I would like to add a comment to Mr Thomas’s letter stating that we are lucky to have Mr Hayes as our MP.
I agree that Mr Hayes will back his constituents if someone is trying to close the court house or libraries, or if you want your local pub rebuilt or other local issues which are important to us, but when it comes to the much meatier subject of running the country Mr Hayes has shown that he will vote the way his superiors instruct him.
I do not think he was giving much consideration to any of his constituents who may be in the armed forces when he voted for maintaining the military option of intervention in Syria – a conflict few understand.
It is also a little known fact that his government has given £650 million of funds which was allocated by Brussels, for the regeneration of poorer areas of England, to Scotland and the other devolved countries.
The European Commissioner for Regional Policy, Johannes Hahn, has, quite rightly, demanded a ‘clear explanation’ for this action from the government. Mr Hayes has explained that this action was taken to keep the levels of financial reductions fair across the UK.
How can this be fair to his constituents when the Government already gives more money per head of population to the other nations of the UK?
Scotland alone receives over £4billion per year extra, enabling them to have free prescriptions, university education etc, etc, and more doctors and nurses per head of population than the rest of the UK.
Mr Hayes agrees that this allocation of funding is wrong and in need of reform but, after over three years in government, nothing has changed.
It could be that Mr Hayes has not achieved his current high position in government because he is a strong politician, but because he is guaranteed not to rock the government boat.
Phil Clay
Spalding