09/02/09 - Don't write off Swindon, Justin Tomlinson tells Sunday Times

Cllr Justin Tomlinson, parliamentary candidate for North Swindon, has had a letter published in the Sunday Times, calling on Labour and the media not to 'write off' Swindon.

It follows the publication in last week's newpaper of an article headlined 'Swindon on the Ropes'.

"I was very concerned that the article gave a misleading impression of Swindon, and as the Sunday Times is Britain's biggest-selling quality newspaper, I felt it was important that this was corrected", Justin Tomlinson said.

"It's good to see they published my letter, and gave it top billing in the letters page of their business section.  Their headline - 'Swindon is fighting fit' - was spot on.

"Hopefully it will spread the message to the rest of Britain that Swindon is a vibrant town which, thanks to the hard work of local people and support from the Conservative council, can get through Labour's recession".

The text of Justin Tomlinson's letter is as follows:

As a local councillor, parliamentary candidate and small business owner in Swindon, I did not recognise our town as portrayed in Kate Walsh's article.  The Conservative council is taking enormous strides forward with regeneration, even in the teeth of Labour's recession.  The Orbital (not Orb) Retail Park, which is in my ward, is bucking the downturn, with Marks and Spencer opening a huge new store there despite closures elsewhere.  I have just hosted a visit from Shadow Chancellor George Osborne to Nationwide, one of Swindon's biggest employers and central to the UK financial sector.  By contrast, when Gordon Brown visited Swindon the previous week, he refused to face up to his economic failures and merely ceremonially 'opened' a school in my ward, even though it's been open since 2007.  Unlike Labour, we will not write Swindon off, and neither should the media.