I am resigned to Bradford remaining second-rate and in the shadows of Leeds - Yorkshire Post Letters

Christa Ackroyd’s attempted defence of Bradford struck me as somewhat patronising, noting that, so far as I believe, she has fled the city like so many others.

I have lived here all my life and, from being a staunch defender of this once great city, I am sadly resigned to us remaining second-rate, forever in the shadows of Leeds and many other cities.

Only this week our hopeless – but untouchable – council revealed that council reserves have plummeted in just a couple of years from over £250m to £68m.

As ever, our hopeless leader blames everything on the government. Boris Johnson would surely admire her delusional powers.

They cling to the City of Culture award for 2025 as some sign of a great renaissance when most of us who live here know we need real jobs not grant-funded street ‘artists’.

God knows how they awarded us this gong given all that goes on here; just how bad were the other contenders?

Our useless leader will point to several developments in the city centre but, crucially, there is a complete absence of inward private investment; we continue to rely on handouts from the very government she despises.

The flow of people out of the city over the last few decades represents lost talent and spending power; it will almost certainly continue.

Bradford’s problems are sadly far too complex for a bunch of would-be local politicians with heads stuck in the sand.