The Green Party, Brexit and the BBC - here are the letters for June 24, 2019

I would like to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to the voters who elected me as the Green Party Member of the European Parliament last month.

In the North West, the Green Party gained 216,581 votes – representing a significant increase of 5.47 per cent since the last European elections in 2014, and an overall surge for our party in membership and support.

As a member of the European Parliament, I pledge to work to strengthen the democratic process, strongly pushing back against the government’s extreme views on Brexit, with a plan for a People’s Vote on Europe.

After three damaging years of the Brexit debate being batted around Westminster, I believe the people deserve a say on whether they want to remain in Europe or accept the deal that was negotiated by the Prime Minister.

My other key priority is to challenge the climate crisis which requires urgent attention. With more than 70 other MEPs in the Green Group in the European Parliament, I will work towards promoting and building momentum for a Green New Deal, which would help tackle the climate emergency with sensible and positive solutions.

We want to see massive job creation in green industries, energy efficient homes, sustainable public transport – helping to achieve a better environment, a fairer economy and to stamp out inequality.

Meanwhile, as a Lancashire councillor, I will continue to actively represent my constituents and work hard for our county, as well as stand up for the North West’s interests within European Parliament.

In this turbulent period of Brexit politics, I’m honoured and privileged to have been elected as a representative for our corner of England within the European Parliament, and to work for our positive and progressive vision of the future.

Gina Dowding MEP

North West Green Party

BREXIT

No wonder they don’t want us to leave

For clarity on Brexit, remainers keep trotting out how the EU funds this, that and the other as if the money just magically appears from a pot in Brussels. We’re only getting money back that we’ve given in the first place and not all of it at that.

The UK in 2017 contributed £6.55 billion MORE than it got back – this is a regular occurrence. Half the EU countries get far more out than they put in, no wonder they don’t want us to leave.

All of this when children are going to school hungry in this country and food banks can’t keep up with demand to name just two poverty issues here.

Furthermore, some £100 billion goes missing in the EU every year through “breath-taking corruption” according to the EU Home Affairs Commissioner, that’s equal to 1,176 Eden Project Norths!

I found a 200-page report published this year by the EU about MEP members of councils taking bungs from Azerbaijan to overlook human rights atrocities – torture, internment of dissenters, people going ‘missing’, plus their own corruption.

Meanwhile, the EU, the USA and the World Bank have historically manipulated world markets bankrupting some African nations that cannot compete, unable to feed their own people due to selling most of their produce abroad to keep up massive interest payments on loans. All so that we can maintain our comfortable lifestyle.

The EU – not a club that I want to be a part of.

Ian Hughes

Address supplied

BBC

Where will the

cash come from?

Did the extra billions in Treasury coffers so confidently predicted by the Chancellor a short time ago, come from savings made at the BBC’s expense?

Tory guile at passing the Government’s previous commitments to other agencies and local authorities are prime examples, and this policy has been hugely successful.

Funding has to be found from other sources, with the added bonus of them taking the blame for the inevitable cuts.

Perhaps the leadership elections led them to believe pensioners would not notice?

Denis Lee

Ashton

MEDIA

BBC needs to cut cloth to fit means

Regarding the BBC cutting the free TV licence for over-75s, one has to ask why we need football pundits like Gary Lineker (pictured) and others being paid thousands of pounds to tell us about the results of games which we have already viewed live?

Then we have the smarmy regular cast with expensive guests, telling us all about “that was the week that was”.

Finally, why cannot the director-general of the BBC take a cut in his salary? I am sure he would still be earning a salary in excess of the weekly income of millions of pensioners.

Edna Levi

address supplied