YP Letters: Senior Labour figures fail to impress

I WAS not surprised to see Labour MP Yvette Cooper taking part in yet another photo opportunity call at Kellingley Colliery. A month before, she had been in Syria when she should have been fighting the cause for the miners.

Just look at her abysmal record, nationally and locally. Shotton Colliery closed, Glasshoughton Colliery closed, Prince of Wales Colliery closed, Pontefract Infirmary was knocked down and replaced by something compltely inadequate – the custom-built A&E department was refurbished at great cost and then demolished along with the maternity department which was knocked down.

Ms Cooper is totally inept at everything she does. She is self first, party second. The people are never on her agenda at all.

From: Dave Croucher, Pinfold Gardens, Doncaster.

I HAVE just watched David Cameron being questioned by the Liaison Committee live from Westminster. I would like to point out that I am in no way a fan of Mr Cameron, in fact quite the opposite, but some of the people on the committee need to wake up and smell the coffee.

Harriet Harman, for one, should not make comments on things she obviously knows absolutely nothing about; they need to get it into their heads that battles and wars are not a static thing, they are fluid and the shape changes from minute to minute.

From: Terry Palmer, South Lea Avenue, Hoyland, Barnsley.

SO Hilary Benn keeps his job because he has agreed not to criticise Jeremy Corbyn from the front bench. He says he has not been muzzled? If that’s not being muzzled, I don’t know what is. His late dad, Tony, would have never agreed to such a thing.

Feigning loyalty must be worth a lot to some people, yet we should not be surprised at anything that comes out of Westminster. The biggest laugh of all from Corbyn’s reshuffle is promoting Emily Thornberry as Shadow Defence Secretary.

Remember her? She was sacked by Ed Miliband for looking down on “white van man” and making fun of the English flag.

From: Don Burslam, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury.

MR Jefferson’s letter (The Yorkshire Post, January 4) contains little of substance and is chiefly concerned with abuse of the Lib Dems.

He trots out the old cliché about smoke-filled rooms but it is a supreme irony that it was the system of first past the post which ended up with the very smoke-filled rooms which he abhors. The result was decisive government but with the restraining influence of the Lib Dems which, even in these early days is much missed.

Mr Jefferson refers to the 4.8 million votes for Ukip for which they were rewarded with one seat. I’ll wager there are few in that party who will support him in opposing PR.

As for the Lib Dems, they have weathered similar setbacks in the past and will again. May I point out that the Lib Dems allied with Labour to vote down the abolition of tax credits in the Lords.

Not bad for a party which 
is supposed to be dead in the water!

Clinging on to the outdated and fraudulent system of ‘first past the post’ is to the detriment of the country as a whole.

The cracks of the two party system are beginning to show and I predict we will soon see the back of it.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

WHO now speaks up for Yorkshire on the Labour front bench now Michael Dugher has been sacked, Hilary Benn has been muzzled and Rosie Winterton, as chief whip, is too busy trying to hold the party together?

Stuck behind the cyclists

From: Dr JP Whiteley, Pool in Wharfedale.

WHILE driving on the A658 and the A659 the other day, I came across large groups of cyclists. On both occasions, they were riding several abreast. In consequence both groups were causing long tailbacks of traffic.

I’m sure that they were having fun and a good cardio-vascular workout. But do they ever consider those that they are obstructing? The increased anxiety and raised blood pressure is damaging for their health!

Please cyclists, think of other road users and ride in single file. I detect a rising anti-cycling mood brought on by this type of selfish behaviour.

Fracking and the future

From: P Stead, East Heslerton.

IN my view fracking is not safe (The Yorkshire Post, January 12). Before permission is given, it must be proven to be 100 per cent safe. There has been a deathly silence from the companies, Government and advisory agencies about what will happen to the rock after fracking in perhaps 20-30 years time.

If research into this has been conducted, has it been published and where? If not, why not?

Robot rage?

From: Maurice Wadley, Olive Grove, Harrogate.

WITH the advent of driverless cars, will road rage become redundant?