Letters - September 21, 2016
Alan Vincent was absolutely right in his statement that the current boundaries give Labour an electoral advantage and this has been the case for many years.
We are long overdue for a boundary review especially as the last review was blocked by the Liberal Democrats during the Coalition years. This review is not “unfair” and most certainly not “undemocratic”, it is an independent review carried out by the apolitical Boundary Commision, so the claims of gerrymandering by some are just a moot point.
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Hide AdA true example of undemocratic practice is Labour leadership contender Owen Smith’s claim that we should ignore the Brexit vote – he wants to ignore 17 million people who voted to leave the EU.
I completely support the boundary review and support reducing the number of MPs to 600.
The claim that Labour wards will be dragged into Fylde and Wyre is also incorrect as local authority wards are unaffected by this review.
This is what is best for the country, not for the Conservatives.
Coun Christian Cox
Councillor for Squires Gate ward
POLITICS
Labour Party is holed below the waterline
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Hide AdA leaked copy of the agenda of the forthcoming Labour Conference makes fascinating reading. Corbyn and his acolytes will be discussing the usual subjects beloved of the Labour Party.
They include: opposing grammar schools ( no mention, of course, that Corbyn and four of his shadow cabinet went to one); abolishing our independent nuclear deterrent ( ignorance is bliss); demanding the abolition of the arms trade, and disarmament. The last two are as likely as Corbyn ever becoming Prime Minister.
The agenda is the typical Labour list of subjects that betray hypocrisy, ignorance and the unattainable. Corbyn will, of course, be elected. This will produce an outpouring of praise from activists not seen or heard since Caesar entered Rome. The fact that the party is in the worst crisis since it won only 52 seats in the 1931 general election will be ignored by the faithful.
The Labour Party has been captured by Momentum and the hard left. It no longer is recognisable as a government in waiting. Power in the party has become the priority, not winning power by general elections. Young activists, many of whom come from affluent middle class homes, believe policy should be made by popular will. Accommodation with capitalism is unthinkable. Comically, they wish to crush it and create a new economic paradigm.
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Hide AdSoon the NEC will be purged of those who know Corbyn is unelectable, as will policy-making committees, and constituency parties. MPs who won’t toe the line will be deselected and the shadow cabinet will have at least one third of its members from the hard left. Such tactics are not new. They were used by Lenin, Stalin, Castro and the present leader in North Korea. Marx wrote in ‘ Das Kapital’ : gain power by stealth.
A split in the Labour Party is unlikely. Who could possibly lead it? There is no one of the stature of Jenkins or Healey. However, although Labour is unelectable it is not indestructible. A breakaway parliamentary faction could become the official opposition.
A new book has just been published about Clem Attlee. Unlike Corbyn, Clem loved his country and it’s institutions. He became a socialist by working among the poor of the East End. He advocated a strong defence and collective security. He believed in the nuclear deterrent and NATO. Corbynisters believe in pacifism, and isolationism. Attlee was a patriot and a very decent man.
Labour is now in critical condition. Its leader is a peacenik utopian. The Labour ship is already several fathoms below the waves.
Dr Barry Clayton
Thornton Cleveleys
FAITH
I believe my husband is now with God
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Hide AdI am writing in response to your article on my late husband’s book, The Virgin Eye: Towards a Contemplative View of Life, which is due to be launched on October 21 (Gazette, September 10).
Thank you for including this piece. I just wanted to clarify one line to reflect what I said in the interview. I was asked if I believed Robin was still ‘out there’.
What I recall saying is that I didn’t feel Robin round and about here, but I believe Robin is in heaven. I believe he is in heaven because he believed in Jesus, and he believed Christ died on the Cross to save us from the consequences of our sins – which would otherwise separate us from God.
Robin took this to his heart by really trying to follow Christ all his life, right to the end. His near-last words were ‘I want God’. I believe that wanting God, Robin is now with God.
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Hide AdI then added in the interview that I wasn’t sure how much they (ie people in heaven) are aware of what is happening here, but that I had a sense Robin was aware of this book project and is praying for it.
I hope that clarifies my beliefs and experience in this delicate question of where we believe our loved ones are when they die.
I am sure the writer quoted me as she understood my view to be in good faith based on her understanding of this area, so this response is please to be taken in the good will with which it is sent.
Katherine Daniels
www.mindfulnessforchristians.com
ANIMALS
Cruelty to animals must be punished
Yet again I read with sadness the grim discovery of the kitten found in an airtight box (Gazette, September 15). The kitten later died.
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Hide AdI hope the RSPCA do find the sadistic person. If they do, let us hope whoever did this will get the full force of the law. I always think people who are cruel like this are capable of anything.
Get these type of people.
Paul Jones
Anchorsholme Lane
Cleveleys