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How politics became another just profession
From: Dr K Swann, Summerdale, Gomersal, Cleckheaton.
BERNARD Ingham's column "What has happened to the Labour party of my ancestors?" (Yorkshire Post, April 30) asks a question that many interested in politics and particularly Labour supporters would need an answer.
Bernard's father and grandfather may well have seen the Labour Party as an instrument for redressing privilege and improving the lot of working people, but history reminds us that sadly the distinction between private interests and public good was lost once, creating problems for working families.
Sir Lewis Namier's publication of the The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III in 1924 painted a devastated portrait of the British ruling class. He demonstrated how idealism, party division and a concern for public services had no relevance at the time. Public men sought office as a means of enriching themselves and rewarding their relations, clients and dependents. Perhaps there is truth in the expression what goes around comes around as we experience similar attitudes and behaviour.
A new type of government has emerged in Britain over the last 25 years. More recent experiences of some of our politicians shows that the difference between private interests and public good has been lost.
Political analysts alerted us to the emergence and growth of a professional attitude to politics rather than the old fashioned ideology. The consequence upon our democracy has been highly damaging.
Politics has now become a gainful profession like advocacy, stockbroking, the dry goods trade or the setting up of companies.
At some stage a British politician may well discover a new approach towards the engagement of voters and communicating simply
and plainly to voters of the policies and beliefs that they expect.
We will fight this plan to ruin our village
From: Victoria McLauchlan and family, Tithe Barn Way, Kellington, North Yorkshire.
WHY, oh why are all the proposed sites for an eco-town for the whole of Leeds City Region in the Selby District (Yorkshire Post, May 9)?.
As members of the community under threat of an eco-town at Kellington (Willow Green), we are tired of this looming over us like a black cloud day in day out since January. Why not site a new town nearer to a city where infrastructure and a brownfield area is available?
The greenfield/greenbelt site at Willow Green is so obviously unsuitable that the Government didn't choose it for the shortlist in April. Our rail link to Leeds is already very over-crowded, the M62 resembles a car park every rush hour and Knottingley and the five towns are where investment is really needed.
Still the only politician who supports the Selby proposals is the soon to be leaving John Grogan. Unfortunately, it seems that we are the victims of "politics" in the worst sense. There must be "reasons" for this decision, unbeknown to the people whose local communities this would destroy.
However, in Kellington we know that the proposal for the Willow Green town is so wrong and will fight all the way to prevent our village from ruin at the hands of the politicians and those intent on financial gain.
Be brave Mr Brown, and give us a referendum
From: Nick Martinek, Briarlyn Road, Huddersfield.
IN politics, there is nothing more important than who makes the laws for our country. Our liberty depends upon it. In times of peril in the past British subjects, from all walks of life and all parts of the kingdom, have bravely rallied to the cause of defending our rights to make our own laws in our own parliament, unmolested by foreign powers.
Now one of the main reasons that the Government is so discredited is because of its refusal to honour its manifesto commitment for a referendum on the EU constitution, re-named the Lisbon Treaty.
Foolishly, it claims the two treaties are different. There is ample evidence, from textural analysis, to the Commons Foreign Affairs committee report in January to the statements of European politicians, that the two treaties are near identical. This is hardly surprising given that the Inter Governmental Conference which produced the Lisbon treaty was mandated to use the EU Constitution as its model.
Currently, Stuart Wheeler is suing Gordon Brown and David Miliband for reneging on their manifesto promise to hold a referendum. He has won the first leg for a judicial review on June 9.
Coming so soon after the election rout, this will further tarnish Gordon Brown's reputation. Mr Brown claims to admire bravery: well, let him be brave, acknowledge his mistake, and give us the referendum to help us fight for our rights as our forefathers did.Desecration of air crash site on moor
From: MJ Thompson, Goodison Boulevard, Cantley, Doncaster.
HAVING been a fell walker all my adult life, and also interested in military aircraft, I sometimes combine the two by locating Second World War crash sites on the moors.
One such site is just off the Woodhead Road on the slopes of Bleaklow.
I have visited this site quite a few times since 1985 and each time there is less and less of the aircraft remaining.
The aircraft is a Boulton Paul Defiant, a two-seater night fighter. It came to grief on August 29, 1941, killing both men on board.
The first time I visited the site it made you realise, by the layout of the remains, that the pilot did a fairly good job of crash landing. But on my last visit a few days ago the Rolls Royce Merlin engine is now missing. This must have been recovered by some official organisation because of the logistics of removing such a weight from such a remote location is vast.
Far worse than removing the engine from what must be considered a war grave is the tidying up of the area by bringing all the debris into one location and piling it up into one unrecognisable heap of scrap metal. A very sad testament to the two men who died there.
The people responsible for this desecration should be ashamed of themselves.
Recipe for healthy cakes
From: Elizabeth M Crabtree, Fairfax Road, Cullingworth, Bradford.
