WITH reference to letter from Steve Thorpe in the Keighley News on January 22 – Disgusting comments.

I would like to make the following points.

I voted against the closure of Haworth Fire Station and supported the Fire Brigades Union. I was not prepared to ‘privatise/make a voluntary station’.

Mine was a principled stand in support of fellow trade unionists.

Interestingly, the further south you went in the country the less cuts to the fire service were made. This is the same with support for local government; Bradford Council has received 40 per cent less in funding.

I notice Mr Thorpe does not even mention the Tory Government’s role in this.

To be even-handed, there are some things I do not like, but I understand the difficulties Bradford has. In fact, a large number of Conservative leaders have criticised their own Government for the cuts going too far.

For every job created in the North there are 12 in the South, so again it is the North that suffers.

COUNCILLOR BARRY THORNE Oakworth