Our countryside is not going to be concreted over

LABOUR can triple or quadruple proposed housing numbers; or even increase them by a factor of ten if it wishes.

It will make not one jot of difference to the housing numbers that are actually built.

Quite apart from the fact there are insufficient skilled construction workers to build all these homes it is the private sector that is expected to carry out the work and the private sector will only build if it considers it worthwhile to do so.

Proposed changes to planning laws do not relax the burdens that are heaped upon the industry. Far from it. Ministerial statements so far indicate a doubling down on all the demands both before an application is considered and those that come as a condition of any approval granted.

The government can do away with greenbelt protection and impose whatever housing targets it likes, but it cannot force private enterprise to build houses if the private sector considers the regulatory burden is too onerous.

The North Yorkshire countryside is not going to be concreted over any time soon.

Matthew Laverack,

Lord Mayors Walk,

York

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Labour’s inherited black hole indeed!

BLACK hole indeed! The only black hole Rachel Reeves has ‘found’ is of her own creation.

The the economy was growing, growth was growing, unemployment falling, immigration beginning to fall - things were looking up at last.

The charge into self destruct began on day one of the Keir Starmer rule - the public who fell under his charm and Reeves’s lies will now pay the price.

Their mask has slipped. Rishi Sunak was right - taxes will rise - the poorer will become poorer.

There was no Tory cover up - Labour has lied and betrayed the very people they said they were for.

I lay a pound to a penny that, at the end of his first term in Parliament with Reeves in charge of the country’s finances, her black hole will have turned into a bottomless crater.

The voters will reap what they have sown - they knew not what they did.

Name and address supplied

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On wrong track with political soundbites

ONE of the reasons why many of us can’t stand politicians is their total obsession with political soundbites and posting tweets attacking their opponents whenever they can.

The recent news about Haxby station is a case in point.

Last year, Luke Charters was quite happy to post tweets attacking the Conservatives for not investing enough in Haxby Station. “Typical Tory favouritism putting projects in York at risk such as Haxby station”, he wrote.

Fast forward to today, and it is Luke and the Labour Party who have put the future of Haxby station at risk.

Perhaps in a few days Luke will post a new tweet saying that this is “typical Labour favouritism”.

All this is a sign of the hypocrisy and immaturity which sadly dominates political life in Westminster.

Perhaps one day we will get an MP who realises that real life isn’t as simple as a 280 character tweet.

Mrs J Secker

Address supplied

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York set for triathlon

WE, like Paris, have all the facilities for the triathlon in York.

High pollution levels in the River Foss, a cycle race through the pedestrian zoned city centre, and a running race around the poor-quality air caused by the queueing traffic on the inner ring road.

Yes York certainly has everything for a successful world class triathlon event .

D M Deamer

Penleys Grove Street

Monkgate

York