AS COUN Galvin states (Letters, March 7), I am a simple soul.

But fortunately, I can clearly recall him advocating the council borrowing £800,000 to refurbish the Guildhall at the meeting of the council cabinet on January 10.

This is in stark contrast to his fellow Tory, Coun Joe Watt, who only weeks earlier condemned the council for prudentially borrowing to buy a piece of land which is key to opening up the access to the York Central development site – a site which is vital to the future economic prosperity of the city.

Coupled with the recent disastrous Tory performance over the council budget, which had to grapple with the cuts imposed by their own Tory-led Government, this further illustrates the total incoherence of the Tory group.

It claims to be the main opposition party. But it has no ideas, no policy and, under Coun Gillies, no leadership.

Coun Sandy Fraser (Labour), Micklegate ward.

• IN RESPONSE to Conservative councillor Joe Watt’s letter on funding for local priorities (Letters, March 7), he forgets parish councils are a vital part of local democracy in their own right. They raise their own precepts and are best placed to decide how to spend that money, matched to their knowledge of local needs. To make funding streams for local priorities in the ward come direct from the parish council, rather than making them claim such funds via the city council, surely makes more sense.

It is a bit rich when it is Coun Watt’s own government that is forcing through cuts nationally, causing shortfalls for local councils, that he then blames us for putting scarce resources where they are most needed. In our opinion, the proposed changes will substantially reduce the high bureaucratic costs in the delivery of funding for local charities and self-help groups within each ward and city-wide.

Local Tory and Lib Dem councillors carp about tough decisions like these when it is their parties nationally that have made those decisions necessary.

Coun Neil McIlveen (Labour), Skelton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without.