SIR – Coun Slater’s cause is a noble one – let’s do something about expensive lending, about those terrible payday loans. However, her solution is a stupid one and will do more harm than good.

Councillor Val Slater wishes to cap interest rates (something even her party colleague Stella Creasy drew back from proposing).

The problem is that lower rates mean tighter lending criteria and the inability of some people who currently use unsecured short-term credit to continue doing so. What will these people do? Will they stop borrowing or hang a tea towel out of the letterbox waiting for the illegal loan shark to call?

Coun Slater’s proposal would be great news for the bloke in the pub who enforces his loans with a baseball bat.

Rather than bans and restrictions, we should be trying to deal with the reasons why people turn to these lenders – the increasing costs they face, bad budgeting and the aggressive behaviour of organisations like councils and TV Licensing in demanding money with the menace of a jail term.

Coun Simon Cooke, Hallowes Park Road, Cullingworth