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Hoping that the Scots will set us free...
From: James Bovington, Church Grove, Horsforth, Leeds. THE by-election result in Glasgow East spells the end of the UK Union as it exists today. We will look back on this as a defining moment. While not wanting to see passports at Penrith or customs at Carlisle, I believe that the Union is out of date in its present form .
However, a referendum with the choice as status quo or outright independence is perhaps neither winnable nor desirable.
We need a new structure in these islands that allows us
to exist as interdependent nation states with the British Empire – force for good though it has undoubtedly been – consigned to history like pounds and ounces.
The key is that both England and Scotland should be sovereign states with the Scottish parliament becoming the supreme lawmaking body for Scotland. We also need a sovereign parliament in England. It would then be up to the two parliaments to determine the desirable degree of integration.
We have a Council of the Isles – the British-Irish Council. I would like to see this forum developed – it could co-ordinate a common visa policy, for example. There seems to be little point in dismantling for the sake of it much of the present UK-wide legislation, for example, in areas like financial services. What needs to be examined is how such legislation is developed and that is where the sovereign parliaments come into their own.
I hope that Scotland will remain in monetary union with England and that eventually together we could go into the euro. And possibly into Schengen. And have kilometres on our road signs. In short, join the modern world and stop clinging to symbols of the past.
What is needed for the 21st century is new thinking that shows that independence can actually enhance the inter-dependence of the peoples in these islands and that this is more appropriate than the top- down British state which retains an outdated British Empire mentality. Perhaps then England will face up to the question of its role in Europe and become a more positive player – even a leader – on the European stage, the "British" stage having disappeared.
People likely can't be loyal to more than two identities and I'd go with English and European, it's the British that is anachronistic and irrelevant.
Until we remove it, England will never be reconciled to the European project – yet our history marks us out as the most European of nations and we should be leading. But we can't until Britain disappears as an over-arching political entity. Hence I hope that the Scots will set us free.
Visitors impressed by town's regeneration
From: Robert Kidd, deputy director, Department for Social Development, Ormeau Road, Belfast.
AT the end of June, I and a number of Northern Ireland government colleagues travelled to Doncaster to see at first-hand the regeneration and development which is taking place.
The reason we selected Doncaster is that it equates to cities and towns in Northern Ireland, such as Londonderry, in size terms.
My colleagues and I were very impressed by a number of factors, not least the amount that has been achieved by Doncaster in a very short space of time. There has evidently been a strong drive and commitment from both politicians and officials in supporting the regeneration efforts.
The Keepmoat Stadium is a jewel in your crown which you should rightly be proud of. The facilities are first class and to have been developed on time and on budget and to
have them so well used is a testament to a job well done.
We also visited Robin Hood Airport and heard how the continued expansion of business services on the site and the increased passenger numbers are benefiting the local economy and providing local employment opportunities.
Again, the foresight of those engaged in working with the airport owners has been instrumental in making the airport such a success in a very short space of time.
Just while we were visiting, news broke of the proposed rail link to the airport which will further support tourism as well as plans
for residential development on part of the former MoD site.
In Doncaster itself, we had the opportunity to view the retail centre and the market. We walked the town centre and were very impressed by the new transport interchange and new college facility.
Of course, regeneration is an on-going effort, so we also heard about future plans for the town, including the Civic and Cultural Quarter in the Waterdale area and the Waterfront development, already home to the college, which seeks to reconnect the town centre to
its waterways.
We came away encouraged by what can be achieved in a very short space of time and would encourage you to build on what has already been achieved.Human rights not applied in Bieber case
From: Paul Firth, Blundellsands, Southport.
BOTH the higher judiciary and the Human Rights Act are experts in attracting bad publicity. Much of the time they deserve it, but not always.
The recent appeal decision in the case of David Bieber, the American who murdered Pc Ian Broadhurst, is one of those instances where the severe criticism is not justified (Yorkshire Post, August 4).
There is a myth that the "whole life tariff" was removed because it breached Bieber's human rights. This is completely the opposite of what the judges said. They specifically rejected any argument based on the European Convention on Human Rights.
What they did do was to apply the law of this country, something little commented upon and even less respected. Yet every judge takes an oath to uphold the rule of law.
In Bieber's case, the relevant law is the 2003 Criminal Justice Act, which sets out starting points for when, if ever, a defendant serving a life sentence can apply for release. Both the killing of a police officer on duty and a murder involving the use of a firearm come into that category where the Act says the minimum term would "normally" be 30 years.
It is not hard to understand why many people think that the killing of a police officer should attract a "life means life" sentence. If that is what they want, they should persuade their MPs to enact the necessary legislation and not criticise the judges for applying the law their MPs have, in fact, passed.
Measured approach
From: Susan Garrett,Green Lane Allotments Association, Teall Court, Ossett.
