‘Why Heworth voters should opt for Reform in by-election’

AS a rule council by-elections, especially those held here in York never raise much interest – the January 15 by-election is somewhat different in that votes will have a real meaning into how City of York Council is governed until the full 2027 City of York Council local election.

The York & North Yorkshire Group (Press Letters January 7) talk of the ‘progressive parties’ uniting – there is nothing ‘progressive’ about the established, failed political parties locally and nationally.

Voters in the Heworth Ward have it within their power to break the Labour majority on the city council and also send a national message as to how disillusioned voters are with Labour policies generally.

For those in the local area who have been ignored for decades and seen their communities over run with student housing, the whole area changed for the worse with pubs, clubs and shops lost and the general lack of council investment in their local streets you now have an opportunity to punish those responsible.

I think it has dawned on many people now that simply voting for one of the established political parties changes nothing nationally or locally.

Heworth Ward voters have a chance to exact real change by voting for the only political party offering a change in direction in national policies and to remove the Labour majority at York council.

That’s by voting Reform.

Councillor Mark Warters,

Independent Ward Councillor Osbaldwick & Derwent

… COMPASS York and N Yorks (whoever they are) want all parties to unite in the Heworth by-election, to keep Reform out. If other parties gave people a reason to vote for them, and not Reform, then voters will vote for them.

Why does everyone seem to be running scared of Reform anyway?

Also, Compass York and N Yorks are “looking forward to electoral reform, to give us PR, not first past the post”.

That’s defeating their own point though, as if PR was used in the last election, Reform would have 80 or 90 MPs instead of the handful they actually have.

Andrew Hunt,

Ashton Vale Road,

Bristol

Recommended reading:

‘Reform UK could win by default’: call for unity over Heworth by-election

Candidates for the York Council Heworth by-election and what voters should know

Some of the big council decisions and moments in York in 2025

Harsh realities of economic warfare

UKRAINE – compare and contrast the different responses of Europe and the US and you find the value of actions over talk. The UK and France have agreed to send troops if a peace negotiation is agreed.

Yes, only sending in the troops after the fighting stops, just how French can you get.

Hardly going to get the Kremlin rattled is it.

On the other hand the US is using the excuse of drug cartels to get the heavy oil Venezuela has in abundance on to the world market, which will in turn hit the Russian economy where it hurts most and thereby take away its ability to continue waging war.

Trump knows he can’t directly attack the Russians, who are using proxies like Venezuela to get around sanctions designed to choke the Russian war machine of funds, so he’s retaliating as he should do.

In time when energy prices in the UK finally start to fall it will be Trump you have to thank for getting the price of oil and gas down, not Ed Miliband.

These are the harsh realities of economic warfare, realities that don’t give a toss about so called International Law.

Dr Scott Marmion,

Woodthorpe,

York

More over Vlad…

IF Putin is looking to retire, his obvious replacement is Trump.

Peter Rickaby,

Moat Way,

Brayton

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