YP Letters: A taxing tale of our divided modern Britain

LIFE in Britain increasingly reminds me of the Charles Dickens masterpiece A Tale of Two Cities that contrasted the divide between rich and poor in 19th century Britain.

Chancellor George Osborne ridiculously claims victory for Google paying a paltry £130m in corporation tax to the Exchequer for the last 10 years of trading, a figure that represents an average tax payment of less than three per cent per annum.

Meanwhile working people are expected to cough up in excess of 20 per cent of earnings in both income and value added taxes.

Also, other European nations such as France and Italy are demanding much more from Google compared to its sales in these countries. The Chancellor, therefore, has yet again failed the nation.

The sorry saga of Google’s tax rip off should be contrasted with this Government’s harsh treatment of the poorest and most vulnerable in society. Dickens would be horrified that little has changed since his time and 2016 Britain!

From: ME Grove, Harrogate.

FOLLOWING PMQs and the Google tax scam, you ask “Why were MPs silent?” (The Yorkshire Post, January 28). They were not; they launched into their customary boorish braying, in support of David Cameron’s “yah boo” defence, following Jeremy Corbyn’s ham-fisted attempt to raise the matter.

Can we really be expected to trust or respect anything any of them say for as long as Parliament remains little more than an ageing Bullingdon Club?

Motorway madness

From: John Noton, Harrogate.

IN 40 years of driving on Yorkshire’s motorways I have never felt unsafe, until now. The busiest stretches of the M1 and M62 are being converted to “All Lanes Running” which is a euphemism for “No Hard Shoulder”.

Any vehicle breaking down – and it’s happened to most of us at some time – must now wait on the carriageway for help, unless the driver is lucky enough to be able to get as far as one of the token emergency areas known as refuges.

I wrote to The Yorkshire Post about this dangerous development a few weeks ago and sent a copy to my local MP, Andrew Jones, who happens to be Under Secretary with responsibility for Road Transport. He has now replied explaining that this policy aims to alleviate congestion, and that doing away with the hard shoulder should create a “simpler, more intuitive driving environment”. Perhaps your readers know what that means, but I don’t.

Mr Jones also directs me to a Government website where I can read a report detailing how the Department for Transport justifies these “smart motorways” and it’s impressive how 68 pages of statistics and diagrams can prove that faster traffic can be safer!

I don’t imagine Mr Jones uses the motorways himself. In his position, I’d certainly be taking the train down to London. But will he spare a thought for the poor soul sitting in his conked-out car in the rain on the M62 looking in his rear-view mirror and seeing a juggernaut hurtling towards his back-end?

Sweet reward for TV duo

From: Pat Vivian, St Aiden Close, Market Weighton, York.

AS an avid watcher of the Great British Bake Off since it began, I was horrified to read (The Yorkshire Post, January 27) that Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry were each to be paid an additional £100,000, bringing their fee for the programme up to £600,000.

This news came just after the poor old BBC were claiming to be hard up and asking elderly pensioners such as ourselves a to give up our free licence to help them in their financial plight.

If this is an example of how the BBC uses licence fee payers’ money, I will certainly not give up my free licence.

Lack of respect for the Royals

From: Robert William Place, Huddersfield.

I WATCHED the television programme about King George V and Queen Mary and found that again the reporters had assumed delusions of grandeur as they referred throughout to all the Royal Family from monarchs downward by their Christian names and not their Royal titles.

I well remember some years ago the then Princess Royal was being interviewed on the television and the reporter became somewhat informal and was reminded that she was not only a Princess but the sister of the King.

Too hasty to praise speed

From: Samuel Moore, Pleasant View, Midgley, Halifax.

AS it is against the law to drive any vehicle at over 70mph on a public road in the UK, why does any manufacturer make any vehicle which can exceed this? I am reading about the Ferrari on the front page of the Motoring section (The Yorkshire Post, January 30).

Would a journalist glorify a box of hand grenades? If no, then why a car which can do as much damage?