THE letter from David Norman, Economic Competence – Review April 24, has my full support.

This Tory-led coalition government has boasted of the growth in the economy and in particular deficit reduction and jobs, 1000 per week, although they have yet to produce evidence of these figures and data to support the claim that 80 per cent of the jobs are full time.

They fail however to mention their part in the substantial growth of, to name just a few, foodbanks, the disastrous state of the highway infrastructure with potholes numbering millions, the enormous growth in waiting times for hospital appointments and accident and emergency waiting times and the number of GPs either retiring early or emigrating to countries where the conditions are more agreeable, the 40 per cent growth of zero hours contracts and short hour, part time jobs and the government debt that has, in fact, doubled in the last five years. Does this really represent competence?

In 1997 the Conservative government was basically kicked out of office because the electorate was sick and tired of high taxation and low investment in public services.

It was the Labour government under Tony Blair which was left with the task and cost of correcting the massive under-investment.

Despite the fact that the last Labour government created a fiscal surplus during the early 2000s, this Tory-led government has attempted since 2010 to brainwash the electorate with carefully scripted propaganda messages and slogans.

Throughout 2010 and 2011, Tory MPs would at every media opportunity pronounce "the mess that Labour created" or "the mess that Labour left us with".

Throughout the last five years Tory leaders have continually used the patronising phrase "Britain's hard-working families".

The Tories appear to imply that everybody other than "hard-working families" are scroungers and cheats.

In 2010 Liberal Democrat Vince Cable was in fact the only government spokesman to admit that the recession was the result of the global crash of financial institutions and not the sole responsibility of the Labour government.

The Labour government was left with the need to bale out the banks to avoid an even bigger catastrophe.

We are now in a very similar predicament to 1997 and it is clear that austerity is not working.

The Conservatives maintain that they have a long-term plan although they appear to be reluctant to explain in detail the precise nature of the plan.

Time for a change.

– W Eatock, Yorkley.