Extra money for mayors is a recipe for disaster: Yorkshire Post Letters

Gareth Robson, Kent House Road, Beckenham.

Only in Britain could our amateur actor-politicians come up with a so-called devolution model as lop-sided, illogical and half-baked as the combined authority model which has been applied as a fag-packet-planned sticking plaster solution, designed in desperation to try to convince us that politics can help us.

All the talk at the moment is of "keep more of our money to be spent locally". Most areas of the country are already subsidised - where is the extra going to come from?

Terrifyingly, the suggestion seems to be that mayors will be allowed to borrow! And on the other side of the balance, who will mop up the inevitable overspends and failed white elephants? A disaster in the making unfortunately. I hope I'm wrong; time will tell.

Bryn Glover, Kirkby Malzeard, Ripon.

Andy Burnham has indicated on more than one occasion that he proposes to introduce political changes not seen in 40 years.

I find myself wondering whether his choice of timescale was accidental, simply conveying the idea of a generational difference, or whether it was a deliberate reference to 1986, when Margaret Thatcher was our Prime Minister and at the height of her powers.

Together with her friend, Ronald Reagan in the USA, she was busy implementing the philosophy of neoliberalism. This is a form of capitalism advocated by such economists as Freidrich von Hayek and Milton Friedman, and essentially involves the significant reduction of the state or the community in our day-to-day affairs, and transferring their operation to private ownership.

We heard a great deal about share-ownership being passed to private UK citizens. Mrs Thatcher had set herself the task of privatising all our utilities and many public services, and partially privatising sections of education, health care, the military and the law.

I wonder if Mr Burnham was speaking in general terms or whether he was specifically promising to reverse all the changes of the 1980s.

Stewart Arnold, Stratton Park, Swanland, East Riding of Yorkshire.

The 25 per cent turnout in the Greater Manchester Metro Mayoral election is shocking enough but on the day Andy Burnham announces that metro mayors are to get more financial powers it is scary.

With greater responsibility should come greater accountability. Turning up for election once every four years and getting a 25 per cent turnout is not enough. There should be some sort of elected assembly, as in London, holding the mayors to rigid scrutiny. No one can look at the current system and think this is good for democracy.

Mike Hutchinson, Beverley.

Several recent reports in the YP have highlighted the new powers which mayors are expecting to receive from Whitehall.

The Mayors from North, South, and Tees have given their thoughts on reforms which could affect their areas - but once again we in the East Riding have heard little or nothing from Luke Campbell. Sadly many folk here are left with the view that Luke has had neither the training nor experience to deal with the politics of local government, fine man that we otherwise believe him to be.