Govt policies to blame for homelessness

I DIDN’T know whether to laugh or cry when I read that my local Tory MP Kevin Foster was quoted (Herald Express, Sept 12) as saying, “Nobody should have to sleep rough”.

Now I don’t necessarily expect my MP to have a degree in either Aristotelian philosophy or metaphysics but even the most basic grasp of “cause and effect” might help him with a reality check.

Why should it come as a surprise to Kevin Foster, or indeed anyone else, that people are sleeping rough given Mr Foster’s support for the Tory Government’s policies nationally and parallel action by the Conservative administration running Torbay?

Official records compiled by theyworkforyou.com reveal Mr Foster has voted consistently for a reduction in depending on welfare benefits; for reductions in central government funding for local government services; for lowering the rate of corporation tax paid by companies; for reducing capital gains tax (paid overwhelmingly by the rich); consistently against higher taxes on banks; almost always against paying higher benefits over longer periods for those unable to work due to long-term illness or disability (two absent votes recorded 2015-16).

I’m afraid it’s no use Mr Foster returning to Torbay at weekends for photoshoots – such as standing outside hospitals earmarked for closure and saying how awful the situation is – if he then returns to Westminster on Monday morning simply to nod through government policies like one of those toy dogs. William Murphy

Paignton