Cage weekend revellers to cut binge drinking

HOW many readers are like myself, totally fed up with the woolly liberal and spineless leaders in today’s society?

As far I am aware, “being drunk and disorderly in a public place” is still an offence in law. If I am correct why is the law not being applied?

Perhaps the Government could implement a trial in a town where binge drinking is a serious problem whereby a large holding pen could be built.

This would have placement for about 20 persons in a communal cell with a cold water wash basin and a couple of open toilets. Then any person, male or female, arrested on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday evening could be incarcerated and paraded before a magistrates court on a Monday afternoon after 2pm. Any guilty verdict could be a fine of £500 or three months detention.

I am sure this would halt a lot of the young binge drinkers, especially if they were to also lose their employment as a result of failing to turn up for work on the Monday.

From: David W Wright, Uppleby, Easingwold.

FULL marks TW Coxon (Yorkshire Post, November 27) – yes, there are too many MPs with many of them with too much time on their hands to indulge in antics such as Nadine Dorries has enjoyed.

But surely this raises the question of MPs being responsible to their constituents and also to be answerable to the party whip, but additionally and more importantly of attracting the “right” people into politics with genuine commercial and business experience.

Perhaps the fault lies with the party activists and local officials who choose their candidates to be supposedly selected by the party faithful to be prospective candidates – so it is up to us all to get involved with local politics and ensure that we get the right people for the job.

From: J G Riseley, Harcourt Drive, Harrogate.

THE public has little taste for coalition government except in time of total war. They know that a compromise programme cobbled together from two competing manifestos is unlikely to command the support of all who voted for one or the other. Its claim to a majority mandate is spurious.

It seems likely that the overwhelming verdict in last year’s AV referendum was, in fact, a vote against hung parliaments. But as we know the old system can also yield such an outcome.

We face the real possibility that David Cameron will lead his party into the next General Election promising to repeal the Human Rights Act, then afterwards as Prime Minister say to us: “I can’t do that, my coalition partner won’t let me.” Is this acceptable?

Reform is urgently needed to ensure that the single party commanding most support at a General Election will be given a working majority in the House of Commons. Once we have that, we can look again at the eminently sensible suggestion of adopting some form of preference voting.

From: Tim Mickleburgh, Boulevard Avenue, Grimsby.

PERSISTENT demonising of the unemployed as “workshy” and “scroungers” over the years allowed the Chancellor to get away with increasing benefits to those of working age by less than the rate of inflation.

Trouble is, this also affects many low-paid workers who rely on payments such as housing benefit, council tax benefit and tax credits in order to prop up their miserable earnings.

What’s more, those on either Income Support or Job Seekers’ Allowance get less than those on other welfare benefits, namely £71.50 per week if you are 25 and over. And with 2.5 million on the dole it’s not particularly easy to find work, is it?

I shudder to think of the 
social consequences of the coalition’s approach to the 
most vulnerable.

Campaign call for capture

From: Ron Firth, Woodgarth Court, Campsall.

YOU have highlighted the fact (Yorkshire Post, December 4) that the Don Valley Power Project, a carbon capture and storage scheme, was judged the best in Europe by the EU and substantial grants made available for it to add to the significant interest from global investors.

I note that you are calling on the Government to make a fuller, more realistic commitment to CCS to take advantage of the jobs, inward investment and significant supply of low-carbon energy which should be available to us, and the proximity of the Humber basin makes for easy storage of captured carbon from Hatfield, Drax etc beneath the North Sea.

Please continue your campaign and persuade the MPs and councillors of all parties to rally round the cause, just as the Hull and East Riding officials have for their area.