Cairns accused of trying to stifle political debate
WELSH secretary Alun Cairns has been accused of seeking to stifle political debate in his Vale of Glamorgan constituency after posting unsolicited window stickers to voters that say “no political canvassers”.
In what some have seen as a surprising and controversial move, local residents have received a letter from Mr Cairns on House of Commons-branded stationery, together with a free window sticker which he asks them to use as a “preventative notice ... to deter doorstep cold callers”.
The letter explains that the sticker is aimed at reducing the number of “uninvited traders visiting parts of the Vale” because “many find cold calling a nuisance, or even an uncomfortable experience due to the potential for doorstep crime”.
However, as well as “no uninvited traders”, the sticker also states “no political canvassers” – yet politics was not mentioned in the letter at all.
Many have taken to Twitter to express their concern that Mr Cairns is wrongly using taxpayers’ money – to pay for the stickers, stationery and postage costs – in an attempt to suppress debate between political parties and voters in his constituency in the run-up to a snap general election or referendum.
Plaid Cymru MP Jonathan Edwards said: “The Secretary of State for Wales seems to be using his position and taxpayers’ money to shut down political campaigning in his constituency.
“Not only could this be a very serious breach of the rules, but it also shows a serious contempt for democracy. This is as stupid as it is dangerous, and Mr Cairns should seriously consider his actions. The Conservatives are intent on shutting down debate, because they know how poor their record is – and Alun Cairns’ record is worse than most. The Secretary of State is responsible for cancelling more projects than potentially any other Welsh secretary in history, from the tidal lagoons to rail electrification. It is not surprising he does not want his constituents to hear from those of us holding him to account.”
The Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate for the Vale of Glamorgan, Sally Stephenson, said: “Alun Cairns is trying to prevent the public from engaging with political parties in order to stop them discussing the Tories’ shocking behaviour and the impact of their disastrous Brexit. This is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money. It is yet another cynical attempt by the Conservatives to shut down democratic debate in this country, because they know the public has turned against them.”
A spokesman for Alun Cairns said: “Alun is well known for taking a proactive approach to issues that affect constituents in the Vale of Glamorgan. In the past he chaired the all-party parliamentary group on nuisance calls and secured changes to the law to restrict cold telephone calling.
“There have been a number of complaints about the increase in nuisance callers and the rise of the doorstep economy in the Vale of Glamorgan. Ahead of the clocks going back, Alun wants to provide constituents with a proven means of reducing the number of doorstep callers.”