Hari

might have some reasonable points regarding the withdrawal of support for those most in need. The problem is, the article has so much spin on it that it hard to take it seriously. For a start, the main picture is of Broomhouse lane - Fulham, not Hammersmith. Thus anybody from the area supects that there may well be many other errors or distortions.

Regarding the football being banished in favour of polo. Rubbish. Hurlingham Park is used by football players, rugby players, kite flyers, dog walkers and everybody else. It is a great facility and if the operators want to put on polo for one month a year, good for them. Let's hope they make some money to offset the costs of running the park. By the way, an excellent kids playground has just been put in. No mention of that, eh!

I realise that Hari's guilt over his own over-privileged education means he likes to make snide comments about people like George Osborne who have also benefitted from a good education - but why drag in St. Paul's school ? There are several ?25,000 a year schools actually in Hammersmith that would have been more relevant to mention - how about St. Paul's Girls School (where Harriet Harman was educated), or Latymer Upper School (where Andy Slaughter the Labour parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith was educated). Just trying to help.

3% per year reduction in council tax preferentially benefits the less well off. The Audit Commission disagrees with you on the quality of local services - and it seems that the majority of local residents do too given the ease with which the Conservatives maintain their majority on the council which previously had a solid Labour majority.

Posted By: Old Git, May 5, 14:10:11