Clydebank Post | Opinion | An area in bloom?

Sunday, 20th July, 2008

Published: Wednesday, 14th May, 2008 10:00

An area in bloom?

HAVING just received and read John McFall MP’s constituency annual report, I would like to draw to your readers attention some discrepancies in it.

The report is very professional, highlighting progress in West Dunbartonshire, with Clydebank on the move being the main centre page spread.

The town is benefiting from the new college, the Titan Crane, additional development at the Golden Jubilee Hospital, and canal upgrading — all this giving Clydebank justifiably national and international regeneration awards.

The question is while all this is going on what has happened to his original constituencies in Dumbarton, Renton, Balloch and the Vale of Leven, which even he must see have been left far behind in the upgrading stakes?

Re-siting of Diamond Power, lots of house building have happened, but with town centres all in decline, it means residents must journey away from the area to Clydebank town centre or Glasgow to find decent outlets.

The saddest thing about his report is while Mr McFall tells us of all the various things he has attended throughout the year — schools, churches and gala days — he omitted to even mention the biggest rally seen in West Dunbartonshire, which was of course to save the Vale of Leven Hospital, which many thousands attended.

While I believe he was otherwise engaged with the community, I think a mention of the Vale should have been made in his annual report.

A question to our MP — with more and more houses being built locally in anticipation of influx of additional people, why is the hospital being continually run down?

In conjunction with an elderly group I attend, we have emailed Mr McFall, pleading with him to ask at Prime Minister’s Questions about the ridiculous position we find ourselves in having to travel to Paisley for hospital attention with regular hold ups at Milton, or worse still, with the closure of the Erskine Bridge due to high winds etc.

Last Wednesday at PM’s Questions, our MP was allowed to speak, but alas he just gave a ‘planted question’ which the PM easily answered.

Sure as fate the next question asked was by another MP pleading the case for his local hospital.

As you can well see there are many of Mr McFall’s constituents questioning his true commitment to the hospital, which has been drastically run down during the reign of the Labour Government.

And, may I add that I, along with most of my companions, were brought up in Labour voting households, but now as pensioners we feel so disillusioned with the plight of our local hospital that we have no alternative but to politically think again.

Name and address supplied

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