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Select committee will bring boost to region
From: John Healey MP, Local Government Minister and MP for Wentworth. THIS week, the Government endorsed plans to create a Select Committee of MPs for the Yorkshire and Humber region.
It will have a key role holding public bodies to account, helping to ensure they do the best possible job for people in the region. For the first time, regional policy will be the business of our national Parliament.
In particular, this Committee will be a significant boost to efforts to transform the region's most deprived areas and build thriving local economies.
Under new strengthened arrangements councils will work more closely with the Regional Development Agency, business and other local organisations to develop and agree plans for future housing, skills, transport and regeneration in their region.
The Select Committee will scrutinise these plans, making sure they really meet the needs of the area. This is good news for Yorkshire and Humber, as it will help ensure that, through having the right housing and transport links and the skilled workforce the region needs, it is well placed to deal with current economic pressures and to see stronger growth in the future.
From: Richard Corbett, Labour Member of the European Parliament for Yorkshire and Humber.
MAY I introduce some unusual cross-party agreement by agreeing with Timothy Kirkhope (Yorkshire Post, July 18) that a Regional Select
Committee for Yorkshire and Humber would give the region a greater voice in its dealings with Westminster and it could also include the regions MEPs as the only politicians directly elected by the region as a whole.
Yorkshire and Humber is affected by European as well as national legislation and a recipient of funding from both Brussels and Whitehall.
Regional select committees are, potentially, a great opportunity to create a forum to discuss the issues, be they at national or European level, that affect our region.
Should all PMs be given state funerals?
From: Peter J Brown, Connaught Road, Middlesbrough.
THERE is much controversy about the suggestion that there should be a state funeral for Margaret Thatcher. On a recent edition of Any Questions, a former Tory MP said that he did nor believe that she would want a state funeral.
If Margaret Thatcher were to be granted a state funeral, then it would only be right that any other former Prime Minister should
have a state funeral. The state funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965 was very much in exceptional circumstances.
In 2005, two former Prime Ministers, James Callaghan and Edward Heath, passed away without much fuss. Those two former PMs may not have been great Prime Ministers. However, the deaths of these former leaders was symbolic , because they were the last two Prime Ministers who fought for this country in the Second World War.
If Margaret Thatcher is to be given a state funeral, then John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown should be given one.
The greatness, or lack of it, of former Prime Ministers is a matter for historians.
From: M Swan, East Causeway Crescent, Leeds.
THERE have been letters as per D Birch's (Yorkshire Post, July 23) that attack Baroness Thatcher, the Conservatives generally and make life under Labour the best. I can't agree. I can't recollect reading or hearing about multiple, personal records regularly going missing. Baroness Thatcher didn't involve us in a Middle East war. She would also have ensured our troops are equipped properly. Snatch Land Rovers would have been left on Belfast docks.
As Gordon Brown has many women MPs, he has women ministers. We all know who they are. The result – the nanny state.
Some of their male counterparts are no better, ie Alan Johnson, Health Secretary, previously union leader.
And we all know about Alistair Darling – Mr Stealth Taxes.
The correspondents I referred to in my opening remarks want a Labour dictatorship. I don't! Quite the opposite.
From: H Marjorie Gill, Clarence Drive, Menston, Ilkley.
YOUR correspondent D Birch is quite right to attribute the troubles of British industry to Mrs Thatcher's government. Of course, it was she who insisted that miners left some of their tools behind so that shifts could not start until they were fetched.
The refusal of work sharing in the shipbuilding industry was entirely down to her insistence, as also was the refusal to handle container shipping in the ports of Liverpool, Tilbury and Portsmouth, thus making sure that the business went to Rotterdam.
London railway bid can benefit two communities
From: Alan Hyde, head of communications, National Express East Coast, York.
MALCOLM Lambert demonstrated a good understanding of the issues that the Office of Rail Regulation will consider over the next few months as it assesses the competing bids of companies wishing to run additional Yorkshire to London train services from December 2009 ("Rail operator must prove it can run services", Yorkshire Post, July 19),
Not least, as he says, is the limited available track capacity for new services on the busy East Coast Main Line.
However, anyone less familiar with the issues than Mr Lambert may think that the final decision will be limited to a straight choice between the Bradford versus Harrogate proposals – that one of
these important regional conurbations must necessarily lose out if the other is to benefit from more frequent services
to London.
This does not have to be the case. National Express East Coast is the only applicant that already runs Bradford and Harrogate services – albeit not with the frequency that we would like. We can serve both communities with a more frequent timetable by extending some of our Leeds services
to Bradford.
This optimises available capacity, as it avoids the need to take up additional space on the most congested part of the route (between Doncaster and Peterborough) and leaves enough space on the track also to operate our planned two-hourly Harrogate-London service.
We believe this is the best solution for rail users, the taxpayer and the economic development of the region – including both Harrogate
and Bradford.Penalise bad driving with stiff sentences
From: Dave Jones, Olsberg Close, Radcliffe, Manchester.
IF the laws intended to curb binge drinking "aren't fit for purpose", what does this make the laws intended to curb irresponsible driving?
