GORDON HENDERSON MP

The Editor
Sheerness Times Guardian (via email)

Dear Sir

I hope your readers will forgive me if I do not respond to the somewhat intemperate attack on me by our local MP in this week’s Times Guardian. Launching highly personalised attacks on their opponents might be how Derek Wyatt and some of his parliamentary colleagues want to act, but I will not be dragged into their silly game.

However, I am happy to accept criticism from my fellow Islanders, but will always do my best to defend myself in a constructive way. Take the letter from Mr Collins who implied that the various clean up sessions in which I have helped were nothing other than a photo opportunity. He asked what I did before and after the photographs were taken. Let me tell him.

Over the past few years I have helped on annual community clean ups in Kemsley, Minster and Iwade. In addition, I have twice organised a clean up of the canal in Sheerness. I am sure that all those residents who helped in those clean ups will agree that I worked hard before the cameras arrived and worked hard after they left!

The reason I am happy to help on these clean ups is because I am fed up with seeing my local area scarred by litter and other discarded rubbish. I want to see a cleaner, greener Sheppey, which is one of the reasons I set up the Swale Community Action Project to encourage local communities to keep their own area tidy.

I would like to thank Mr Collins for at least acknowledging that I have been active in the local community for many years and that any publicity I get is because of my efforts all year round and not just when a General Election is round the corner!

Yours sincerely

GORDON HENDERSON
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate
Sittingbourne & Sheppey