I HAVE recently been elected as the new leader of the Conservative group on Huntingdonshire District Council and I look forward to listening to the district’s residents in the coming months and years as we face ever-challenging budgetary constraints.

I read Cllr Ste Greenall’s letter (The Hunts Post, March 23) with great interest, and I assure him that, like David Cameron and Eric Pickles, I also place great value on the voluntary sector in Huntingdonshire.

I can promise The Hunts Post’s readers that under my leadership, the district council will do all it can to ensure that key voluntary services are retained, and I look forward to working with local politicians of all colours in helping us to realise this aim.

HDC is a well-run council, and in many respects we are lucky. That said, I do not believe that we are perfect, and we will not be complacent in moving forward with volunteer funding, one of many areas that form my priorities in the coming months.

Councillor JASON ABLEWHITE

St Ives