- Cymraeg
- English
 |
Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
 |
Avoiding junk mail
September 12, 2008 12:00 AM
By Peter Black in Seaside News October 2008
By Peter Black in Seaside News October 2008
If you have ever received personally addressed junk mail and have wondered how the company concerned has got your name and address then look no further. It is likely that they have bought a copy of the electoral roll and created their database from that.
A recent survey of election officers showed 98% of them believe the practice should stop. Most people hate junk mail and cold-calling and in my view councils should not be a part of the process that generates money for junk mail companies in this way.
Although junk mail companies are only able to buy an edited version of the electoral roll, selling it still undermines democracy, dissuades people from voting and gives people the impression that their council is profiting from selling their personal information.
In July, the government-commissioned Data Sharing Review led by Information Commissioner, Richard Thomas and Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust also recommended stopping the sale of electoral registers.
In the meantime, if you want to avoid going on this mailing list ask your Electoral Registration Officer to take you off the publicly available register. It will not affect your right to vote but it could save some trees.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats