Town united against ‘HM Prison Bishopbriggs’ – Swinson (Dumfries Liberal Democrats)

Dumfries Liberal Democrats <tom@therussells.org.uk>

Town united against ‘HM Prison Bishopbriggs’ – Swinson

December 22, 2008 3:24 PM
Originally published by Scottish Liberal Democrats

Hundreds of Bishopbriggs residents have added their name to a petition carried out by Jo Swinson MP against naming the new prison at Low Moss 'HM Prison Bishopbriggs'.

Ms Swinson joined shoppers outside Morrisons in Bishopbriggs town centre today to collect signatures from local people. 322 people have already registered their opposition to the proposed name with the East Dunbartonshire MP.

Commenting, Jo Swinson said:

"Speaking to local people and collecting petition signatures, the views I have been receiving are virtually unanimous. Local feeling on this issue could not be clearer: the name HM Prison Bishopbriggs must be dropped.

"The longer the Scottish Government and Prison Service go on ignoring the views of people Bishopbriggs, the bigger the scandal of this decision will get.

"If the Justice Secretary wants to make a New Year's resolution that will find favour with everyone in Bishopbriggs, it should be to rule out 'HM Prison Bishopbriggs' as the name of the new facility."

Jo Swinson has also made a call at Westminster for the proposed name of 'HM Prison Bishopbriggs' to be dropped. Speaking during a debate in the House of Commons on Thursday (December 18th), Ms Swinson spoke about the concerns of people in Bishopbriggs over the associations people would have with the town if the working title of the prison is not changed.

Commenting after the debate, she said:

"Given the importance to local people of getting the name HM Prison Bishopbriggs dropped, I wanted to use this opportunity to raise it with my fellow MPs in the Commons. I am appalled that the Scottish Government has not reversed its decision over the prison name, despite protests from the community, Council and cross-party politicians.

"Clearly no-one in Bishopbriggs wants the town to be known for its prison. The name Low Moss has served perfectly well for 40 years. Why change it now, especially against the wishes of the local community?"

Notes:

Excerpt from Jo Swinson's speech in the House of Commons (Thursday 18th December):

I want to turn to an issue of great concern to a particular town in my constituency. The Low Moss area of Bishopbriggs, one of the biggest towns in my constituency, was chosen as a temporary site for a prison more than 40 years ago. The term "temporary" is an interesting one because, 40 years later, the prison is still there. Recently, against the wishes of the local community and the local council, the Scottish Government decided to build a new prison facility there. Despite the fact that it has been called Low Moss prison for 40 years, we have now discovered that, to add insult to injury, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service are now planning to call the new facility Bishopbriggs prison. Indeed, they have confirmed to me in writing that HMP Bishopbriggs is its working title. No reason has been given for this change.

Bishopbriggs is a cheerful and friendly town with a great community spirit. It has produced such esteemed figures as the politician Thomas Muir of Huntershill and, more recently, the talented musician, Amy Macdonald. Understandably, the people of the town do not want the first thing that people think of when they hear the name Bishopbriggs to be a prison. I have started a petition against the name change, and hundreds of people have already signed it. The strength of local feeling could not be clearer: the name HMP Bishopbriggs simply must be dropped.

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