Letters - January 10, 2017

Jeremy Hunt has noticed January’s first week is the busiest of the year - as it was last year... and every other.

So why haven’t they provided sufficient resources to the NHS to cope?

Hunt, like boss May, thanked NHS staff profusely for working beyond the call of duty. Hunt says it takes seven years to train a doctor and three a nurse, so it takes time to come through.

What about the staff morale at government policies? many junior doctors leave the country and the NHS because of Hunt and the government’s determination to impose new contracts rather than negotiate with the BMA.

NHS staff, like all public servants, have suffered an annual reduction in living standards because of wage restraint imposed for seven years by the tories and their Lib dem allies in response to the crisis triggered by the private banking system’s self-induced collapse.

Everyone acknowledges the need to find substantially more resources, but neither the Governments of Cameron or May have given any indication they understand the crisis.

In 10 years time, we will have a million more over 75s. But the Camerons, Cleggs, Osbornes, Cables and Hunts holding office in post 2010 governments preferred giving tax breaks to their own class rather than invest properly in the NHS.

Words are cheap and the prospect of Hunt and co reversing their denial of adequate funding for the NHS doesn’t look good.

We must now have a Corbyn-led Government that will invest.

Royston Jones

BerylAvenue 
Anchorsholme

NOSTALGIA

Happy memories
of my old school

I read the article about St John’s C of E Primary School school in the Gazette (January 5)with great interest.

My older sister and brother and I all went to the school. My sister started in 1936, my brother 1938 and myself in 1939. The headmaster then was Mr Roache. Teachers I remember were Miss Buchan first year , Mrs Barlow, Miss Proctor, Miss Rhodes, Mrs Lingard and Mr Read.

In those days, although the classes were mixed, there were two playgrounds the girls being near to the Stanley Arms, entrance off Church Street. The boys entrance was opposite the Regent Cinema on Regent Road.

They were strictly divided and boys were forbidden to go into the girls area, and the same for the girls.

Every Friday morning we would march from the school to St John’s Church for a service which was taken by the minister Canon Yates.

Very happy memories.

David Pickering

Via email

POLITICS

How could Bannon work for such a man?

Donald Trump accused his former political chief strategist, Steve Bannon, as having lost his mind when he lost his job. I would contend that he must have lost his mind previously, even thinking of working for super egotist Trump.

That a man holding the position of the most powerful man in the world, can tweet that he would destroy an entire country by nuclear attack, should scare the entire world, not just North Korea.

A child’s knowledge of geography would be aware that such an attack would also involve at least four countries, South Korea (USA’s ally), China, Russia and Japan. Or would he regard that possibility (inevitability) as collateral damage?

Denis Lee

Ashton

POLITICS

Banning books isn’t freedom of speech

How does President Trump’s attempt to ban the book on the operation of the White house sit with his Presidential duty to protect the constitution including the first amendment - freedom of speech? Let freedom of speech become more than a talking point.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Via email

BREXIT

What happened to a no-deal option?

Whatever happened to the Prime Minister’s claim that no deal, was better then a bad deal?

Well, my view is paying the EU £50bn as a divorce settlement is a bad deal.

As Boris has said, let them go and whistle.

The EU imports to the UK far more than we export to them so there is no sense in the EU placing tariffs on our goods. If they want to do it then let them as the £50bn bill would be less than the cost of the WTO. Come on PM call their bluff.

Peter Gibson

Independent Councillor 
Breck Ward, Poulton