Letters to the editor 2

Mr Galvin, usually a most affable person, although he is a Conservative politician, surprised me with his outburst. I had thought Mr Galvin a highly intelligent fellow; yet his comments have left me wondering if this week's eclipse of the sun or the hot weather recently experienced may have been the cause of his inappropriate comments regarding Mr Hudson.

Yes, the Aire-Worth Reform Association is aware that New Labour is creating an environmental disaster within this region. Yes, we are aware of the school review disaster, and yes, members, including Brian Hudson, attend all meetings of substance.

As his Conservative Councillors will testify, members of this group attended meetings throughout the district, including many in Bradford. If Mr Galvin's memory is still sound he may remember that Brian attended a meeting in Mr Galvin's office.

I remind him our attendance at meetings does not attract the £35 plus petrol allowances that his fellow councillors enjoy. Members of our group pay all their own costs, including petrol, car parking fees etc. For attending meetings, members of this group pay from their own pockets, not out of ratepayers' pockets.

I suggest commitment to this area be demonstrated by the amount of unpaid work one is willing to undertake on behalf of Keighley. Brian Hudson is one of many within this area who seeks neither acclaim nor financial redress.

Such an unprovoked attack on him fills me with sorrow for Mr Galvin.

A public apology from the Conservatives to Brian should be made.

David Samuels

Oxenhope

Sir - I see Brian Hudson has really rattled John Galvin's cage.

The Tory Party Agent has made an unprecedented personal attack on someone not affiliated to any political party and is really scraping the barrel bottom.

For Mr Galvin's information, the problem of the low-lying sewer was around when he too was wearing short pants and no doubt using crayons.

In the dying days of the Keighley Borough Council (1972) the works committee discussed 'short-term' measures to deal with the problem. Since then we have had numerous political changes in Bradford. Even the powerful Tory regime under Eric Pickles did not have the will to force the issue with the Water Authority.

John Galvin's accusation that Brian Hudson is an armchair critic leads me to believe that he is suffering from some sort of dementia, as he has met Mr Hudson at a number of meetings.

If Mr Galvin had got off his backside and looked around the area over the last two decades he may have seen Brian Hudson fighting to secure funding for the KCT, organising Keighley Gala, running a stall at Manorlands or building sets for HYT. Just a few of the organisations he has given his time to.

I believe that in Mr Galvin's eyes, Brian Hudson's real crime is in wanting a structural change that would see a split from Bradford. Smaller wards would give all communities - including ethnic minorities - a truly representative voice.

This structure would allow local independents, speaking for their communities, into the corridors of power. That is why the likes of Mr Galvin make personal attacks on anyone who dares voice an opinion outside the realms of 'political establishment'. And that is why both Tory and Labour are reluctant to upset the status quo.

Anthony Wright

West Lane, Keighley.

Sir - Regarding a letter in last week's issue entitled 'Pathetic rant', I feel I must put pen to paper and reply to Mr. John Galvin with a few facts and truths.

Fact: Had the Tory party still been in power in Bradford I would like to bet that they would not be saying no more housing in our valley until the sewerage issue is resolved!

Truth: Some are still passing and approving houses, thereby getting themselves rapped over the knuckles by their party superiors.

Fact: The Tories say no more houses.

Truth: Not long ago Councillors Dawson and Emmott and the rest of Steeton Parish Council held a secret meeting to discuss selling a piece of land to enable the building of more houses. (Hypocrisy or what?)

Truth: Only last week I was contacted by a resident of Elmsley Street, Steeton, who asked me to try and help them stop the sale of land, thus stopping more new houses being built.

It puzzled me why the resident rang me when they are represented by their own councillors. I was told they had no faith in the two ward councillors as they had both approved of the Dale View development and also the sale of the land at the bottom of Elmsley Street and the subsequent housing.

So come on Mr Galvin, don't just have a go at Brian Hudson, look to your own camp first and get that in order.

Chris Atkinson,

Chairman of Planning,

Silsden Parish Council.

Sir - Mr John Galvin, safe in his affluent North Yorkshire ward as a Conservative councillor, has decided to make a personal attack on me, an Aire-Worth resident.

Why this resident of York turns his venomous pen towards me, an unpaid political activist, is a mystery. Possibly he also attacks the twelve thousand local people who share the aspirations of devolution from Bradford. Who can tell?

During the past few years I have seen his name on leaflets as an agent, never as a candidate, not as a councillor, nor as a potential Member of Parliament.

I therefore must question his political courage in refusing to fight his political opponents with the Keighley area as I have done. As a political agent for the Conservative Gary Waller, the last Tory Member of Parliament for this district, Mr Galvin must be miffed that a socialist, Mrs Ann Cryer, trounced his political master. In the process this showed to the people of Keighley that the discredited Conservatives couldn't be trusted with running this country.

Mr Galvin scribbles of the folly of further housing development in this region.

He seems to have conveniently forgotten that it was his party who, in trying to extradite themselves from the economic chaos they themselves created, tried to kick-start the country's moribund economy by selling off all greenbelt land to the housing developers. Over the years committee members of this group can remember Mr Galvin attending only two meetings that concerned Aire and Worth valley business.

The shame of today's political administration is that it is following the ruinous Conservative policies, policies endorsed by Mr Galvin no doubt. The personal attack on me by this highly paid Conservative flunky has at least proved that this non-party political group is being viewed with alarm.

Brian Hudson

Chair Aire-Worth

Reform Association

Sir - One could be forgiven for thinking that a person like John Galvin, Conservative Party Agent, would "have a little more upstairs" than his Labour counterparts, but by the tone of his letter it could easily by assumed that both parties are "singing from the same hymn sheet".

If he looks back over the last three years, Mr. Hudson and his so called pen friends certainly did predict the possible outcome of Bradford's UDP. Letters in local newspapers did question whether the sewers, doctor's surgeries etc, would be able to cope.

As to Mr Galvin's comments on Mr Hudson's stand in the local elections, one could only say that these were pathetic and childish. Mr Galvin should know better than to stoop to this. I still believe that he does.

Mr Galvin would do well to remember that his Tory Party de-commissioned the green belt in the 1980's, so we should ask ourselvesif the Tories were in power in City Hall, would they not pursue the UDP with the same vigour as their Labour friends?

On the other hand, Mr Galvin is right, high performers like Kris Hopkins have been long awaited in this region, whatever political colour they come under. Unfortunately Mr Galvin's letter does them little credit.

In conclusion, I suggest that Mr Galvin gets his act together and lends his support to all the groups fighting Bradford's blunders and impositions in our region. He could then be seen to be taking a leading role in re-vamping Mr Hague's Conservative Party, and not running down honest people like Brian Hudson, who are fighting with conviction to do some good.

R.P.Beale

Cononley

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.