Vote promises

Recently the local press has published numerous articles reminding the public that the York/North Yorkshire mayoral elections will take place on May 2.

I am surprised that discerning journalists have not chosen to analyse the over-ambitious promises of the Conservative candidate Keane Duncan, currently North Yorkshire Council's executive director for highways.

Perhaps we’ve just got used to senior politicians promising the earth just before an election and can’t distinguish between an aspiration and a realistic proposal.

Anyone visiting Cllr Duncan’s website will be familiar with his “intentions” to future fund cheaper housing, investment in public transport, localised support for farming and free car parking, however his latest promise and the re-post from Thirsk and Malton Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake introduces a bit of realism which local journalists should dwell on.

Cllr Duncan has stated that one of his key objectives if elected as mayor will be to make the A64 between York and Scarborough a duel carriageway.

Mr Hollinrake has referred to this scheme as a “pipe dream” referring to the difficulty in justifying such enormous cost for the geographical area it would serve.

Perhaps Mr Hollinrake should have first consulted the Conservatives' handbook, where he would have been told to hold back his pragmatic comments until after his colleague had been elected. This is the same Conservative handbook which Cllr Duncan must have used when he came up with his “catchy” three word slogan for his A64 campaign – “Just Dual It”.

An aspiration, a pipe dream or just another Conservative politician trying to get elected by promising everyone the earth.

I wonder what the leaders of York and North Yorkshire councils think about Cllr Duncan’s plans and how much their own finances will figure in the outcomes should he be elected, because I can’t see all the money coming from central government.

Watch out for the term “fiscal independence” featuring more and more in local government dialogue and reports.

B Forbes, Thornton-le-Moor.

Regular customer

I AM responding to your visit to The Priory Bistro in Guisborough (D&S Times Eating Out, Mar 29).

I suppose I am one of the regular visitors you refer to because I go there two or three times a week when doing my local bit of shopping.

The main reason I go there is the friendliness of the staff as well as the warm atmosphere of the place that you mention.

They recognise me with a smile and even if I am at the back of a small queue they say “Usual, Derek?” Because I always have a cup of Americano and a chocolate tiffin, so I can go and sit down.

I am pleased you recorded the tiffin in your article.

The staff are always busy but if I want to talk, they will chat but they will leave me to read my paper if I don’t.

I have referred to them as the “Bistro Bells” on occasion, but I can say that because I am 90 years of age.

The Bistro is in a side street of Guisborough and could do with advertising its presence.

Derek Waterworth, Guisborough.

Easter date

EVERY year there is debate about the problem of Easter moving around the calendar, but with Bank Holiday Monday following moving the clocks forward, this year offers a clue to an easy solution.

Why not fix the Monday Bank Holiday to the clock change and let Good Friday float with the Christian lunar calendar?

A further improvement would be to add a new Autumn Bank Holiday on the Monday after the clocks are moved back to cheer us up at the time when “the lights come on at four”.

Christopher Rainger, York.

Post Office woe

I AGREE with the recent letter from Robin Rutherford regarding the Horizon scandal “Post Office scandal” (D&S Times letters, Apr 5).

There is still management working for the Post Office, who were involved with Horizon all those years ago and have got away with it.

They were completely incompetent then and still are, what a mess the Post Office is in with massive debts.

Those that are still with the company should be prosecuted and made to suffer just like the sub postmasters were made to suffer.

Why there is a delay in giving out compensation is baffling.

John Brant, Darlington.

Horizon flaws

I AM in my 90s but have a fairly good memory, no doubt a reader will correct me if I am wrong on this occasion.

I believe the Post Office Horizon system was rolled out by Tony Blair’s government despite problems having occurred during its early stages.

Perhaps all the traumatic and costly events endured by sub-postmasters/mistresses in the following years could have been avoided if the system had been thoroughly investigated in the first place prior to the roll out.

Name supplied, Billingham.

Geography question

ARE the Labour Party lost?

I only ask this question because I was trawling through Facebook and I spotted a post from Chris McEwan, the Labour candidate for the Tees Valley mayorality, on the Anything Aycliffe page.

Cllr McEwan was telling the good people of Aycliffe that if they vote for him, he will introduce two hours of free parking (he did not mention that he was one of the councillors who took away our free parking in Darlington).

