fact this vote just means that they are ignoring the wishes of the tenants, and are determined to have their own way, at any cost! Let's hope the participants of the next lobby of leaflet deliverers are the same size as those who did so this time, then just maybe they can save some money by re-using the uniforms of Hill and Vale that have already been made up, in the wrong assumption that they would have their own way in this matter.

Ronni Sloan, A council tenant who is glad to be one, and wants to stay that way! The Crapen, Woodfield, Cam