ELECTION LETTERS POSTBAG: child poverty, rotten choices - and heat from mines

In one of the richest countries in the world, it’s shameful that we need to talk about child poverty.

Currently, more than 3,500 children in York live in poverty.

The two-child benefit cap mostly affects children with at least one parent working.

This unfair policy limits Child Tax Credit and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family.

Introduced by the Conservative government in 2017, it has pushed many families into financial hardship.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies warns that 250,000 more children will be hit by this cap next year, rising to an extra half a million by 2029.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that one million children experienced hardship in 2022. With the right political choices, we can do much better.

The Green Party has pledged to scrap the two-child benefit cap.

I urge Labour to join us in making this pledge. This one decision could immediately lift 250,000 children out of poverty.

Labour will have the power to do this when they win the next election. If they fail to act, elected Green MPs will push them to do what is right.

Lars Kramm, Green Party candidate for York Central, Manor Heath, York

Hot air on heating

Matthew Laverack seems to think he is an expert on all matters under the sun, but a little research proves this is not the case.

In his letter of June 22 he criticises the Lib Dem candidate for Selby, Christian Vassie, for suggesting that homes in the former Selby coalfield could be heated by using geothermal energy from the disused mines.

He says: “District heating on this scale would involve massive upheaval and astronomical cost to achieve.”

Perhaps Mr Laverack should have done a little research before writing. If he had gone to the official Government website, he would have found this - www.gov.uk/government/collections/mine-water-heat - which outlines how this can be done.

Locally, the former fracking well at Kirby Misperton is now being developed as one such small scale operation, providing heat for 400 homes and for agricultural uses.

The Lib Dem candidate for Thirsk and Malton, Steve Mason, is one of those involved in the scheme through Third Energy Onshore.

But what do we Lib Dems know compared to Mr Laverack’s omniscience?

Tony Fisher, Strensall

A terrible choice

The US has terrible electoral choices - Biden or Trump. But so do we.

Do we opt for Corbynistic financial disaster with Starmer, who says nothing about the taxes he will increase?

What about Farage, who thinks we encouraged Putin (though I like his immigration policies)?

Or there is Sunak - an idiot for calling an early election the Tories are certain to lose. National Service is a good idea, but will lose all 18-year-old voters. Sunak must go - but maybe it’s a case of better the devil we know?

John Zimnoch, Osbaldwick, York

Postal vote perplexity

Having realised I would be out of the area on polling day, and being technologically unable to master the internet, I rang the city council on June 10 to request a postal vote.

On June 13 a letter arrived asking me to apply for a postal vote - a letter which asked for no more information than I had already supplied, ie name and address.

I returned this the following day and eight days later I received two separate but identical letters acknowledging receipt of my written request.

That’s three totally unnecessary written communications and I still don’t know how to do a postal vote.

Jean Gough, Dunnington