From: Barbara Garden, Strickland Avenue, Shadwell, Leeds.
HOW times change. When I was at work and my pen ran out, I took it to the office and handed it in for a new one. When the A4 pad on which I wrote my reports for court was finished, I took the cardboard backing and was given a new one.
I never felt the least demeaned, I was paid by the general public, and that included my taxes as well as theirs.
Why should Members of Parliament feel so hard done by? When they lose their seats, they will become ordinary people again and their vi
ews will probably change with their altered status. Tempus fugit.
From: JC White, Copperas Close, Penistone.
WHY do we have to give MPs extra money-making provision by helping them to buy, improve and furnish second homes at our expense?
Surely the simple answer to accommodating the poor, hardworking souls for a few weeks in each Parliamentary session is for each constituency to invest in a London residence and the MP, whichever party he or she belongs to, would take that accommodation for the their sojourn in Parliament.
When empty, the house could be leased on short term contracts, especially during each lucrative summer and Christmas recess.
The Prime Minister has a London address; there is no reason for each constituency to be without a permanent address. It would cut completely, and immediately, the mounting anger of the public, towards the ever-increasing greed of our representatives in government.
From: Robin L Wilkins, Chantry Close, Doncaster.
THE vote in support of the continuation of the obscene expenses regime of Members of Parliament, heavily supported by Labour Party members, should come as no surprise to anyone. After all, these are the same people who tried to exclude themselves from the Freedom of Information Act. Fortunately, the unelected House of Lords would have nothing to do with this and it fell by the wayside.
It is well known that Gordon Brown is an admirer of the United States. The hints, winks and nudges allegedly applied to rebellious Labour MPs to secure their supportfor the 42 days' detention, is very reminiscent of the situation in the US Senate. There, elected representatives are invited to dip into the public pork barrel for their state, to secure the vote.
I fear for the future of the ordinary citizens of this country,
from the dustman to the dedicated nurse, who are the bedrock of our society yet are treated by our rulers as of less importance than either the barrow boys who gamble with our money in the City of London,
or those feckless souls who are very happy to live their lives relying on the state to support them.
From: R Birchall, Doncaster Road, Darfield, Barnsley.
IN view of the recent vote by MPs on their expenses, etc, I think it would be apt to rename Parliament Square as Trough Square, considering the number of greedy snouts frequenting it.
From: Roy Vaughan, Illsley Road, Darfield.
THOSE MPs who voted to retain their "John Lewis" expenses when most of their constituents are struggling to make ends meet simply demonstrated the arrogance and contempt for the electorate that has been evident for some time in New Labour, and it is time that they were shown the door.
Socialism? They don't know the meaning of the word.
British industry lacks practical support from people
From: Peter A Rushforth, Sutton Drive, Cullingworth.
JOHN Gibson (Yorkshire Post, July 5) may be applauded in some quarters for his efforts to support British industry. However, he is in a marked minority.
The wool industry – which flourished here in Yorkshire and the cotton industry in Lancashire – faced strong opposition from Far East countries and even from Portugal, which were producing clothing at much cheaper, appealing prices.
There were very few people like John Gibson to keep them going.
Most went for the items which were easier on their pockets, and so these industries were destroyed.
During the miners' strike, a friend with a business on the same industrial estate as me was a staunch supporter of British industry.
He said he would have liked to get up in front of the striking miners and say: "You want support from the British people – let's go out to the car park and see how many of your cars are made in Britain."
The miners, among many others, wanted 100 per cent support from the British people. For their part, they did not give support to British workers making cars, and clothing, etc.
From: Trevor Walshaw, Meltham, Holmfirth.
YOUR headline "Consumer caution blamed for slowdown in new car sales" (Yorkshire Post, July 5) puts an interesting slant on the issue. Instead, how about "Rising cost of mortgages, petrol, electricity and gas blamed for slowdown in car sales"? Not so pithy, admittedly – but it does place the blame rather more accurately.
The full article contains 831 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