With more than 100 years of death and serious injury on our roads, amounting to some 500,000 deaths and tens of millions of serious injuries, and with no end in sight, they must surely be absolutely useless.
And now, to make matters worse, there are reports that sat navs could be responsible for as many as 300,000 crashes and mobile phones are responsible for some 30 deaths a year. With mobile phones however, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents believe this is only the tip of the iceberg.
But then how many road crashes are actually accidents? If the truth be known the vast majority are serious driving offences, if not serious criminal offences.
And when Britain has some of the worst child casualty figures in Europe, and with not one child's death ever having warranted the maximum jail sentence for the driver responsible – not even hit-and-run in a stolen vehicle while banned from driving – then this in itself is criminal, is it not?
How much longer have parents, grandparents, families, teachers, school friends and the NHS to tolerate innocent children being killed by drunk drivers, speeding drivers, uninsured drivers, mobile menaces and the like?
Isn't it the case that our hostile roads are top of the lists of parents' fears for their children's health and safety – ahead of guns, knives, drugs and alcohol?
So if the laws on binge drinking are to be made tougher to reduce the number of drunken yobs on our streets, where should Britain go from here to reduce the number of irresponsible drivers – yobs are they not? – on our roads?
Equitable solution
From: John L Brigg, Fairfax Road, Cullingworth, Bradford.
I WRITE as a 77-year-old Equitable Life pensioner and address my remarks to the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Mr Darling, I know you will not want to compensate us for the shortcomings of the regulatory authorities, as Equitable policyholders are not, in the main, Labour voters.
I also know that your coffers are almost empty, due to the profligacy of your predecessor.
May I suggest a compromise that perhaps you can afford in the form of an income payment rather than capital?
I suggest that a figure be calculated of our individual losses and a monthly payment be added to our state pensions, over a period of years based on our expectations of life.
This, of course, would be subject to tax, so you would get some of the money back. This solution may not be "equitable" but it is pragmatic.
Check up for MPs needed
From: Anthony Hopkins, Carlton Drive, Guiseley.
UNDER proposals recently outlined by the Chief Medical Officer (Yorkshire Post, July 23), doctors will have to face annual assessments to ensure their competence. Surely the more immediate necessity calls for MPs to be subjected to annual, or lesser period, assessments to ensure they are fit for purpose and not putting their constituents at risk?
Looking at the present state of this country, few would qualify to remain in office.
Doctors are subject to a lengthy and demanding period of training and interview prior to securing an appointment. MPs are not subjected to any formal training nor need for qualifications – any Tom, Dick or Harriet can seek election.
Marking 'a disgrace'
From: Coun Nader Fekri (Lib Dem, Calderdale Borough Council), Hope Street, Hebden Bridge.
NOW that schools have broken up for the summer holidays, surely it is time to admit that the marking of this year's national tests has been
a disgrace.
Pupils and teachers are expected to work hard for these high-stakes tests and the least the Government can do is ensure that they are marked properly. Ed Balls must confirm that ETS will not receive a penny for this botch-up and explain why action was not taken when we first heard about problems from experienced markers months ago.
This fiasco has damaged what little confidence was left in the tests taken by 14-year-olds. They are expensive, unnecessary, and the results
are unreliable.
It is time for them to be scrapped. The money saved should be used to identify and address educational failure where it first arises, in infant and primary schools.
From: Trevor Mumford, St Giles Close, Thirsk.
AS no day seems to go by without one or more ill-considered and unworkable initiatives being announced by the Government, is it not time that a Ministry of Half-baked Schemes and Ideas was set up?
If this were to be the case, then the admirably named Ed Balls would seem to be the ideal candidate as Minister of the new organisation.
Hydro power becalmed
From: DM Loxley, Hartoft, Pickering.
THE letter "Water power in action" (Yorkshire Post, July 14) from Derek Brumhead triggered an angry reaction in me.
River energy has been used for centuries to drive machinery and we now have a Government which seems hell-bent on promoting and subsidising
wind power.
The Torrs Gorge installation is a superb example of what we should be doing. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of small rivers and streams which could be used to provide, even 10KW, of continuous electricity and do so inconspicuously.
Obfuscations provided by planners appear designed to choke any hydro-scheme at birth.
Wonderful welcome
From: Jim and Julie Maxon, Harewood, Leeds.
WE had the privilege of joining Gill Hicks for the launch of her Walk Talk campaign in Leeds last Saturday. Your coverage of the event unfortunately did not make reference to the wonderful welcome and lunch provided for all the walkers and support teams by the Gurdwara in Beeston – we were overwhelmed by the warmth and generosity of the people there and feel it should not go unreported.
Movie added to the credits
From: R Lapworth, Airedale View, Crosshills, Near Keighley.
YOUR article about films made in the Keighley area (Yorkshire Post, July 19) omitted Yanks.
It was made in the mid-1970s, and was all filmed in Keighley and Cliffe Castle.
In it were Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Lisa Eichhorn and Wendy Morgan. Many local people acted as extras.
Desired deterrence
From: Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire, Shipley.
THE banning of sprinter Dwain Chambers from the Olympics must surely deter any young athletic star of tomorrow from following in his footsteps and that is what it is designed to do (Yorkshire Post, July 19).
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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