I AM not surprised that Cllr Joe Watt has left the City of York Council Conservative Group and become an independent councillor.

Since 2007, the group has been all but rudderless, fractious and plagued by in-fighting.

Joe Watt is a principled and lateral-thinking man who as a councillor has the sole aim of serving to benefit the people of his ward and the people of York.

Had the leader ever lived in the real world, he would not have made the crass comment he did about food banks.

Neither would he have shown such little respect for the council taxpayer by allowing one of his councillors to move to the south of England and continue to draw his councillor’s allowance and his allowance as deputy leader of the group until the local elections in May 2015 (as reported in The Press of June 28, 2014).

The Conservative leadership has done nothing for the people of York, and that includes the Member of Parliament for York Outer, and are avoiding the “vote” on the York Plan before the General Election, just in case it might cost them votes – petty and self-interest politics. This is costing York dearly.

Major Joe Tidmarsh, Former deputy chairman (political), York.