Royal Mail investigating claims candidate's election leaflet

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Angus/ ... e-bin.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Royal Mail is investigating claims from an Angus election candidate who believes his campaign leaflets were "dumped in the bin."

Arbroath councillor David Fairweather, who came fourth in the Angus South constituency in last week's Scottish Parliamentary elections, said 15 postcodes had yet to receive his leaflets.

Mr Fairweather travelled in person to the Royal Mail office in Bathgate to ensure his 35,200 leaflets were paid for and posted by April 18, but he began to get anxious after calls from residents to say they had still not been delivered.

After a series of telephone calls and email messages to both Bathgate and the Arbroath sorting office, he was told there had been a delay in getting his order out.

Mr Fairweather has now called for Royal Mail to demand they tell him, "where the leaflets are or what bin they have been dumped in."

He said, "This has obviously had a huge influential bearing on the votes I received. I take this very seriously and feel that someone should be held accountable for the failing of Royal Mail not delivering these leaflets as required.

"I don't have the thousands of pounds to spend or the amount of footsoldiers that the SNP has to go knocking doors, so I had relied on these leaflets to get to the local community.

"I'm not saying I would have won the election but there is a chance I could have come in second or got enough votes to get my deposit back."

Mr Fairweather said he put out 6000 leaflets himself by hand and friends and relatives handed out another 5000, but all of these were different from the posted campaign notes.

He claims that, two days before the election, he was informed that over 14,000 homes that should have been targeted had still not received his information through the post.

"My delivery to Bathgate was in accordance with procedures, but my calls to the office there and the postmaster in Arbroath, one week before the election date, bore no fruit," said Mr Fairweather. "To find out two days before the election that 14,400 leaflets had not even started to be delivered beggars belief.

"How fair an election playing field was this for me?"

A Royal Mail spokeswoman said, "Royal Mail is investigating Mr Fairweather's complaint as a matter of urgency."

Mr Fairweather stood for election under the banner of Angus Independent Representatives. His campaign flyer carried the tagline, "I am from Angus. I love Angus. Let me use my local knowledge to get the very best for you and Angus South."

The A3 size handouts were published by fellow Arbroath Councillor Peter Nield, who stood under the same umbrella on the north-east regional list.

[Phantom]

Welcome to the world of CUTS!

[fishtank]

"I am from Angus. I love Angus. Let me use my local knowledge to get the very best for you and Angus South."

WTF were you doing in Bathgate D.O. then?
It's nowhere near Angus.

[DGP1]

A3 size

[ass asin]

Now mr fairweather i didnt realise you were aiming for angus south. as my office delivered a shed load of your stuff in Angus north and mearns. Hope this helps lol.

[shimmyrule]

arbroath has BIG staffing problems the now, has done for a few months, seen a numptie friday at ten past 5 coming out the office on his own pushbike, these tubes regularly work on til after 4, fools

[ElvisGaddafi]

He said, "This has obviously had a huge influential bearing on the votes I received.



.

Does he really think anybody reads them?