‘Shrinking economy’s not fault of the jobless’

How shocking and ignorant of Kris Hopkins MP that he supports the idea of cutting benefits to Yorkshire people.

The Tory party line alleging that the unemployed in Keighley and the wider region are suffering from “dependency culture” is grossly insensitive from our MP. He is not fit to represent his constituents, or should I say ‘misrepresent’ them?

Keighley people are desperate for work Kris! How many vacancies are there per person out of work in Keighley? What have you done to get our economy growing again? Thousands of young people have left this region in the holiday season to find work elsewhere, including Australia.

Many have taken part-time jobs with low incomes. This is how statistics on unemployment seem to improve slightly. Tories support firms such as Argos and Poundland to use unemployed people to get work done at no cost to themselves.

We taxpayers pay Jobseekers allowance to those who have been on the dole while they stack shelves or sweep up. So highly profitable big businesses need less staff and your policy causes unemployment to rise, Mr Hopkins. Government gets less income from tax and pays out more in benefits.

No wonder Government borrowing has risen in the last year. It is Osborne and our local Coalition MPs who have shrunk the local economy who are to blame, not those looking for work.

BOB HOLLAND

Skipton Road, Cononley

‘Democracy in action – not a conspiracy’

Having read with disgust another diatribe from David Samuels, implying yet again, he and his friends are the only voices of democracy and protectors of the public purse against the bullying, high-spending incompetent “group” within Keighley Town Council, I feel your readers deserve to hear the truth about Mr Samuels.

Fact 1: Mr Samuels was not responsible for the formation of the KTC – that was Keighley Voice, of which I was a member and Malcolm Hoddy chaired. Mr Samuels came to a couple of meetings as an “adviser”. I certainly don’t remember him “door knocking” with the rest of us collecting signatures for the required petition.

Fact 2: During my nine years on the KTC I can honestly say all incidences of councillors intimidating other councillors or trying to get them to vote in a certain way, that I was aware of, came from Mr Samuels or his “friends”.

Fact 3: If 24 out of 30 councillors generally didn’t share Mr Samuels point of view and the majority view prevailed there is probably a good reason and that is democracy in action not a conspiracy.

Fact 4: Mr Samuels’ first “hissy fit” that sent him running to the Keighley News resulted from the majority of the KTC not agreeing to pay a town clerk approximately a third of their annual funding as an annual salary.

Fact 5: In the first year of the KTC, and when it had very little funding and no town clerk, Mr Samuels, and another councillor, decided between them that the council would take over the allotments and went to City Hall, haranguing all and sundry until they got their way. The first anyone else at the KTC knew was when an officer turned up ready to hand over the allotments. The mayor and I, as relevant chairman, had to tell the officer the KTC knew nothing about this, had made no decision, didn’t have any staff or any money and so were not in a position to take on the responsibility. This resulted Mr Samuels’ second “hissy fit”.

You may ask why the KTC does nothing about all this? The truth is there is little they can do, any official complaints only result in a rash of counter complaints, all of which take time and money to resolve. Time and money which should be spent for the benefit of Keighley.

As I am no longer a councillor I cannot be “taken to standards”, nor can Mr Samuels, which is probably why he keeps resigning then trying to get elected again.

JOYCE NEWTON

(Keighley Town Councillor, 2002-2011) Valley View Close, Oakworth

Town council needs a little self-examination

Councillor Graham Mitchell seems surprised the town council has failed to secure any devolvement of services from Bradford (Letters, June 21).

The headline on the front page of Thursday, June 14, should come both as a leveller to the council, it suggests we need down-to-earth discussions on where we are getting it wrong.

As a parish council, by law we are nothing more, a budget of £395,000 a year is exorbitant in a downturn that has brought the equivalent soup kitchens, pawn shops, and the rise in demand for short-term loans back in our town.

Ill-thought-out civic decisions, well highlighted in the local press, have not helped the council’s cause, and again a huge debt that may well backfire on the ratepayer is no advert to run services.

Keighley Town Council does need a period of self-examination, you cannot demand services, be rejected, then scream to the Communities Secretary when, as a council, we have not shown any outward signs of capability to administer such services.

RP BEALE

Ridgemount Road, Riddlesden