LETTERS ROUND-UP:

Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, is right to point out that City of York Council called for York to be a “frack free” area in October 2014.

Cllr Andrew Waller (Lib-Dem) states: “This is progressing much quicker than anticipated” but does not state that his own Lib/Dem party while in coalition with the Tories in Parliament from 2010 to 2015 allowed this practice to formulate and ferment.

All of the city centre of York and most of the surrounding suburbs are covered by York Central, as are areas covered by York Outer MP Julian Sturdy (Tory).

I would like to know how Julian Sturdy, who just happens to be the MP for the area I live in, is attempting to protect the core of York and North Yorkshire, with its ancient history, structures and relics, and its beautiful countryside from the known damage that fragmentation can create.

I have read reports that he supports the Tory's plan to dash for gas plan via fracking and ask him publicly how he can represent all his constituents when most people in York and North Yorkshire are against fracking.

Howard Perry, St James Place, Dringhouses, York

TOM MITCHELL (Letters, August 26) asks for reasons as to why Britain sends a colossal £9 billion overseas in foreign aid.

For a start, I don’t think there is an iota of altruism in this huge amount of money sent to other countries.

Britain no longer has a populated of born-in-Britain citizens but a citizenship composed of many, many different races from all over the world.

There are thousands of people who are British citizens by dint of being born here, with their forebears going back several generations being British-born too.

Once they reach the age of 18 they can vote.

Despite being born here, they will have a strong allegiance to their mother country and all their relatives there.

There are also many, many thousands of immigrants from virtually every country in the world.

Once these immigrants have been granted British citizenship they too will be allowed to vote.

Should the Government stop sending money to the countries where many of the immigrants have come from, there could well be a voting rebellion.

Immigrants from a country deprived of foreign aid could withhold the vote they may well have opted for, possibly the Government in power, and vote for the opposition who will have promised to reinstate aid to their country.

Philip Roe, Roman Avenue South, Stamford Bridge

I WOULD like to reply to the letter concerning the Daniel Gath development at Sheriff Hutton (Letters, August 20).

I don’t think the article (The Press, August 17) was one-sided at all as I was one of the protesters.

My property is next to where the houses are to be built. I have lived in the village all my life and so have my parents and grandparents.

The people in the village who are backing the development do not live at our end of the village. They will not have to put up with the lorries, diggers etc that will have to come up and down our road.

If this is passed, would the person who has written this letter like to have all the dirt and noise?

That’s if they lived at the east end, which I don’t think they do.

As for the affordable houses, do we know how much they are going to be? No.

How do we know these houses are going to be offered to low paid people in the village?

Or will they be snapped up by people outside the village?

Mrs P Pattison, East End, Sheriff Hutton

CHRIS MONCRIEFF (The Press, August 26) emphasises what little support there was for Jeremy Corbyn in the leadership contest among Labour MPs.

Corbyn is proving to be by far the most popular candidate among Labour supporters around the country.

That doesn’t say much for MPs actually listening to the opinions of those people they are supposed to represent.

Geoff Robb, Hunters Close, Dunnington, York