Council estate upbringing not a factor

IT’S very kind of Allen Cowles to give me his permission to write to the Advertiser, but my request was actually to the editor.

As for who did or didn’t grow up on a council estate, if it’s not a factor, why does he keep bringing it up? He may disapprove of the offspring of previous Labour ministers standing for election, but his claim they don’t have experience of working life doesn’'t stand up. He might say it’s not his idea of work, but if we look at UKIP’s “shadow cabinet” and two MPs, mostly from privileged backgrounds and Tories all, in most cases the work they did, or do, is not what I’d call honourable either.

I did NOT say Mr Cowles suggested William Easterly recommended cutting aid, and it’s nice of him to agree with Mr Easterly, which is what I DID say. As for giving my solution to the problem, I’m not so deluded as to believe anyone concerned with World Aid is going to ask for my opinion either.

Mr Cowles claims a report giving the Labour run Welsh NHS worse results than the Conservative run UK NHS blows a hole in “Labour’s big single election issue”. Other reports have stated NHS results were better under the last Labour government and have steadily deteriorated under the Conservatives with whom UKIP dream of forming an alliance. I’m making no comment on Wales, I think we’ve done enough damage to that country over the years.

Start the mud-slinging, Mr Cowles? You already did that by alluding to a thoughtless tweet by a Labour MP which “showed the contempt with which Labour treat the ordinary man in the street”. I could have mentioned the many UKIP foot in mouth moments which could fall into that category, but I didn’t, because coming from you or I it would be a ridiculous claim to make.

Norman Duff