Letter to the Gurn: Labour Party Survey Criticised

Dear Gurn,

I was puzzled by a recently conducted survey, the results of which appeared in the local rag this week (Remember to place it in your new blue recycle box when you have finished with it). The subject was anti-social behaviour and surprise surprise many folk in Nairn who responded seem to suffer, damage to property, noise, verbal and physical abuse, and a kind of biblical one… stone throwing. I was sad to read that many folk are so affected. I guess I have been lucky, as so far apart from the odd football smashing holes in a wicker fence, and two separate incidents of unopened cans of beer being lobbed in the front garden, I have not been a victim thus far of ASB. The puzzle is that just prior to a much rumoured (now true) promise of a general election, the survey was commissioned by the Labour party’s two local members, MP David Stewart, and MSP Maureen McMillan. Normally such law and order issues are dealt with at such a time by the Tory’s hang ‘em and flog ‘em brigade when they are out of power. More jails, more bobbies on the beat, more money to tackle crime, greater sentencing powers, capital punishment, deport them to Australia, have all been past battle crys of this group, making the ordinary citizen too scared to even draw their curtains of a morning, let alone go outside. So why should party members carry out such a survey just before an election? Vote for us and we will tackle this problem that we obviously have ignored for the past eight years? All I can say is keep lobbing the unopened beer over the fence please. It’s a puzzle

Name and address witheld