REGARDING the feature on E numbers (Yorkshire Post, April 17) being a health hazard in food, and the apparent threat to the old favourite, Battenberg cake, there is no need to have artificial colouring to make a pink sponge cake. Just peel a raw beetroot, and boil in just enough water to cover the slices. Hey presto, you will have a lovely red colouring in just a few minutes.
We were taught that in cookery class when I was at school.
Domestic Science they called it then. Admittedly this was over 60 years ago, but was only one of the very practical things covered. Considering the recent disturbing news that so
many young mothers nowadays don't know how to cook, and rely on (expensive) takeaways, or ready meals from the supermarket, it would be
highly desirable for the subject to be brought back into the school syllabus, instead of
some of the politically
correct subjects they are (apparently) required to know about these days.
Causes of
hay fever
From: Miss BM Brewster, Willow Lane, Featherstone.
WITH reference to your article on hayfever sufferers (Yorkshire Post, May 7), I never used to suffer from hayfever or have asthma. But now I have developed perpetual rhinitis (hayfever) and from that asthma. What has caused it?
All the increasing spread of fields of oilseed rape. Each year there are more fields all round the place (North Featherstone) in which I live.
I know the farmers do so because they can get more money for this crop than
any other – or cattle and
sheep etc. It is about the only lucrative crop, but they are killing us off.
The farmers should be paid a decent amount for other crops, perhaps wheat which now has to be imported, and cattle.
Our visitors who leave
From: Don Burslam, Elm Road, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury.
NOW we hear that half the Poles who came over have gone home (Yorkshire Post, May 7). I await with interest the reaction of Bernard Dineen and Sir Philip Green of Migration Watch. The over-the-top comments about immigrants can now be seen for what they are. What is never mentioned is the movement out of the country, eg, 700,000 Britons now live in Europe alone. These are nearly all retired so they in effect make room for people who come to work. Even the illegal immigrants have to work otherwise they starve so they also contribute.
It is often complained that housing and local services are inadequate to cope with the "invading hordes".
Conditions on the ground, however, fail to arrive at a certain equilibrium, ie, arrivals will not settle in an area which is short of accommodation and there will be pressure for more homes to be built to which the Government is indeed responding. It is beyond doubt that immigration has given a shot in the arm to our ageing population.
Brown's solutions
From: Mrs FG Harrison, Highcross Road, Mirfield.
THERE is no shame with our politicians. Gordon Brown gets thrashed at the local elections and then promises to listen and learn – then insists he is the right person to lead us out of the dreadful mess that he has helped to create.
What does he think the voters have been telling him over the past few years? Why should he now decide to listen to us rather than adopt a permanent approach?
Our Prime Minister's new policies to woo the disenchanted electorate fails to understand the Government's problems.
Voters have had far too many ill-conceived new initiatives dealing with effects rather than causes of this country's problems.
To win the confidence of voters, Ministers must work harder to provide a good school for every pupil. Also to ensure everyone can have the benefits of NHS services.
Also introduce extreme control of immigration as we are about to be the most overcrowded country in western Europe.
Gordon Brown promises to listen and learn. Why, therefore, did he not listen to his MPs prior to the local election about post office closures and the plight of pensioners?
Hypocrisy
of our MPs
From: Robert Bottamley,Thorn Road, Hedon.
MINISTERS propose to introduce lie detectors
during interviews with claimants, in order to prevent benefit fraud.
They seek to justify this innovation with the familiar mantra: "Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear."
But some of the Ministers responsible are to be counted among those Members of Parliament who have fought (and continue to fight) like "ferrets in a sack" to prevent us from discovering what expenses they claim.
While hypocrisy is (for all of us) a hazard of life, altogether too many MPs appear to have embraced it as an entire way
of life.
Terms of endearment
From: Ken Cooke, Wheatley Road, Ilkley.
THE Percy Jackson Grammar School at Adwick-le-Street, Doncaster, a new purpose-
built state grammar school, opened for instruction on October 9, 1939 – just a couple of weeks after the outbreak of the Second World War. The first entrants were issued with gas masks and had to learn evacuation drill.
Next year sees the school's 70th anniversary and a group of old pupils is proposing to hold a grand reunion in Doncaster at the end of September 2009 for all people who attended the old grammar school from 1939 to 1968.
Nearly 200 people have signed up so far. If you are interested in attending this reunion, please contact 01943 602588.
Effects of immigration
From: HH Greaves, Lea Close, Leven, Near Beverley.
CONGRATULATIONS to David Quarrie for his excellent letter (Yorkshire Post, May 6) about Enoch Powell being right.
Of course, Mr Powell was as right as his contemporaries were wrong to ignore his warning about the effect upon British culture from mass immigration
To my mind, those ignorant politicians and their responses to Mr Powell's strong speech can be compared to the chaos theory which warns about the unforeseen effects from any given situation that can spell disaster.
The damage has been done. I regard the defeat of the Government at the recent local elections as being due to the festering resentment at its inability to take control of immigration.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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