Letters - October 4, 2017

There is of course a good reason for any Tory supporter to be afraid of the Labour leader, as he connects with the electorate, who have been kicked and squeezed through Tory austerity cuts, as they see their taxes supporting the richest one per cent, who largely avoid paying them anyway! Reduced benefits, bedroom tax, universal credit, one per cent pay cap, zero hours contracts etc, all stack up to discredit this government.

It is palpable that the party is on the wane, with speeches delivered to a half-empty hall, their speakers aware that Theresa May no longer has her finger on the pulse of the electorate.

You can see by the few loyal supporters that morale has been sucked out of them, following the disastrous election campaign in June.

Any applause for the speakers, dutiful rather than enthusiastic; unlike the many standing ovations delivered to Corbyn and other speakers at their full, standing-room-only, Labour conference.

The Tories are moribund and bereft of energy, with the decline resting at the door of their leader. Her role is challenged, but the loyalties of her cabinet are split between the unruly clown Boris and the stiff-necked, striped-suited Toff Reece Mogg; who they see as the man to encourage the youth to rejuvenate their misfortunes!

The more her party despise Corbyn the more the electorate support him for his values and integrity! With the fall in the pound caused by Brexit, this is surely the last nail in the Tory coffin towards securing a future Labour government soon.

Marjorie Nye

Knowle Avenue North Shore

POLITICS

Divorced from everyday reality

We have increased threats from potential terrorists, more and more cars are on our roads with potential offenders driving, crime is on the increase and we regularly hear of gang stabbings and murders and yet our Government, led by Theresa May, has cut our defences to the point where they cannot cope with the ever-rising demands on their services.

One question that has to be answered is why?

She and her cohorts have special protection officers, so she is not at the same level of risk as those who elected her are.

Added to all that is the fact that our NHS is also struggling and there are  too few doctors in GP surgeries.

Yet we send money to ridiculous causes like helping the Chinese to stop smoking.

Billions are to be spent on a railway to save a few minutes on a journey from Birmingham to London and, in the building process, destroying homes.

Where is the sense in all this? It is clear that our politicians are divorced from the reality of today’s world.

The only thing that could possibly be worse is a government lead by Unite’s poodle Jeremy Corbyn and that is the only reason the May Government retains power.

Peter Hyde

Address supplied

BREXIT

EU is walking all over us in talks

Despite the referendum showing that the majority of the UK want to leave the EU, politicians are doing their utmost to defy that vote.

Theresa May claims to be ‘driving from the front’, but the latest developments - or lack of them - suggest that Brexit is being driven by the EU bureaucrats rather than Mrs May. The whole point of Brexit was to ‘get back control’ yet Mrs May is letting the EU walk all over her. She is now looking for an extra two years of transition before we exit the EU during which time we will continue to pay billions of pounds.

Labour has lost the last three elections because it failed to listen to ‘the people’ yet many of the MPs persist in looking to reverse Brexit. Clearly they are still not listening.

The EU needs the UK more than we need them. The government should cease trying to deal with the EU and should set a date in the very near future when we stop paying any money to the EU and we should slap heavy import tariffs on anything imported from Europe.

When the EU lose massive sales in cars, wines, etc, they will be quick to get round the negotiating table.

Much has also been said about how Brexit may affect the future harvesting of crops as this very often relies on the recruitment of temporary seasonal staff.

The obvious solution would be to employ UK staff instead of EU employees. Unfortunately this is not so easily attained. Firstly, UK staff would not be as cheap as they would have to receive the minimum wage. Secondly, the chaos in the Department for Work and Pensions may well lead to workers not being paid Jobseekers’ Allowance for months after their temporary employment has ended and they go back to looking for other work.

There is another possible solution to the problem that nobody appears to have considered: instead of implementing custodial sentences, many courts are now giving offenders community service.

These hours could be spent on farms or in orchards filling the roles of the missing migrant workers. The cost to the farmers/producers would be less than recruiting from the EU - problem solved.

Martin Phillips

Address supplied

Spoiling perfectly good adverts...

After a hard day’s work, I come home, have some tea, settle down in the evening with a brew and watch my favourite adverts.

Only, every five minutes they are interrupted by films, dramas, comedy, documentaries. I end up losing interest and switching it off.

Steve Whiteside

Blackpool