Two such different letters ...

Today sees our 300th blog - and we devote it to a look at two letters.
The first is an e-mail from Boston Borough Councillor David Owens to local MP Mark Simmonds MP, following that astonishing "swoop" on Witham Country Park which shocked many people when they saw the state of the "campsite" used by migrants living in the park.
Councillor Owens calls on Mr Simmonds to attend one of the many meetings that Boston Borough Council has been arranging, to add his support for and assistance in developing a strategy to resolve the ongoing issues relating to this problem.
"I am of the opinion that we, along with other local authorities should lobby government, in order to get a clear and definitive pathway that assists in the resolution of these challenges, additionally I expect you as the Member of Parliament for our area to take an active interest in this matter as assist in the resolution and successful conclusion of this situation," he writes.
Attached to the e-mail is an account of the most recent meeting following the clearing of the park involving - among others - the police, Department of Communities and Local Government and other Boston Borough councillors.
The ten moved on from the Witham Country Park were Russian, Latvian and Polish. Only one qualified for bed & breakfast accommodation. Most of the rest, whilst all here legally, had criminal records, with two on bail, and the police are looking into how bail was granted to people with no permanent address.
Meanwhile, the Department of Communities and Local Government has praised Boston's approach to the problem and supported the setting up of a bye-law to outlaw these sort of camps in the future - and given Boston Borough Council £10,000 to assist with this problem, and a series of actions is to be taken - including seeing how the council in nearby Peterborough deals with a similar situation.
The second letter also concerns immigration - albeit indirectly- and comes from our old friend Councillor Ramonde (Major retired or not, depending) Newell and takes the form of an information blitz following his claims at the last County Council meeting that Boston is the largest town in Lincolnshire - something that provoked laughter and shouts to the effect that this title was held by Grantham.
This time, Councillor Newell has added a few more arrows to his quiver of authority in his letter to the County Council chairman, adding the qualifications BA ACP FCIPD MCMI Cert Ed. after his name.
Phew!
"You may remember that when I spoke to the above amendment, I stated that the town of Boston (which I represent), was the largest town (in terms of its population), in the whole of the Administrative County of Lincolnshire – though it does not have an inch of bypass," he writes.
"There were a number of councillors present who were either unaware that the town of Boston had the largest population in their authority, or thought that Grantham, had a larger population. I was unable to demonstrate that Boston does indeed have a larger population, because of lack of time. Hence this, my letter.
"I give below seven 'proofs' that Boston does have the largest population in the Lincolnshire Authority. Only figures taken from a single source, which gives the population of both Boston and Grantham, have been used. The reference of these sources are given."The list contains seven website addresses, two of which are the same, and one of which doesn't connect.Although individually the list shows Boston as bigger than Grantham, looking across the figures, the smallest population for Boston is 34,420, and the largest for Grantham is 35,000. So really, the whole exercise is pointless.
Councillor Newell goes on to quote "other enormous increases" in Boston’s population - many of which relate to immigration, and others to birthrate and the high increases in houses in multiple occupation.
There then follows an unrelated blather about traffic flow in Boston and planned future road improvements. As if population size is in any way related to bypass provision.
Just to hammer his 'proofs' home, Councillor Newell has copied his letter to 74 Lincolnshire county councillors, 31 Boston Borough councillors, three officers and three local newspapers.
Two councillors.
Two letters.
One joins with others to seek solutions to problems, whilst the other obsesses on proving himself right rather than addressing the problem.
We also think that it's more than a little vain to claim to represent the town of Boston, when you are merely one of seven county councillors who between them represent the borough as a whole.
We are lost for words...

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