Banish this idea to a dark place

From: Alan Carcas, Cornmill Lane, Liversedge.

NO! No! No! It isn’t only Scots MPs who should vote against the disastrous proposal to put our clocks forward one hour all the year round to Central European Time. It is every MP with a constituency north of Nottingham, at least.

It isn’t only Scots children who will be struggling to school in the dark, it is every child in Cumbria, Northumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire.

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And the same goes in fact for the many millions of workers who will be struggling to work in the dark, and external sites, like building sites will need artificial lighting until at least 9.30 am.

Think of the scope for Health and Safety there! And that is saying nothing about the psychological effects. Just take a look at Scandinavia!

The only parts of the country which might see some benefit, and that is doubtful, is the South, and particularly the South East.

If David Cameron doesn’t want himself, and the Conservatives, to be seen as solely a political party of the South, he should squash this nonsense forthwith.

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Otherwise, we shall know what to do at the next General Election.

From: Roger Dobson, Ash Street, Crosshills, Keighley.

NOW that our clocks have been put back for the umpteenth time to show us to be on Greenwich Mean Time, I wonder if our clowns at Westminster could possibly have the guts to stop being namby pamby and leave us on GMT for ever. At least this would show one major difference from most of Europe from whom we should be voting to leave.

From: Keith Hill, Greenleafe Avenue, Doncaster.

ONCE again, we have the annual charade of adjusting our clocks.

Personally, I much prefer to stay on good old BST, British Stomach Time!

Sir Jim and the council

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From: Michael Meadowcroft, Honorary Alderman, City of Leeds.

THE death of Sir Jimmy Savile has reminded me of my failed attempt to get him elected to the Leeds City Council as its last elected Alderman.

In early 1972, Labour Alderman John Underwood died and, as the Local Government Bill then wending its way through parliament abolished the office of Alderman as a member of borough and county councils, this was likely to be the last ever vacancy.

Jimmy had already made a name for himself locally and on the media and I had met him briefly when he “dropped in” at the Liberal party conference in Scarborough some years earlier.

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It occurred to me that it would bring some much-needed colour to the City Council if we had Jimmy as a member, not least because, despite his appearance and his gimmicks, he had a very serious side.

I therefore contacted him and he asked me to call at his terrace house in Lower Woodhouse. We discussed what it would entail to be a City Council member, even if only for a couple of years, and he said he was prepared to be nominated but only on condition that it had cross-party support.

I next went to see Alderman Frank Marshall, the Conservative Leader of the City Council but, alas, he was not prepared to back the proposal and I had to report back to Jimmy that we couldn’t take it forward. And so the chance to have Jimmy Savile on the City Council was missed!

Low rates rob savers

From: Paul Rouse, Main Street, Sutton upon Derwent, York.

WE now know with absolute certainty that the Treasury and the Bank of England are keeping interest rates low, despite rising inflation, in order to rebuild the finances of the Government, people who are in debt and the banks.

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It is, in effect, an enforced transfer of money from those who still have some of it, to those who have spent everything they had, and a lot more besides.

It would also seem that the reason why we cannot fund our debts from a Government savings bond we can all use, rather than the gilts bought by financial institutions, is that it would divert money away from the banks and building societies, who need it to rebuild their balance sheets.

So, in an attempt to get our country’s finances back in order, it has been decided to rob the savings of those who acted sensibly during the days of spend, spend, spend.

I therefore believe that savers are being actively discriminated against, and may have a strong case to take to the European Court of Human Rights.

Fire service must change

From: George Jardine, Mount Parade, York.

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YOUR Editorial (Yorkshire Post, October 29) on the Fire Service modernisation was well- balanced.

Am I alone in questioning the motives of both the firefighters union and Hilary Benn in their hysterical reaction to any attempt to reduce the cost of the Fire Service or to make it more efficient?

Remember three things – first and foremost the FBU exists to promote the interests of firefighters (I have no problem there), that the FBU is a left- leaning political lobby force (why?) and that the biggest contribution to Labour Party funding comes from the unions.

And let’s knock the “heroes” myth on the head – our soldiers, fishermen and farm workers are much more likely to suffer accidents or fatalities in their day-to-day activities than firefighters for a lot less money and security.

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Britain can become a solvent industrious country again, but every area of the public sector must become more cost-effective, and this need not compromise safety.

With more co-operation and less obstruction from vested interests and less opportunism from politicians, we can modernise Britain to face the challenges of the next 50 years.

The alternative is Greece!