SOMETHING spooky occurred on Friday the 13th. Both James Alexander and Julian Sturdy sang from the same song sheet, with Labour and Tory claiming victory in our time over reduced unemployment and claimed benefits.

Hold on a minute. Why is Mr Alexander using employment and benefit figures that are obviously manipulated?

The labour market statistics show a rise in mandatory UK unpaid work from 8,000 to at least 170,000.

Those on the Tory workfare and work programmes receive benefits, but aren’t classed as unemployed. People are also having benefit removed for a month or more for not following the Tories nasty work directives.

Then we have Mr Sturdy boasting that UK unemployment and youth unemployment have fallen by over 40 per cent since the coalition took over.

What? How can this be the case when the ONS state that unemployment in spring 2010 was 2.47 million and in summer 2013 stood at 2.49 million? Youth unemployment was 925,000 in 2010 and at least 950,000 today.

Mr Sturdy quotes the Tory mantra of 400,000 new jobs this year, but what kind of jobs and how many forced into low paid self-employment?

Tom Scaife, Manor Drive, York.