I would like to respond to David Orfeur’s letter in last week’s edition of the Enfield Independent (‘Council deserves a doctorate in hypocrisy’, Opinion, November 12) and clarify some important points.

On behalf of the Labour Party when we were in government (1997-2010), I would like to apologise for using taxpayers’ money to build new schools and hospitals and invest in people’s health and education. May I remind Mr Orfeur, who I assume is doing the Tory Party’s bidding, that back in 1997 we inherited a broken Britain with three million people unemployed, a crumbling NHS and a failing school system that wasn’t fit for purpose. But that was in the past.

The national debt started to spike in 2008 because the Labour government at the time had nationalised failing banks, examples include Northern Rock and Lloyds TSB to name but two. The cost to the taxpayers was enormous. However, I want to point out to Mr Orfeur that if the Labour government didn’t take the necessary steps Britain would have faced exactly the same scenario as the banking crisis in other countries. The people of Britain would inevitably have faced the same consequences as those countries’ investors with a ten per cent cut in savings.

Finally, I want to point out that these Tory-led cuts on the poor and vulnerable are unnecessary because it is the wrong strategy. Under the Tory-led government, George Obsourne has borrowed more in four years than the Labour Party borrowed in 13 years. The national debt stands at £1.2trillion and rising, and in doing so Britain had lost its triple A credit rating.

I hope you find this gives some clarification to the issues Mr Orfeur raised.

Cllr George Savva

Labour-Haselbury ward

Enfield Borough Council