We have taken the decision to publish this letter online (and others) as it was sent to the Lincolnshire Echo Editor following their decision recently to publish a letter from a Labour supporter which contained various unsubstantiated attacks and erroneous information and contrary to previous such letters concerning political opponents, was NOT given the right of reply (The Echo ‘Lawyers' must have been on holiday, how inconsistent of them.)
Subsequently only one of the supportive four letters we have also been sent copies of has been published offering a contrary view to that put forward by the Lincoln Labour Party. We are aware of at least one other hard copy letter and there may be others, only the Echo would know…
Dear Editor,
I regret that, last week, the Echo chose to publish Mr Weller's vitriolic attack on Lincoln's Conservative Member of Parliament, Karl McCartney. Not everyone in Lincoln will share Karl's strongly held political views but this does not mean that what he has achieved for Lincoln since he has been our Member of Parliament should be disregarded or denigrated.
I very much doubt that Mr Weller knows the true facts of Karl's dispute with IPSA and what links, if indeed any, he and the Labour MP's who also accepted similar invitations have with the tobacco industry.
However by supporting long overdue welfare reforms, tax cuts for working people and businesses, regional growth fund grants of £7m for Lincoln, the establishment of a University Technical College in Lincoln and helping to secure agreement for brown tourist signs, footbridges over two of Lincoln's level crossings and the Lincoln Eastern Bypass (none of which were achieved in 13 years by Karl's Labour predecessor) Karl has done so much for our City and County in the relatively short time he has represented us in Parliament that suggestions to the contrary must be rigorously refuted.
Peter Sunderland
Lincoln