AS we move into 2014, let us be more positive in our outlook, especially towards City of York Council and its leader, James Alexander, who is making a real effort to lead well and put right some of the mess left for him by the previous Liberal council.

While we are at it, how about having some positive sympathy for David Cameron and his coalition government, who had to cope with a messed-up economy left by numerous Labour ministers?

But in York, the closure of Lendal Bridge has not been the disaster we all expected, and the traffic flows quite well. The improvement in King’s Square – tidy, flat, and the cobbles, no longer a danger of falling for us OAPs – is okay.

The economy in the UK is much improved and, let’s face it, no government of whatever party would deliberately start off becoming unpopular as the coalition did if it wasn’t necessary.

So remember the Phillipines and other disasters in the world, and thank God we live in the UK.

Happy New Year.

Bryan R Lawson, Burton Fields Road, Stamford Bridge, York.