Jim Dowd MP
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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14-04-2010 07:39 PM
Roz
Your advice is pointless.
You suggest visiting the Constituency Office in person but what is the point in doing that when it is never open or staffed? Also Jim is never there apart from when he is holding a surgery but quite often he fails to turn up leaving Constituents in the lurch.
You suggested contacting Jim via the House of Commons which I have tried on numerous occassions but he is rarely there and this is well before and after his illness. You seem to be using his illness as an excuse for being idle which is pathetic.
Sending emails and writing letters to him are either ignored or responded to months down the line.
It saddens me that you are bending over backwards to defend incompetence and laziness.
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Happysnapper
Posts: 93
Joined: Aug 2007
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14-04-2010 07:56 PM
I sent an email to Jim Dowd last week and have today received a letter from him stating what action he has taken to help me with my issue. So there are things going on.
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roz
Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
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14-04-2010 08:17 PM
Piglet, if your letters/e- mails are written in the same tone as you demonstrate here and your ability to correctly interpret any response given to you called into question as it is here, then little wonder you do not get a result. Your own experience is clearly not shared by all constituents and you have provided little evidence of Jim's alleged incompetence/laziness etc and in fact considerable evidence to contradict your own arguments.
The fact is no MP is perfect and there will be delays and unhappiness about communications etc in all quarters.
I wish you all the best in your attempt to discredit Jim, but I suspect you'll still be trying in 5 years time.
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gingernuts
Posts: 505
Joined: Nov 2007
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14-04-2010 08:54 PM
Interesting to note that Mr Dowd voted strongly in favour of ID cards. That discredits him enough for me. Piglet doesnt need to try.
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ivor
Posts: 20
Joined: Jun 2009
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14-04-2010 09:22 PM
I am not quite sure what Roz has 'cottoned on to'. I am a constituent who has had a very bad experience with communication from Jim Dowd's office. As such, I am interested in all responses, good and bad, to the issues that Piglet raised. My point was that I would rather read a defence of Jim Dowd than an attack on Piglet!
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 09:24 AM
Thanks Ivor.
You will find lots of people in the Constituency are not happy with the lack of Communication from Mr Dowd's Office.
As I have said before the phone is never answered and emails and letters are ignored.
Roz has tried pathetically to defend Mr Dowd but fails to understand or get a grip on the real issue which is widespread critcism of Mr Dowd's constituency and the lack of support he provides to constituents.
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tripandfuschia
Posts: 68
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 09:27 AM
I left an earlier post which has not had a response, explaining that I do not know Piglet's situation, but that having had a very poor response from Steve Bullock, I had forwarded the correspondence to Jim O'Dowd, to recieve no response. I have no political axe to grind other than I found these two representatives not willing to communicate. I had explained that I had been a Labour Party member for many years and had campaigned ard for many years. My point is that if any other constituent got the response I did when trying to communicate with these two ....... well they would be forgiven for getting the impression their views were not wanted. I would hope people involved in the Labour Party wight wish to learn from this rather than just assuming people putting these points have their own hidden agenda.
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 09:31 AM
Hi Tripandfuschia
You are right on all counts.
We have an idle MP who rarely attends the Commons representing us.
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showtunesgirl
Posts: 203
Joined: Feb 2008
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15-04-2010 09:32 AM
I too almost choked on my dinner when I got Joan Ruddock's campaign leaflet through my door. I have tried to contact her quite a few times and received on response. Frankly, I find this lazy in an election year!
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showtunesgirl
Posts: 203
Joined: Feb 2008
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15-04-2010 09:33 AM
And it's not just the Labour party, hardly anyone seems to be canvassing at all and going out to meet people in my area apart from Darren Johnson from the Green Party.
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tripandfuschia
Posts: 68
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 09:37 AM
Well Piglet, Im not going to agree with that statement, you might be right but I have no idea in truth. I can only make the point that my own attempts to engage with both Steve Bullock and Jim O Dowd have not gone well, and that if the response from those defending Jim O'Dowd is to automatiically assume those raising this issue have their own agenda then it seems not such a good way to try and understand the issue. My only knowledge of what Mr O'Dowd does comes from the leaflets I'm now getting through my door.
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 09:43 AM
Darren Johnson is very good and always replies to communications.
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roz
Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
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15-04-2010 10:20 AM
I didn't know we had a multicoloured font option on this thread so this in an exciting development and frankly the most exciting thing on this thread.
