An important element of this can-do attitude has to be a willingness to reassess what is, and what is not, an asset that should be council-owned.

Hence the list of 250 buildings drawn up by Leeds City Council and earmarked for potential disposal is crucial to the city's future.

There are fears about this list, the main one being that Leeds is about to sell off its family silver in the form of landmark buildings.

But what is needed here is not a knee-jerk emotional reaction but a cool, considered look at what is best for the future.

The council wants to spend more than a billion pounds on infrastructure over the next four years, and if some of that huge sum can be raised by selling off buildings it is no longer sensible for the citizens of Leeds to collectively own, then that is exactly what should happen.

The decisions must not be taken lightly or impetuously and those we have elected need to be as sure as they can be that they are acting in the long-term interests of Leeds.

But rigid views about hanging on to what belongs to the city at whatever cost are outdated – those views, along with some of our buildings, need to be shed.


Well caught

Victories need to be celebrated in a difficult world and so today we should all take some satisfaction from the news that a dangerous criminal has been jailed.

Daniel Massey stabbed four men, leaving them with appalling injuries.

They had travelled to Leeds – a city with a reputation for its excellent nightlife – for an evening out, but instead of enjoying a social occasion they found themselves the victims of a baying mob and a vile attack which left them with life- threatening injuries.

Judge Geoffrey Marson QC sentenced Massey to a minimum of nine years, and said he was a dangerous man from whom the public needed to be protected.

The truth is a man as violent as this could have turned on anyone innocently enjoying a night out on that or any other night, and we should all be grateful that, this time, justice has been done.


Pictures of joy

There are certain things in life that should always bring us joy, no matter how stressed or careworn we feel. The picture of a smiling baby is one of those things.

So take a moment to enjoy the innocent, delightful faces of the tots in our Baby of the Year 2008 contest, and then vote for your absolute favourite from such an array of winning smiles.