WHY did so many of us who voted Labour in the General Election make a point of voting on Thursday in order to be rid of a beacon Labour council?

There was a sour tone to a local Labour party which not only failed to listen but also seemed to go out of its way to make enemies of different parts of York and of groups of people within the city.

People in Dunnington who work hard for their families' future will not readily forget Janet Looker's comments about their community.

Dave Merrett was right to recognise that there are issues for the Labour Party to address both nationally and locally.

A commitment to work with all the communities making up our city would be a good start.

Peter Rees Jones,

Coneycroft,

Dunnington,

York.

...I FEAR that the change of leadership in the City of York Council is not a change for the better as far as Clifford's Tower is concerned.

A brief look at the winners suggests that by far the great majority support the Coppergate II scheme, which will swamp this landmark with shop buildings, while only a handful believe that Castle car park should be turned into a much-needed open space.

This is one of the problems with party manifestos. Politicians think that we voted for all of their policies, when in fact people only vote for a series of key policies but oppose the rest.

Democracy should also involve keeping elected politicians in check between elections - something politicians tend to forget.

Dr Duncan Campbell,

Albemarle Road,

York.

...COUNCILLOR Steve Galloway exclusively revealed to the Evening Press (May 2) that one of his first initiatives would be to "clean up the city and improve the quality of local neighbourhoods by concentrating on cleanliness, recycling and vandalism".

Nothing like starting your term in office with an uphill battle!

Money galore can be pumped into cleanliness but you cannot stop Joe Public from undoing all the hard work by dropping litter or dumping rubbish. What needs to be looked at first is a campaign to make these people take stock of what their irresponsible actions do to other people's neighbourhoods.

As for recycling, we live in a throw-away society. If people cannot be bothered to put litter in a bin, then sorting their refuse is a task too hard to comprehend. For any scheme to work public participation has to be paramount.

Vandalism can be stopped once the thugs responsible are made to see the errors of their ways by making them clean up their graffiti or repair what they have smashed up instead of slapping their wrists or giving them a petty fine.

I wish you well, Mr Galloway, in your term of office. But remember this: litter and vandalism are a disease, are you the cure?

PR Willey,

Burnholme Drive,

Heworth,

York.

...CONGRATULATIONS to the York Liberal Democrats and congratulations to the people of York for recognising that 20 years of Labour control is long enough.

All that now remains is for the rest of the country to recognise that it is now time to get rid of the megalomaniac in Downing Street and the rest of his cronies.

The people of this country need and deserve a local and national government that will listen to the people instead of disregarding them on every issue.

Dennis Newton,

Elmfield Terrace,

Malton Road,

York.

Updated: 11:30 Monday, May 05, 2003