Letters - April 10, 2017

For over 10 years we have regularly stayed at the Blackpool Hilton as it’s a great base for exploring not only your vibrant resort, but also the whole wonderful Fylde Coast.

The rooms on the Upper Floors at the Hilton have seen a recent super refurbishment. reflecting the optimism shown by the continued improvements to the seafront.

If the new, modern hotels mirror the first-rate, professional service, great food and fabulous value-added facilities embedded at the Hilton, then visitors will certainly continue to return. Guaranteed quality and professional hospitality are paramount.

Indeed, we are once again looking forward to our forthcoming Easter break at the Hilton – and consequently supporting Blackpool’s stores and businesses.

Ron Naylor

Liverpool Road

Southport

ENERGY

Remove protesters who are obstructive

Whilst it is claimed by the protesters that they have considerable support for their campaign, I’m afraid that I cannot find much support for them locally. Many people seem to be in favour, but the vast majority are ambivalent about the whole fracking subject.

So, that brings us to the questions of “who are the protesters?” and “why are they here?”

By all means, the protesters have every right to PEACEFUL protest, and, at the same time, the drilling company and its suppliers have every right to conduct their lawful businesses.

The additional police resources seem to be needed because some of the protesters (I believe many have travelled some distance for this protest) are not prepared to abide by the law, presumably making theirs a criminal activity, and so protection has been put in place to enable the public to go about their activities without hindrance and the business to go about their lawful activities.

So who pays for the additional policing? I suppose it is no different from any other criminal activity and that the cost falls to the local policing authority. Perhaps a tougher police approach could remove a few of the obstructive protesters and leave the peaceful protestors to continue with their protest, without obstructing the activities of the businesses and so allowing the community to go about its normal activities.

Frank McLaughlin

Via email

POLITICS

Party for political inbetweeners?

It’s getting near that time again when we go along to the polling stations and place a tick alongside our chosen party/candidate’s name.

Ah, yes, who to choose?

I used to think myself on the left as I care about the environment/animals/people and believe public services such as libraries and the NHS are what makes Britain ‘great’ – not its arrogant historical ‘Empire’.

Yet I am not a fan of positive discrimination or extreme political correctness (I think of people as people rather than labels) so maybe I’m not so ‘left’ after all.

After all, if you believe in positive discrimination, do you then believe it is great France might get its first female President – regardless of the possibility she may be the most divisive candidate – this year?

I can never go to the right as they believe in austerity and only care about the rich.

But while I’m not sure about voting Labour this time, I’m amazed anyone would vote Tory. Shockingly, I had heard Labour is expected to lose as many as 125 seats in the General Election. But what is worse, I heard the biggest winners are set to be the Conservatives!

April Fool, surely?

I don’t know what’s the most bizarre (and unfunny) ‘joke’ that’s been played out over the last year – Trump becoming President, a referendum on the EU with no plan whatsoever, George Osborne becoming editor of the Standard or people voting Tory after all the cuts.

But while I will never go ‘right’, is there a party for people like me – neither really ultra-liberal left nor right? I believe in compassion, wisdom and common sense. Is there a party for the ‘political inbetweeners’?

Jane

via email

FINANCES

Building societies – stick to the day job

This is the time of year when building societies are publishing their annual reports – and I have in mind particularly the ‘mutuals’, that is those with no shareholders and the business belongs to their members.

Reading their reports, I wonder what they think is their purpose in life.

One would think it was to offer the best possible mortgages and the best possible returns of interest to their members.

Yet almost all of them seem obsessed with the idea of doing charitable works in the community.

I accept that these charities are very worthy and if the societies encourage their staff to do activities which help them, that is good.

But it is not the job of the societies themselves to divert members’ monies in this direction.

Sometimes they offer to divert funds to charities in return for members casting their AGM votes (that’s members’ money).

Sometimes they ask you to forgo the pence element of your annual interest. “Never more than 99p”, they point out. With some of the low interest rate accounts now in vogue, you need to maintain a balance of the best part of £1,000 to earn 99p interest!

There is a good case for telling the mutuals to “stick to the day job”.

Neil Inkley

Address supplied