Letter: Mayor 'rattled' by free parking demands claims MP Ben Bradley

I was sad to see the Mayor's letter to the Chad as my view is that it is totally unnecessary to get personal in this way, and that is exactly what turns people off from politics.
Mayor, Kate AllsopMayor, Kate Allsop
Mayor, Kate Allsop

Clearly the MIF (Mansfield Independent Forum) are a little bit rattled.

It is ironic that Mayor, Kate Allsop talks about wanting an open line of communication with me, but then chooses to write to the Chad rather than to my office.

As it happens I met with the CEO just a fortnight ago.

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With regards to her comments about me having 'failed' with their requests, unfortunately the Mayor is being a little bit misleading here.

I did not 'fail' with regards to the Midland Mainline electrification, in fact I just totally disagree with the Mayor on this issue.

The problem for Mansfield residents is not getting from Nottingham to London, it is getting from Mansfield to Nottingham in the first place, which is why my priority is to improve the service on the Robin Hood Line.

She also fails to mention that earlier in 2017 Mansfield District Council made representations to me about problems with social rent reductions that were impacting on the Council's ability to invest, and following my discussions with the Housing Minister the policy has now changed in MDC's favour.

She can thank me later.

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POLL: have your say on parking I have experienced in numerous places how free parking can have a positive impact on footfall, including very recently as a Councillor in Ashfield, and when battling with out of town shopping centres it is a 'no brainer'.

As an authority that has failed to collect £5.5m in Council Tax, and a Mayor that wears a chain worth over £300,000 (plus the cost of security guards to protect it), I am confident that money could be found if it was a priority, in the same way that I am confident that money could be found to save Meden Sports Centre if MDC wanted to do so.

It seems they don't.

I look forward to working with the Mayor in the future, but hopefully she can bring herself to write to me rather than the newspapers.

Member of Parliament for Mansfield