IN response to Nick Bent in Opinion, Guardian, August 14, stating that ‘the PM left no goodies for Warrington’.

I was pleased to read in last week’s Opinion from Tony Fox how he asked Mr Bent some important questions with regards the Atlantic Gateway issues and what his and Helen Jones’s interaction has been with the Warrington Borough Council regarding these matters. We await to see his reply.

Further to the PM’s visit, and Nick Bent’s condemnation of it because 'the PM did not dish out any goodies', I would like to point out that the main reason for the PM’s visit, as was reported in the Guardian, was to help people help themselves.

It was to unveil a £115.5million scheme at United Utilities HQ, called the (EEIP), Energy and Efficiency Industrial Partnership, where 1,000 war veterans and young unemployed from deprived areas are to benefit from the Government-led scheme to get people into utility sector jobs.

This is part of a scheme that will provide apprenticeships and work-placements for 136,000 across the UK. United Utilities is the forerunner.

It is policies like these, not ‘freebies’, Mr Bent, that have helped reduce the unemployment rates in Warrington, including the Youth Unemployment (16-18 year olds), who were not in education, employment or training (NEETS) by a third to October last year.

These have been languishing as NEETS for years under Labour. It is because of initiatives like these that unemployment is falling rapidly and that nationally we have more people in work now in the UK than ever.

Mr Bent also referred to Mr Cameron’s broken promises on the economy, “a sluggish economy with too many people still out of work”... on the same day it was announced that the UK economy grew by 3.2 per cent in the second quarter and is now the fastest growing major western economy.

Confirming the UK’s best economic performance passing it’s 2008 before the crash peak.

The Bank of England’s forecast for 2014 is up now to 3.5 per cent.

We have the fastest growing economy and falling unemployment in the Western world and Mr Bent calls it 'a sluggish economy'? That statement is just not true.

You only have to look across at the picture in France where president Hollande and his socialist government have no growth and unemployment going through the roof.

We remember when Miliband went across to visit Hollande when he became president and came back gushing about the ‘socialist’ measures Hollande had implemented and that a Labour Government when elected would do the same.

We have been warned!

A EDWARDS Fearnhead