Thatcherism lives on in Welwyn Hatfield

sir – I was not surprised at the reaction to my letter from Cllr Mansfield and Cllr Franey (WHT, December 3). What a pity they could not get together and work the dates out as they are both stating different years, but that does not surprise me. I left t

sir - I was not surprised at the reaction to my letter from Cllr Mansfield and Cllr Franey (WHT, December 3). What a pity they could not get together and work the dates out as they are both stating different years, but that does not surprise me.

I left the office of leader of the council in 2001 and had a budget fully balanced and one of the best seen by many officers. All without privatising everything or disposing of key staff and keeping the council tax rise sensible.

The finances of the council were over £5 million in the red when I took office from the Tory administration and their financial wizard Simon Hasslam had set a budget with a large £200,000 hole in it under a heading, savings to be found, as well as draining reserve balances.

The person who replaced me set the next council budget with a team they picked and set a budget, not as good as the one I had set but far better than the one we inherited from the Tories.

All this is on record for anyone to check and should prove the cuts and privatisation by this Tory administration is nothing more than political dogma. It seems Thatcherism is still alive and doing well in Welwyn Hatfield.

Andrew Tinsley,

former Labour leader,

Welwyn Hatfield Council.