The City of York Council has seen its finances, a large part of which flows from central government, squeezed to such a large extent over the past 14 years of Tory rule, that there is no surprise that there is little money left over for environmental maintenance once the statutory obligations to pay for ever increasing social care and specialised help for children with various learning difficulties etc have been met.
That excellent Radio 4 programme, More or Less, featured this week an interview with an official from that respected body, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who stated that the UK, contrary to what many people seem to believe, is a relatively low taxed economy compared to Europe as a whole, and with Mr Sunak implying that more tax cuts are on the way, I doubt very much that Mr Ryder or I in future is going to see any improvements at all to this fair city of ours!
John Taylor,
Lycett Road,
Dringhouses,
York
… So York council is open to a conversation about reintroducing beavers. (The Press online January 11)
It’s not exactly top of the priority list of any Yorky I know; nor any visitor I have spoken to.
Is there any chance York council might be open to a conversation about reintroducing public toilets?
Preferably ones that are properly cleaned and maintained.
Matthew Laverack
Lord Mayors Walk,
York
Public ownership of Post Office explains a lot
IN response to Rachael Maskell calling for the Post Office to be brought back into public ownership I have good news, it already is!
It’s rather worrying these trade union lovers who get into Parliament don’t seem to know their ACAS from their NALGO.
Still, I blame the voters for that. Public ownership might explain why the postmasters scandal occurred in the first place, that it was then covered up and ignored by those in government such as Ed Davey, with many honours handed out along the way to ensure people’s silence.
The privatised Royal Mail, useless as it is, has not to my knowledge wrongly delivered any convictions.
After Parliament is finished with passing the emergency legislation to quash these convictions, would the member for York Central support the passing of a bill of attainder against those responsible for this outrage?
That might have implications for the then director of the CPS, a Mr K Starmer, but hey, it’s getting justice that matters, country before party and all that.
Perhaps they could even commission ITV to do a new series based on the public interest report into the Mary Weastell pay-off too?
Dr Scott Marmion,
Woodthorpe,
York
Not so clever after all
An article in The Daily Mail (Friday, January12) says that The University of York, along with other Universities, is giving preference for entry to foreign students with lower grades but more money than our home grown students.
Do these so called clever dons not know that when we have educated these foreign students at the expense of our own kind that they will return to there own country to the detriment of British Industries?
A P Cox,
Heath Close,
Holgate, York
