Campaigners warned not to send identical emails by MEP
CAMPAIGNERS have been told not to send their concerns on letters created on a template after one MEP received more than 2,000 identical emails.
Giles Chichester, MEP for South West England and Gibraltar, was contacted by constituents about the plenary vote on the Common Agricultural Policy in the European Parliament on March 13.
He said many were created using a template, leading to him having to look through thousands of identical correspondence.
Mr Chichester has now warned that the campaigners' tool could be shooting themselves in the foot wit the ploy.
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But Jillian Mathews, one of the campaigners who sent one of the emails, felt the politician's response was too dismissive.
Ms Mathews, from The Park, Cheltenham, received an email from Mr Chichester, reading: "Because you and over 2,000 others have sent me an identical email, I can say I have received your message, but because of the numbers involved, I cannot reply in detail to each of you individually beyond this acknowledgement.
"In fact, this number of identical messages is rather counter-productive so far as I am concerned and I suggest you pass this message back to whoever put you all up to this in the first place."
Ms Mathews said: "His reply is dismissive, discourteous and arrogant, and paternalistic.
"As you can see, I am very angry that he should treat a constituent in this way.
"Gloucestershire has an agricultural community and he should take notice of it."
Tom Maughan, press officer for the MEP's office, said the MEP had received 2,000 emails and had replied with an identical email to all of the campaigners.
"The emails were courteous, and I don't know what else he could have said," added Mr Maughan.
"He voted according to the Conservative European delegation's policy on the issue."
4 Comments
by Stroudette
Sunday, March 17 2013, 10:38PM
“I have sent 'template' letters to my local MP many times. I usually add something to the letter as there is usually the opportunity to. I would not send the letter if I did not agree with its contents. To be so dismissive of the views of his constituents is disgusting. I am noting this for the next MEP elections, because I always vote.
Does he actually think that we believe he would read 2000+ individual letters and then reply 2000+ times, addressing the points raised in each - I don't think so. In fact they are doing him a favour by making them all the same, he only has to draft a template to reply to them. He certainly doesn't have to be so rude and arrogant.”
by Ysedra
Sunday, March 17 2013, 10:11AM
“There's nothing wrong with him objecting to form letters, but it is the high-handed way he concludes that people can feel justified in taking offence at, when he could so easily have said, '...whoever suggested this appproach to you in the first place'. Just a slight change and an embarassing faux pas is avoided.
Our own MP should take note...”
by Hubert1841
Saturday, March 16 2013, 11:27PM
“So, I may be over simplifying this, but in effect he is saying to the two thousand people who emailed him "Get stuffed, your opinion counts for nothing". Hopefully, these two thousand or so people will vote against him next time.”
by RoadWombat
Saturday, March 16 2013, 8:28AM
“Don't waste your time dealing with MEPs. Their vote is worth nothing anyway in the EUSSR, which will plough on with its own agenda, regardless.
The only way to stop the nonsense is to do everything you can to ensure we leave at the earliest opportunity. We can then be masters of our own destiny and make our own decisions.”