Letters - April 13, 2016

The real and only reason why this road has become such a dangerous rat run is purely down to the over-development of Thornton through excessive housing. It’s no secret the village has become terribly congested, as Wyre Council pursues its insane policy of building more houses there.

There have not been any road improvements for many years, and Coun Lees should know this, as he and his Conservative colleague, Howard Ballard, both sit on the unfit for purpose planning committee.

Yes, that’s the committee that said it’s okay to dump 520 houses in Poulton, right next to the congested A585.

It’s simple. The only reason rat runs are getting worse is due to more houses, which means more cars. If Coun Lees want to do something useful he could, with his colleague Coun Ballard, campaign for the removal of the head of planning, who has failed to produce a timely action plan, which should have been done years ago. They could also campaign to have a moratorium on house building in Thornton. They could put pressure on the leader of Wyre Council, who is happy to go along with what the planners want, to stop this madness.

What they will do is approve thousands more houses, more congestion,more rat runs and then appear to show concern for the problems they have created. So what will it be Coun Ballard and Coun Lees, action or words?

David Power

Fleetwood Road

Thornton

EUROPE

EU is the problem, not the solution

I find it typical of Labour’s Simon Blackburn’s attempt to justify the UK remaining as part of the European Union in the referendum on June 23 (Gazette, April 7).

He has no regard for the underlying economic problem in Blackpool – low wages. Wages are depressed in coastal towns like Blackpool by unlimited and unchecked low skill immigration from poor Eastern European countries. We simply need to be able to control our borders to boost employment and to help increase wages.

Why do Labour want to keep people down, is it to ensure they have a client state of voters who are told only Labour will look after them?

On Mr Blackburn’s other point, yes the EU has given Blackpool some money and we can all applaud that, but doesn’t he realise it was our money in the first place?

We give money to the EU and cheer when they give us a decreasing percentage of it back. Typical Labour economics, take from the UK, give to the EU, the EU kindly let us have some of it back, but keep half in admin, over-heads, paying fishing fleets to stay in port and farmers not to farm, and that’s before all the pet projects in 27 other member states.

Leaving will allow us to control our borders, keep the money we raise in the UK, and put us back in charge of our own destiny.

Brian Coope

via email

EUROPE

Keep our money to spend in this country

Well said Eric Pollit (Your Say, Gazette, April 8). This one instance is one of many that could be applied to the financial contributions we make to the EU.

More schools could be built. Improvements to our Social Services could be made. More money could be spent on our infrastructure and roads and many other improvements could be made to our quality of life.

He mentions Private Financial Initiatives causing problems for the NHS. The new hospitals at Bispham and Rossell built under PFIs a few years ago have been closed down because they were financially unsustainable. How much has this cost the NHS? Having to pay for 25 or 30 years of lost revenue to the developers under the PFI agreement.

Much has been said about the financing of the EU and how much better it would be for the peoples of the UK if we were out of it. It should be recognized that staying in the EU will not result in utopia, no matter how much money we throw at Brussels –28 countries cannot live as one.

Voters in the referendum should think about matters being hidden from us and ask why? Matters such as the number of immigrants arriving in the UK, how many are illegal? How will our borders be controlled? What about the future of our Parliament or law making? What about our democratic rights? These are issues what matter to people, not politicians, bankers or business people.

Derek J Bunting

Birkdale Ave

Bispham

POLITICS

Tories should back the common people

Ever since our MP for Blackpool North and Cleveleys was elected we have been bombarded with leaflets in Cleveleys.

I have no problem with that, we live in a democracy and politicians are entitled to inform the public what they are doing. However, Paul Maynard sends out the most misleading propaganda I have ever come across. He blames everybody but the Tory Party for the public service cuts we are having to suffer.

Our MP also tells us that local Tory councillors are working on our behalf. In other words, they are all in it together.

Can I please ask our MP and his Cleveleys colleagues if they support the Prime Minister making money from offshore investments ?

I am sure that our MP and his friends in Wyre Borough Council will not support such tax dodging practices.

Will they, therefore, call on our Prime Minister to resign and show their support for morality in British politics?

Or will they continue to support one law for the rich and cuts for the rest of us.

Come on Conservatives, our taxes are paying your expenses, let’s see you support the common people ! We’re all in this together you tell us.

John Traynor

Alston Ave

Cleveleys