Letters - March 28, 2019

Ruled by fools who?won’t do our bidding
Theresa May electionTheresa May election
Theresa May election

We, the people, are ruled by fools. But if the referendum on our EU membership shows one thing, it is that we would, by a small yet clear margin, prefer to be ruled by our own fools in Westminster rather than those supremely arrogant, unaccountable and corrupt fools in Brussels or Strasbourg.

Our Prime Minister is doing her honest duty to us and to the whole of our ‘United’ Kingdom. Ever since the foolish (but apparently unavoidable) referendum, Mrs May has done her duty with admirable steadfastness. She does not deserve the vilification she now daily endures, both from MPs of so many different stripes, and the biased reporting of the BBC and others.

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Our MPs now seem intent on wresting control of the process to themselves, but are so divided, strident and intransigent in their views that any consensus around any alternative to the PM’s deal appears impossible. And at the moment they clearly do not represent the will of the majority of us, the people, who foolishly voted the way we did, but who pretty much unanimously now desire an end to the Brexit “debate”.

We, the people, did not vote for the PM’s deal, but we certainly did not vote for the current shambles either. We expect at least a degree of competence from our representatives, and a sense that whatever their different demands and desires, they will (sooner rather than later) act in our and the UK’s best interests. Unfortunately they show little sign of that.

There are calls for a second referendum on the grounds that it would surely reverse the result of the first one. But that is both pointless and anti-democratic. As well as the anger of those who would rightly demand respect for what we’ve decided already, if one were to be called, even if we did vote ‘Remain’, the result would likely be in Remain’s favour by only a very few points. We would then be in no different position than we are now: a country and a government divided. But very much weaker.

It is delay and indecision that weakens us. Our MPs should now either support the PM’s deal or vote for no deal. Neither way is good, but nor would either path be the end of the world for the UK. We are a powerful nation and either way we would still be able to negotiate new and different arrangements with the EU and the rest of world into the future.

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Our Government’s mandate is clear: whether you like it or not you should get us out of the EU. It wasn’t MPs who voted for the UK to leave the EU, it was us, the people. The time for decision is now. The rules of the game cannot be altered by hindsight, and dithering won’t help. MPs should and must respect our decision.

Anthony Dew

via email

HEALTH

Nursing levels hit 
by degree folly

Maybe we wouldn’t have such a shortage of nurses if we stopped insisting that nurses had an university degree.

Many women who would make wonderful caring nurses with great empathy for their patients are put off by the largely unnecessary studying they now have to do.

Hilary Andrews

Address supplied

SOCIETY

The kind-hearted British public

I just wanted to make you aware that i asked for advice on swap and sell sites on facebook about where to get plants to do a garden up for a brand new care home called carlin lodge in blackpool - and the response i have had is unbelievable.

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I have had so much positive feedback, with many people wishing to donate their time and items for free.

Although i offered to pay for a lot of the items, i have been given so much.

I will be at 40 carlin gate, North Shore on Saturday afternoon, planting and doing the garden.

Please feel free to come and chat with me so i can highlight the generosity of the great british public.

Claire wright

Via email

PETS

Case shows need for cat microchipping

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As the UK’s largest cat charity, Cats Protection was delighted to hear how a pair of cats who went missing in Blackpool were reunited with their owner, thanks to the details on their microchips.

If Cookie and Star had not been microchipped, it may have been impossible for such a happy ending to occur.

Sadly, many lost cats are not able to be identified, which is why Cats Protection is calling for a change in the law to ensure that all owned cats, like dogs, are microchipped.

Microchipping is a safe, permanent and cost-effective method of identification which ensures cats can be reunited with their owner should they go missing.

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It means lost cats are not mistaken as strays and taken in by rehoming charities.

It also ensures owners can be notified if their cat has been injured or killed in a road accident.

Cats Protection encourages local councils to scan any cats they collect that have died in road accidents for a microchip so their owners can be informed.

Cats are much-loved pets, and we believe that compulsory microchipping is needed for cats as well as dogs to give cat owners the same reassurance when their beloved pet goes missing.

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Across England, 27 per cent of owned cats are not microchipped. Cats Protection will continue to call on politicians to ensure changes in the law to improve feline welfare across the UK.

Jacqui Cuff

Cats Protection