126.825 makes a good point there (unlike some of his earlier ones
) and that is the fact that many/most of the Essex (stop calling it Stansted, it's Essex Radar you're talking about) controllers are multi-valid holding two out of, and sometimes all three, Essex, Luton and Gatwick validations.
So why are the same people so praised for offering transits at Luton and Gatwick yet castigated for being the most unhelpful atcos on the planet when doing Essex?
I suspect it's because out of the three validations the busiest and most complicated position is Essex Radar. All the other approach positions in the room (including Heathrow and with the possible exception of Thames) are a bit of breeze compared to the current crappy airspace design and volume of traffic that Essex have to deal with*. The workload even in routine traffic situations is quite high so there's little scope for providing ATSOCAS and it may go some way to explaining if not excusing why transits are sometimes declined.
Anyway, if you really believe Essex are routinely pathetic and unhelpful, instead of tub thumping on an internet forum that won't actually achieve anything constructive do start reporting specific instances to the CAA and then you might actually achieve a change if indeed a change is necessary.
* this description also applies to Thames Radar.