Apart from the dishonest policies, I was intrigued because Aycliffe isn't in the Tees Valley, the residents will not be voting for a Tees Valley Mayor.

It has also come to my attention that residents in Shildon and as far away as Teesdale have received his leaflets.

What are the Labour campaign managers playing at?

They get paid good money to put the nonentity politicians the Labour Central Office hoist on us in the right places.

Can we expect to see a photo of Chris McEwan by the Sydney Harbour Bridge with the caption "Great to be in the shadow of the Tees Transporter Bridge"?

A word of warning however, we shouldn't be complacent.

All it takes is for us to stay home on polling day and Chris McEwan, the man who can't tell his Aycliffe from his Eaglescliffe, will be our mayor, and that is enough to make all of us tremble.

Michael Walker, Darlington.

Tory candidates

IT is reported that more than 60 Conservative MPs have decided to stand down from Parliament at the next general election, many having had leading positions up to Cabinet level. This will leave the Prime Minister with even more problems.

Selecting new candidates will no doubt be a challenge as current polls suggest that their appointments could well be shortlived making any enthusiasm debatable.

Each constituency involved will differ because the previous majorities did vary from marginal to quite substantial, so perhaps giving optimism to the Conservatives that their new MPs can hold onto their seats and avoid a swing to the other parties which would benefit Labour, and an election victory.

Seeing new MPs in Parliament could well be a blessing in disguise for the future of the Conservative Party.

D Wearmouth, Shildon.

Health lottery

I HAVE managed to reach the age of 83 and like a lot of people my age have arrived here with the help of the NHS.

The doctors used to practice with a small surgery manned by a small number of GPs and clerical staff.

These practitioners looked after all medical needs including referrals to specialist consultants.

These people were not only doctors but had a personal relationship with everybody in their practice.

Along comes a lot of jobsworths who decided that the NHS should be run by managers and accountants.

It is blatantly obvious that this is not working, especially with the elderly who have little or no understanding of emails or text messages which leaves them isolated and with a lack of medical care.

They are changing the NHS into the NHL or the National Health Lottery. Bite the bullet, admit your faults and get medicine practised with the efficiency it used to have.

T J Ryder, York.

Heat pumps

THE main reason that heat pumps and solar are so popular in Europe is because they save money.

In the UK it’s the same, alongside insulation, green technology is the best way to cut your bills. The people paying the most are people with fossil fuel heating and poorly insulated homes.

From April 1 the Ofgem Price Cap fixed electricity unit prices at about 24.5p per kWh and gas prices at 6p per kWh, the energy for a typical home is expected to cost around £1,690 per year. But that’s not the whole story.

The gas unit price is fixed, whatever time of day you use gas.

Electricity is different, and green technology like solar PV and electric heating using heat pumps and home batteries allow you to get much lower rates.

Using off-peak power can pull the average rate you pay down to below 20p per unit in January, and in summer solar PV can reduce costs to virtually zero.

Like for like, a home with renewables might pay £95 per month compared to £140 with gas heating and get an additional small income from the exported PV every year. Annual bills can be and are halved for some homes. Spring is the best time to see the impact this has.

Anyone with solar panels is now seeing a noticeable reduction in the energy they need from the grid, 4kWh a day is possible from a typical home system even in March. By midsummer it can easily be 20kWh a day.

Solar panels across the UK are already cutting domestic energy usage so much you can see their impact on the national energy demand at noon on a sunny day.

If you have electric heating, using a heat pump or radiant panels, or a heat store for hot water, then you can use even more of that free solar energy to reduce bills.

As heat pumps use a quarter of the electricity of other electric heaters for the same warmth, they are the most efficient choice for all except the smallest homes. Plus, no more gas standing charges.

For all these reasons, anyone buying a new house should be asking the developers for new technology as part of the build, and for enough to make a difference to bills, which means two to four PV panels per bedroom, alongside a battery and a heat pump.

Maddie Evans, Guildford.

Building justification

COULD someone please explain why we need to build a new £118m building in Darlington when there are a number of large office blocks close to the centre that are vacant?

Susan Chapman, Darlington.