Is this Tories' Powerhouse?
In the run-up to the recent General Election we heard much talk about the Northern Powerhouse.
The Government confirmed that Hartlepool’s Magistrates and County Court (along with others across the North East) will close next year (Mail, February 12).
That means that the town has no A&E, and the entire University Hospital of Hartlepool remains under threat, a significant and long-running unemployment problem, deep Hartlepool Borough Council cuts that have resulted in the loss of many frontline services, an under-funded police service (not to mention a 22% rise in crime in the last year), and now it will lose its courts.
Is this what David Cameron and his Conservative colleagues meant by the Northern Powerhouse in the run-up to the election?
Jonathan Arnott,
Ukip MEP,
Elwick Road,
Hartlepool.