Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries are very pleased to have received the following message of support from Shadow Culture Minister for Libraries Gloria De Piero.
“Libraries are a vital resource; they are hubs of our communities. Libraries open doors to a world of opportunities, not just for reading, but for learning, self-improvement, access to employment. Closing libraries denies many people these chances and leaves us all poorer.”
Gloria De Piero, MP for Ashfield
Shadow Minister for Libraries
In 2009 Ed Vaizey (now Culture Minister) accused his opposite number Andy Burnham of “ignoring his responsibilities as secretary of state” by refusing to intervene in the library closures in the Wirral and commented that if “Andy Burnham is not prepared to intervene when library provision is slashed in a local authority such as the Wirral, it is clear that he is ignoring his responsibilities as secretary of state, which in the process renders any sense of libraries being a statutory requirement for local authorities meaningless”
We hope that Gloria De Piero puts pressure on Culture Minister Ed Vaizey to practice as he preached, to act on his convictions and get on with his job.
We in Gloucestershire are waiting to see whether Mr Vaizey left his convictions at the door when he stepped into office.
Friends of Gloucestershire Libraries 