We owe it to town to try and keep HMRC here

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the East Kilbride News.

Being impartial and objective are vital qualities for local newspapers.

However, there are times when everyone has to take a stand and today this title is doing just that.

HMRC announced early last year that their tax offices at Plaza Tower and Centre 1 were to close by 2021 and 2025, respectively.

Between them, the sites employ around 2700 people but it ’s thought around 2000 jobs are indirectly linked to HMRC’s presence in East Kilbride.

That thousands of jobs could be lost would devastate the local economy.

This decision doesn’t just i mpact the employees and their families. It is a decision which affects us all.

There is always a knock-on effect right down to people having less money to spend on going out in the town centre or supporting local shops and cafes. As a consequence, the lives of more and more people are affected and a shadow would be cast over the town. But we can fight to change this. We have joined forces with the Stay in EK campaign and we would like our readers to support us as we attempt to get HMRC to reverse their decision.

The campaign is cross-party for this is an issue which affects everyone and what matters, above all else, is keeping HMRC in East Kilbride and keeping these jobs in East Kilbride. We owe it to the new town to try and keep HMRC – part of the fabric of East Kilbride new town in itself – where they are.

You can read more about the campaign on pages 4 and 5 – there is a case to be made when it comes to keeping HMRC in East Kilbride and not relocating to a regional centre in Glasgow. Let’s keep HMRC in EK. OK?