I haven't attempted to defend any MP who does not respond to his/her constituents. The statistics do not suggest that people are unhappy with Jim's communications so I am still waiting for the evidence which Piglet has failed to provide. Instead Piglet posts information refuting his own arguments. Piglet has been given some sound suggestions regarding taking it up directly but doesn't seem to want to do that which strikes me as a little odd. As a party member he has ample opportunity to tackle the MP about his lack of communications but doesn;t choose to do that either.
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 10:43 AM
Roz
What are the stats?
How many letters received and how many ignored?
When is the phone answered by a live person?
I am still waiting for you to provide evidence that Mr Dowd is contactable but instead you fail to answer because you can't answer.
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ivor
Posts: 20
Joined: Jun 2009
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15-04-2010 11:29 AM
According to Roz: "As for the link, what's interesting is the information that Jim seems to have responded to constituents within 2/3 weeks"
Sounds promising until you read the stats on theyworkforyou.com more carefully and realise that this is based on a "LOW number of enquiries through writetothem.com" so not really representative of the whole constituency, just a narrow band who choose to communicate with their MP through this website. Based on this, theyworkforyou.com urges caution when interpreting these stats.
It's so easy to manipulate numbers!
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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15-04-2010 12:25 PM
Good point Ivor.
I'm waiting to hear from Roz the stats as requested in a previous message.
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roz
Posts: 1,796
Joined: Mar 2005
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15-04-2010 10:06 PM
Piglet, you put forward this website as providing useful information to Jims detriment then you decide it doesn't suit you as it doesn't support your argument. Which is to be.
I have answered, Piglet, to say that that whenever I have had cause to contact Jim Dowd's office, either at Sunderland Road or at Westminster, someone usually answers and if not and I leave a message, I rarely have to wait very long before getting a call back. If I have had to call again I always received an apology for any delay in responding. Whenever I and my neighbours have contacted Jim Dowd at Westminster , for instance when our area was without a reliable electricity supply two years ago, Jim and his office staff were straight on the case and a letter went off to EDF the same day. As a result of Jims efforts EDF sent senior staff round to meet local residents and offered them hotels in case of future failure and also made firm assurances that the necessary work would be put in hand. After weeks of supply disruption and a half hearted response from EDF, Jims intervention got decent action within 24 hours. I call that highly effective. I also had reason to contact Jim at Westminster last year about disruptions to local bus services. Someone 'live' at his office answered the phone ( it definitely wasn't a corpse), took details, and called me back on my mobile within the hour having contacted the bus company in question and obtained answers.
If you and others have had an unfortunate experience then you are right to complain however have you actually done so, or just left it? Have you checked that the correspondence from you was actually received? Have you been to Jims surgeries to complain and are the actions and answers you requested of him within his power to do something about?
I am myself still waiting for responses from certain Lib Dem councillors on various matters and need to chase that but thats life, everyone has too much to do and things have to be prioritised.
If you are constantly unfortunate in getting a response from Jim Dowd s office and have chased it up, then I do think you need to consider why you continue to be unlucky...
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tripandfuschia
Posts: 68
Joined: Apr 2010
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16-04-2010 10:37 AM
To be fair Roz, you are right, in my case I should give Mr O'Dowd the benefit of the doubt in that correspondence was not dealt with which could be due to a variety of reasons. It is good to hear he has been involved with constituent's problems, like your electricity supply ( sounds a trial). I wondered though if the lack of respose to me was because my correspondence was about something which could have been construed as critical of the Labour councils and Mayors administration ( and the Mayors unhelpful response to). Added to the mix was Alex Feakes premature and wrong judgement call on the 20MPH zone left me feeling that none of the politicians seemed to be interested.
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piglet
Posts: 104
Joined: Apr 2010
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16-04-2010 12:24 PM
I have read the latest waffle from Roz which fails to address the issues in question.
I fail to see how Mr Dowd could run up a salary bill of over 100k(taxpayers expense) for staff but can't reply to letters and emails.
As for contacting Mr Dowd at Westminster, this is not possible as he has no staff based at Westminster.
So Roz, what number do you call to speak to Mr Dowd in Westminster and who do you speak to?
May I suggest answers on a postcard this time.
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Les
Posts: 95
Joined: Jan 2004
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16-04-2010 12:43 PM
Interesting thread this one.
I read Jim Dowd election leaflet, in the honest quest for evidence to re-elect him, but found little or none. The theme appeared to be that Jim has served his constituency for 24 years but has little evidence of success - read the leaflet to see what I mean.
Time served in itself is not a reason for continued service. I thought it read as complacency born of an (apparently) safe seat.
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