I have just been reading a press release by Councillor Toni Letts and cannot believe she honestly believes what she is saying.

I quote: “The borough has 1,280 18 to 24-year-olds in Croydon seeking a job – holding steady with the previous month’s figure – compared to July 2013’s 1,875, a 31.7per cent drop.

“The 16 to 64-year-old employment rate across the borough is a strong 78.3 per cent – a full 5.3 percentage points higher than the national figure and 5.7 percentage points higher than the London regional figure.

“The figures come from the latest Labour Market Bulletin, prepared by the Office of National Statistics.

“These fantastic numbers offer huge encouragement for all those who have suffered, and those who continue to suffer, the hardship of unemployment.

“They’re testament to the effectiveness of the policies we’ve introduced since being voted in by the people of Croydon in May and show that we’re surpassing our claim that we’re ambitious for Croydon.

“We said that we’d create a vibrant economy, both in the town and district centres, and put the provision of local jobs, affordable housing and tackling inequality at the heart of all we do.

“We’ve made a good start on achieving those goals. Our policies clearly show that we're working hard for the borough, and that that hard work is clearly reaping dividends, driving the unemployment figures down and offering genuine hope for local job seekers.”

This party was only elected in May, how can they claim to have reduced unemployment in less than two months?

I appreciate political parties are often tempted to avoid admitting blame, but here we have an example claiming success which has been achieved by others.     

ANDREW FRAZER

By email


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