Letters - Thursday, September 16, 2021

The failure of ‘Brexit’ to deliver any of its promised benefits is now obvious.

Worse still, it is also harming our country in so many ways that it is becoming difficult to keep track.

Only this month we have learned that the Government has given the green light to the dumping of raw sewage into our rivers and the sea.

This is a result of companies finding it more difficult to get vital water treatment chemicals as a result of port disruption mainly caused by leaving the EU.

It should be noted, too, that this problem was predicted before we left.

As a result, the Environment Agency has allowed companies struggling to get supplies to “discharge effluent without meeting the conditions” of their permits, such as treating water.

As readers of the Blackpool Gazette will know, EU regulations and funding have helped to drive environmental improvements, notably the cleaning up of rivers, coastal waters, and beaches.

Leaving the EU now endangers the progress we’ve made in cleaning up our environment. Many people in these pages have previously noted that “Brexit stinks” for a host of political, ethical, social, and economic reasons – in the case of deregulated raw sewage discharges, this is literally the case!

Dr Olivier Sykes

via email

ECONOMY

Being ‘robbed’ of agreed uplift

When we ask for a ’99’ but get handed a wafer cone with no chocolate flake, plus less ice cream than normal, that’s a clear rip-off.

Dropping the agreed Triple Lock bonus ‘robs’ current and future pensioners of an agreed uplift for 2021 and 2022. The younger worker now risks paying far higher National Insurance for a lower than agreed pension. Ice cream shop staff might receive rude suggestions about what to do with missing ’99’ flakes. Voters will be more discreet when disposing of ‘Messrs Sunak & Johnson’.

J T Hardy

Via email

NHS

Common sense to raise taxes

Most people with even a modicum of common sense will know that tax rises are needed to assist the NHS and tackle the social care crisis post-Covid.

When the election pledge was made, no-one in the world could have envisaged the coming of Covid-19 and the devastation it would cause.

To then make a big thing about broken promises really was an uncalled-for dig when, let’s face it, there was no other acceptable alternative.

There is no magic money tree despite requests for even more funds from varied organisations.

Bob Watson

via email

NHS

Demoralised workforce

Once again a Westminster-based government has fallen into the trap of announcing proposals to manage a crisis (this time health and social care) that amounts to ‘too little, too late’.

In the case of the additional funding of £5.4bn to be set against the appalling backlog of operations due to the pandemic, this will not be enough, such is the scale of the problems which were evident before Covid-19.

Where are we, as a nation with an NHS, going to find the extra hospital and medical staff to tackle the backlog, with a demoralised workforce and hundreds leaving the service for other jobs and early retirement?

Edward Grainger

Via email

VACCINE

Unvaccinated care workers

Who in their right mind would want to have a care worker who has not been vaccinated, while we have been vaccinated?

Jarvis Browning

Via email

POLITICS

Being informed

Resident to political campaigner: “Can’t you read? It says no junk mail.”

Campaigner to resident: “But if you didn’t receive our newsletters you’d be at the head of the queue at election time of those complaining that you never hear anything from politicians – perhaps adding they’re all the same.

“And worse still, never vote.”

Discuss.

Campaigner

Via email

HS2

Cash for care

If £100bn had not been spent on a railway which was not needed, perhaps money would have been available for social care.

B Murray

Via email

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