THE Conservatives believe hounding James Alexander from office is a good idea.

Really? If Labour cede power, are the Tories going to form a coalition with Lib Dems just months before the voters go to the polls?

Recently, the city’s newest councillor claimed that the council’s priorities should be potholes and weeding. Another councillor told The Press that the public’s declared appetite for politicians to work together is in fact a desire to see opposition parties co-ordinate their attacks on the administration. Really?

This inability of politicians to work constructively is worrying.

James Alexander engaged with the big picture, as the chamber of commerce and figures in the wider region acknowledge, even if there were well-publicised mistakes.

What is missing is a commitment from all the city’s politicians to work together to ensure that the best strategic decisions are taken to secure our city’s future, instead of futile party political posturing.

Sixty years without an approved local plan. Endless grandstanding about protecting a green belt that’s never been properly ratified.

Party politics is failing us. With Labour/Greens controlling the centre and Lib Dems/Conservatives controlling the villages, we appear condemned to further wasted years of pointless infighting.

Christian Vassie, Blake Court, Wheldrake, York.