I WOULD like to thank Chris Benfield for his very measured and objective approach to the issue of the herbicide contamination of manure that has been affecting many gardeners and allotment holders countrywide.
I know in some farming quarters those of us who have been affected by this problem and have been vocal in publicising our concerns have been branded as "the organic mob" but most of us are just gardeners who have seen the effort, time and money spent in trying to grow our own going to waste as plants have died.
Ironically, weeds have flourished in our contaminated soil but food crops and ornamental plants have struggled to grow if at all.
Many of us are not anti-chemical and understand that many chemicals do good but we reserve the right to grow our own crops free of chemical pollution. We are told that plants affected with aminopyralid residue should be safe to eat but many of us grow our own fruit and vegetables so that our food is hopefully free of chemicals whether safe or not. It is our right to have that choice.
Another thing of concern to me is the fact that no one is responsible for monitoring supply of manure to allotments and gardens. As neither
come under the agriculture banner, Environmental
Health and the Environment Agency have no remit (I have tried both).
Trading Standards remit would cover bagged compost but not "raw" manure. Our supply was not provided free.
I am sure that Chris Benfield's articles are being read further afield than just Yorkshire, especially through the medium of the internet. I do hope that the Yorkshire Post will keep reporting on this problem so farmers, stable owners and gardeners are fully aware of the implications of supplying and using manure.
It is in all our best interests that this situation is resolved in a manner that proves effective and that important lessons are learned and acted upon.
Frivolous use of funds
From: Moira Emmett-Holmes, South Duffield Road, Cliffe Common, Cliffe, Selby.
I WAS disgusted to read that police in York have been issuing women who go clubbing with "goodie" bags containing flip-flops, bottles of water and personal alarms.
We are constantly being told about the lack of funds available to provide for extra police services. This is the excuse given as to why we are required, annually, to pay additional council tax for the police.
As I am on a fixed income and find difficulty in meeting these increases, I object to this frivolous use of police funds. When will people take responsibility for their own behaviour?
Crown Prosecution 'not at fault over court criticism'
From: Neil Franklin, chief crown prosecutor, CPS West Yorkshire.
I REFER to your article "Judge hits out over burglary charge" (Yorkshire Post, July 31) in which West Yorkshire Police claim it was not possible to get hold of a CPS lawyer in the short time they had in which to charge or release the defendant Paul Steadman. They also claim that to seek such advice would have taken up to two hours.
My principal purpose in writing is to allay concerns that CPS is unable to respond to demands for its service outside working hours.
CPS is available to provide charge advice to the police 24 hours of the day, seven days per week, including all bank holidays.
CPS Direct, the provider of out-of-hours advice, serves the entire country with an average turnaround of less than 45 minutes from receipt of the police enquiry to production of written advice and direction. Records, in fact, show that on the night in question, they
were doing considerably better than that.
West Yorkshire Police rely heavily on CPS Direct, with more than 40 per cent of cases requiring pre-charge advice, being handled by that division of CPS.
In this particular case, as the police now accept, the officers did not appear to have recognised the need to seek CPS advice. Accordingly, the comments about a two-hour wait were not only in error, but irrelevant, given that the police did not seek CPS advice as to the correct charge at any stage.
Forget these celebrity chefs
From: Ken Holmes, Cliffe Common, Selby, York.
I FAIL to understand why so-called celebrity chefs receive so much adulation and attention from the media.
Not only is one of them allowed to serve us with an unsavoury dish of vulgarity and foul-mouth adjectives, on TV, the latest chef advised us, as a tasty addition to add to our salads, the henbane leaf. This leaf is related to deadly nightshade, and is classified as a deadly poison. Some chef.
Most housewives and school dinner ladies are more than able to serve up a tasty dish to match any of these highly opinionated food gurus.
Get rid of the dead wood
From: Peter Lansdell, Cyprus Drive, Bradford.
CHRIS Leslie, of the New Local Government Network, wants to tax excess profits to bail out his party (Yorkshire Post, July 29).
What is the point of Leslie and thousands of other quango members? Get rid of this dead wood, making them take proper jobs and taxes can then be diverted to more needed uses.
None better
From: AJ Stacpoole, Ampleforth Abbey, York.
YOU report that the personal diaries of Prime Minister William Gladstone (1809-98, ie virtually all of Victoria's century) were sold for some 3,500 at Montrose.
Gladstone was by far the greatest politician in his century. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer a dozen times. He was Prime Minister during 1868-74, 1880-85, and twice more. His 1893 Home Rule Bill went through 85 sittings. None bettered him.
New name
From: W Ruddlesdin, Upper Hoyland Road, Hoyland, Barnsley.
IS Anne Robinson, above, the Madam Voyeur of TV game shows? With her double entendre and sexual innuendos, maybe her programme The Weakest Link should be re-named as The Leerest Wink!
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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