Peter Kilfoyle is Member of Parliament for Walton, successor to Eric Heffer, and a former junior minister in government. We at Blue Kipper ask:

IS HE TRYING TO SABOTAGE OUR BID FOR KINGS DOCK?

As we know, our club secured over eighty percent fans' support through an open ballot for a move to a new stadium at the Kings Dock. We at Blue Kipper enthusiastically support the move and help promote it as part of the Everton for Kings Dock Group.

An early communication with Peter Kilfoyle led us to believe he was at least sympathetic to this cause, (click here to see his letter). But page 21 of today's Guardian notes that he wants to keep at least one of our city's clubs in "his" constituency.

So it appears there may have been previously secret moves to undermine our proposed move from Walton. This may include quasi-government bodies such as the North Liverpool Partnership, North West Development Agency and even East Manchester Limited. If indeed there are such moves then they have not been carried out openly and democratically. The Guardian article is the first indication we have received of this. If Peter Kilfoyle is part of these moves then he owes it to all of us to openly explain his actions and why he seeks to undermine our bid having given us the opposite impression.

In addition to this, there are disturbing apparent previous connections between AMEC, our only serious Kings Dock competitor and main partner in the ICIAN bid, English Partnerships who own the site on behalf of the government, and Liverpool Vision who are currently reviewing the two shortlisted bids.

Incredibly, GVA Grimley, a Manchester firm who are now analysing the bids for Liverpool Vision, have listed AMEC, another Manchester-oriented firm, as one of their clients!

It almost goes without saying that a successful stadium/arena at Kings Dock would also threaten severe commercial competition to the existing monopolist indoor arenas in Manchester.

With all this as background, we pose the following open questions to Peter Kilfoyle:

1. Do you or do you not support our proposed move to Kings Dock?

2. Have you attempted in any way to argue against our move?

3. What discussions have you held with North Liverpool Partnership in this matter?

4. What discussions have you held with any government department in this matter?

5. What discussions have you held with any competing Manchester interest in this matter?

We are happy to conduct this debate openly and in public and help our fans and the citizens of Walton reach an opinion as to who is worthy of their trust.

In the meantime

WE SUPPORT OUR KINGS DOCK BID AND WE ASK ALL OUR FANS AND CITIZENS OF OUR CITY TO DO THE SAME.

What do you think? email BlueKipper kingsdock@bluekipper.com

I don't think it's fair to suggest Peter Kilfoyle is trying to "sabotage" the proposed King's Dock move. Whilst I accept he should make his position clear, he is in an almost impossible position in that he will be criticised whatever he says. The problem for Peter Kilfoyle is that what is best for Everton, and the City of Liverpool as a whole, may not be what is best for Walton.
If he comes out and supports the bid, he could be accused of betraying the interests of his Walton constituents, for whom an Everton move out of the area could prove disastrous in terms of the effect it would have on the local economy in an already run down area.
If he opposes the move, he will be classed as short sighted, and lacking vision, as the Arena would have a beneficial effect on the City of Liverpool as a whole. A bit of a no-win situation don't you think? This is probably why so far he has not given any definite indication of his stance. Cheers, Brian. (17/06/01)