Letters to the Editor

SIR - I feel our City Council's Conservative leadership are making an error in trying to hush up a key report that casts doubt on their ability to run our city (T&A, December 1).

The Audit Commission report should let the public know if the Tories can be trusted with public funds and quite how much money has been wasted on their ill-thought-through asset management plan (the latest estimate is £3m or approximately £33 per person in the Bradford area).

Despite the obvious importance of this report (or maybe because of it), the Tories are refusing to share the interim findings with Labour councillors. Every one of my several requests for this information has been denied.

This means we have the Tories refusing access to a report about their own handling of public funds. Tory leader Margaret Eaton feels it would be 'inappropriate' to share the information - hardly a surprise as it is trust in her group that is in question.

Bradford taxpayers deserve better from the Tories. It is a question of trust. Can the Tories be trusted with public money and trusted to run our city? It looks like they are trying to suppress this report's findings.

They should stop treating the people of Bradford like fools and share the interim findings of the report immediately.

Gareth Logan, Waryn House, HaighBeck View, Bradford

Labour will pay...

SIR - Congratulations to Shipley MP Philip Davies for his campaign against political correctness.

This is the only subject for people from the age of 18 to 80, across all parties, that draws an unparalleled curl of the lip.

It angers everyone and eats away at our society like a cancer. Even minorities feel patronised and embarrassed by the 'white' decisions in their favour, showing blatant bias against the majority. They know it causes racial and religious aggravation - it does them no favours.

Most of those making decisions are in New Labour, as political correctness has flowered under them.

In the last few weeks there have been some 'gobsmacking' decisions around this Christian country by Labour councils. The public will reap their revenge at next year's local elections.

Before the General Election I managed to get about 70 people who were not going to vote at all to go to the polls and vote for Philip Davies on this one subject alone. I hope this really hits the spot.

Gary Lorriman, North Walk, Harden.

Another recruit

SIR - There have been many letters of support for the campaign against political correctness currently being championed by Shipley MP Philip Davies.

In a week when news reports included Preston Council cancelling its Christmas carol concert in favour of a more 'suitable' evening of black and Asian music, and a schoolgirl banned from wearing a crucifix to school, Philip Davies has just won another recruit.

Mike Jones, Rylands Avenue, Gilstead, Bingley

Connect the city!

SIR - Regarding the startling article headed 'Who will be new Leeds'? (T&A, December 5).

It is essential reading for all Council members and senior staff as its basic message from the business and finance world is that Bradford is not worth bothering about!

This is not merely another squeak from a pressure group - but a loud shout of warning from the important people, the investors.

Permit me to quote: "...companies would look...towards Sheffield or York rather than Bradford..."

The company (LSH) surveyed 35 locations across the UK, including Bradford, and found big differences over which locations appealed to (investors)...the key criteria determining the choice of location are... occupancy costs...high quality premises, availability of a skilled workforce and "connectivity".

It is this last item that is so obviously absent in Bradford particularly regarding the railway network - we have two stations that are not connected.

There may be other areas where connectivity is required but, from this article alone, it is clear that there needs to be a radical shift in purpose in the Bradford leadership.

Walter Metcalfe, Bradford Rail Users Group, Central Avenue, Shipley

What about us?

SIR - Is Bradford Council an employment agency or a service to the public? It seems some of our councillors take the former view.

Instead of improving services to Bradford people and reducing the tax burden they prefer to protect a handful of public sector jobs (T&A, December 7).

It must be better for us to have something like 80 post offices across the Bradford district in which to make payment than the current six centrally-located cash offices - with mightily long queues!

For older people and those reliant on public transport the Council's original proposals to pay at post offices were a real improvement and would help keep those local post offices open.

We should welcome the original initiative and improve services for ordinary people in the Bradford area.

Kathryn Toledano, The Nook, Hallowes Park Road, Cullingworth

Lack of interest

SIR - Olwen Vasey's article 'People power at work' (T&A, December 3) did great justice to all improvement work carried out by Bradford Trident over the past five years.

But as co-ordinator for a local history group in West Bowling I was astounded to read the claim officials had "encouraged local people to record their recollections to preserve the history of the area".

Mention was also made of the 1882 Newlands Mill disaster memorial, an initiative by our group in 2001 to commemorate the 54 mill workers killed in that terrible tragedy.

Thankfully Bradford Trident listened and erected a fitting memorial. But that was in December 2002 and since then they've shown little interest in promoting local history.

I have delivered to the Bradford Trident offices in Manchester Road all 19 editions of our newsletter, copies of our journal publication and our eight books. Yet never once has our work been publicised in BD5 magazine.

I hope Bradford Trident will now show some real interest in local history by informing BD5 readers about our work over the past five years.

Alan O'Day Scott, co-ordinator, West Bowling Local History Archives, Gaythorne Road, West Bowling.

No to a council

SIR - The proposal to set up a parish council in the Bradford Trident area is a bad idea.

Parish councils may be fine for 'small' towns but how can Trident Parish Council account for more than 11,000 people?

It will increase our council tax, give power to only a few and our area will get even worse than it already is under Bradford Trident.

Even the initial consultation on a parish council proposal is a poorly-informed leaflet and there is no direct door-to-door information and proper conduct of this proposal.

The Mehfil Group for Men has more than 50 members and we fully reject the idea of a local parish council in the Trident area.

Mohammed Javed, chairman, Mehfil Group for Men, Woodroyd Road, Bradford.

The way forward

SIR - Since I left the Council in June 2004 the population of the world has increased by 140 million, though I must stress that I have not been personally involved.

The present world total of six-and-a-half billion will rise to eight billion in 2020 and the demands on the environment will be overwhelming. Imagine all those extra folk wanting 4x4s and cheap air flights.

The only way to reduce the rate of growth, three people every second, about ten while reading this letter, is to increase the standard of living in the poorer parts of the world.

This will mean investing in Eastern Europe, Africa and parts of Asia and Central America and this must involve less trade protection for agriculture and paying properly for raw materials.

The unacceptable alternative is to ignore the rest of the world, protect our budgets and spend it all and more in the future on weapons of mass destruction when the conflict breaks out.

Keith Thomson, Heights Lane, Bradford