Letters - Thursday, August 26, 2021

Not many people are talking about the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill.

But if it passes Parliament, it will have an impact on all our lives.

The bill gives unprecedented powers to the police to ban peaceful demonstrations outright and to ban ‘noisy’ protests.

The definition of a noisy protest includes a protest involving noise made by just one person!

It’s been revealed that the Police Federation was not consulted on this huge extension of police powers.

Furthermore, a respected group of former police officers has expressed grave concerns.

In a letter to the Home Secretary, they said: “Echoing the concerns voiced by the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) and other professional bodies, we believe that this Bill has dangerous and harmful implications for the ability of police officers to enforce the law and for the health of our democracy as a whole.”

If the next time a group of residents, or even a single resident, wants to protest against a housing development or a council decision, the police could just say ‘No’.

You might expect this from the Chinese Government in Hong Kong, but we shouldn’t put up with it in the UK.

If any of your readers are worried at the prospect of their right to protest being curtailed, I would encourage them to write to their MP and ask them to oppose this repressive legislation.

Or they could support organisations like Unlock Democracy which are campaigning against the Bill.

Stewart Wade

via email

POLITICS

Shame at loss of lives

At the recall of Parliament for the debate on Afghanistan, only three Conservative MPs wore face masks.

This was despite the Speaker’s request and Government guidance stating that: “Face coverings should be worn in enclosed and crowded spaces”. All opposition MPs wore masks. No doubt the decision not to wear masks had been made by Boris Johnson, given to the Tory whips and forced upon their sheepish MPs.

No doubt Boris Johnson hoped for the good old days of howling approval for his bravado and braying scorn at the opposition.

What he got was silence.

It was the silence of shame: shame at the loss of our soldiers’ lives and those of the Afghan people for such little gain; shame for the lack of foresight and planning; shame that when the Taliban were rapidly over-running the country, our Prime Minister went on holiday and our Foreign Secretary thought it unnecessary to return from sunning himself in Crete, even seemingly refusing to take a phone call to save the lives of those Afghans who had helped us.

It was shame for the sheer incompetence of a Government mired in continual incompetence.

It is a shame for which we should all wish to cover our faces.

Mike Baldwin

via email

WILDLIFE

Badger cull doesn’t work

The badger cull in Britain is a disgrace. Around 20,000 badgers were killed last year, but cases of bovine TB have significantly risen, demonstrating how absurd this cull is. It is extremely worrying that the Government would continue a practice despite clear scientific evidence of its ineffectiveness.

If the Government really wants to reduce the incidence of TB – and other diseases – in farmed animals, it needs to: generally improve the animals’ living conditions, because stressed animals are more vulnerable to disease; close down overcrowded intensive farms where disease spreads rapidly; and ban long-distance transportation of animals as this can turn a small local outbreak into a national – or international – disaster. It should also ensure that strict biosecurity was observed on farms and at markets.

Anna-Marie Dolan

via email

PLANNING

Thin end of wedge

My wife and I are very concerned at the proposal of a new cafe/ice-cream kiosk to be built on the Green of Granny’s Bay at the cost of £360,000 public (our) money.

1. This is the thin end of the wedge and future generations will wonder who first gave permission for any building on this historic part of Lytham, Granny (Clifton’s) Bay.

2. There are cafes and the Fair Haven pub within walking distance of the Lake and the recently completely refurbished Lake cafe.

3. Money should be spent on complete improvement of the existing toilet facilities

4. A development such as this causing MORE TRAFFIC AND NOISE will obviously devalue the surrounding properties and therefore less council tax.

We hope these objections will be given your due consideration.

Brian and Barbara Delaney

Fairhaven

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here