I was interested to read Tony Blair's article (Evening Press, January 28) but was surprised that he has the time to write for the Press.

I thought his time was taken up re-organising his ministerial team to cope with the latest Government resignation or in finding another crony to appoint to a position of power. We don't pay him to be a journalist but I suspect the letter was penned by one of his spin doctors.

The article did, however, have that Blair touch, namely little substance and all gloss. It distorted the facts in true Blair style, claiming that youth unemployment had fallen in York because of the New Deal, despite the fact that the majority of the fall was before the New Deal had even started.

The New Deal scheme is a costly failure costing over £11,000 per job with a failure rate of about 25 per cent. As the York resident who objected to being used as a political pawn so cogently stated, the scheme has not helped her and she would have obtained her job in any event.

It is a shame Mr Blair didn't use the article to apologise to York residents for closing York's Army HQ or for closing the York-based Funding Agency for Schools or for increasing the council tax by four times the rate of inflation.

He should have explained why York District Hospital waiting lists are so much higher than before the last election, despite his early pledge to reduce waiting lists by 100,000; or why North Yorkshire County Council is getting insufficient funding to maintain basic services.

Next time Mr Blair attaches his name to such an article he should address the real issues of concern in York instead of attempting to dress up failure as success.

Simon Mallett,

Deputy Chairman,

City of York Conservatives,

Ash Street,

York.

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