When will you get fed up of blaming Labour?

I notice F.W. Birch has replied in the Express to mine and other letters by accusing me of “blinkered views”. I can only add that a phrase containing pan, kettle and black springs to mind.

For the second time he goes on about “the mess Labour left behind”. With respect I think he should get out more and stop playing that continuous loop of Conservative Party political broadcast he must have on his television or, better still, spend a few minutes on the internet to ascertain the facts, which is all it would take to prove how out of touch he is.

For a start, the financial crisis was caused by the banks and was worldwide, so presumably he thinks the Labour Government caused all other, major countries to go into recession.

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Also, two years later in 2010, Britain was on a stronger economic level than all the other major countries. Fast forward over four years of coalition, we have had the biggest recession since the 30s and the slowest recovery for over 100 years. And, unlike all our competitors, our production level is still below that 2010 level.

It isn’t really a recovery at all and if you take the one million on zero-hour contracts out of the equation, unemployment is a lot higher than when the Coalition was formed. To make their logic worse, the people on those contracts in most cases are not earning enough to pay tax or National Insurance, so they cannot help the country.

In fact, I challenge F.W. Birch to name anything that has improved in those four years plus (apart from the bank balances of the wealthiest 1%). Not living in Burnley, I cannot comment on how he thinks the town has dramatically improved. I will leave that to those who live there. But on the visits I make, not a lot seems to have altered and if it has it will be in spite of the coalition and not because of it, since the town has seen savage cuts in Government funding, all of course voted for by Gordon Birtwistle. He is true to the Tory tradition that any good thing he has caused and all the bad has nothing to do with him. I wonder, if the Conservatives win the next election (Heaven forbid please!) after 10 years will they still be blaming the Labour Government for everything, including the football results and weather?

Oh, and finally, please move on about “that” letter left by the treasury to welcome the new government. Everyone now (apart from the naive and uninformed) knows it was a light-hearted joke to welcome the new administration. Only a government so low and inept would use that as a weapon.

Before putting pen to paper, just check your facts Mr Birch.

David Entwistle

Clayton-Le-Moors