Antics at the Budget debate and by banks fail to impress

FOR sheer comedy I always look forward to Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons. David Cameron trading verbal fisticuffs with Ed Miliband always brings the house down.

But the Budget speech by George Osborne was overshadowed by Mr Miliband’s personal attack on him. I never thought I would see the leader of the Labour Party degenerate into another version of Screaming Lord Sutch.

I’m surprised the hierarchy of the Labour Party haven’t found a more suitable leader before now. Mr Miliband’s latest ranting and raving is bringing his party into disrepute.

From: John Rookes, Bramley, Rotherham.

A PREDICTABLE response from Ed Milliband and Ed Balls to the Budget confirmed to me that Labour have got no viable alternative to the coalition’s austerity measures, other than to borrow more and spend more which would surely exacerbate the already dire state this country’s finances are in.

The highly excitable pair reacted like two chimpanzees on cocaine, vigorously waving their arms about while espousing the need to spend more. A very intelligent academic once said the best way to get beggars off the street is to stop giving them money and the best way to get out of a hole is to stop digging. Maybe Labour politicians should attend one of his classes.

From: Dick Lindley, Altofts, Normanton, West Yorkshire.

AT last we have a Budget worthy of a Conservative Chancellor. It was a Budget to encourage growth, house ownership and free enterprise. So far so good, unfortunately however he forgot to make three major fiscal adjustments which on their own would have gone a long way towards reducing the appalling deficit he inherited from the previous Labour administration.

They are as follows:

1. Stop all foreign aid tomorrow.

2. Stop sending billions of pounds to the incompetent bureaucrats who run the EU and withdraw the UK from the same tomorrow, if not before.

3. Bring all our brave boys and girls home from Afghanistan next week.

These three measures alone would give us capfuls of brass with which to rebuild this once great nation.

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

A GREAT Budget from George Osborne? I think not unless of course your a millionaire friend of his and his party. His penny off a pint gimmick means serious beer drinkers will have to drink 310 pints of the stuff to get one pint free or 40 gallons.

From: Elisabeth Baker, Broomhill Crescent, Leeds.

REFERRING to the proposed taxing of savings in Cyprus, Hilary Andrews writes (Yorkshire Post, March 22) that she is, “fearful that the same idea could be muted here”. Well, it could be, but if so, it wouldn’t do the idea any good if it was ever mooted.

From: Michael Booth, The Birches, Bramhope.

I BECAME thoroughly disenchanted with the banking system in this country when I read numerous Press articles regarding various banks and the immoral bonuses they are paying some of their staff.

One article last week referred to one bank paying “only 200” of its staff bonuses of £1m. I was particularly upset when I checked and found that same bank is only paying me 0.10 per cent interest on my savings account. Now I know why.

On several occasions recently, both in the Press and on TV respective bank spokespersons have explained that they found it necessary to pay such bonuses in order to attract the best people for the job. That explanation doesn’t say much for their senior personnel selection officers. I am thoroughly disgusted with the lot of them.

From: Peter Hyde, Kendale View, Driffield, East Yorkshire.

I SEE that our councils have to make further savings (Yorkshire Post, March 23). The roads are pitted with potholes and many will wait years for repairs, our police are being cut, the ambulance and hospitals are struggling and yet, in spite of us having to make cuts, we are also told that there are to be no cuts in foreign aid. It just doesn’t make sense to me.

As a long-time Tory I am starting to have doubts about the sanity of Cameron and Co, as well as myself for being conned into voting them in.