Cameron goes back to days of Downton

david Cameron’s planned exhortation that we pay off our debts would have been barely credible from a post-Victorian politician. It reflects an outlook more suited to Downton Abbey; from one hopelessly disconnected from the concerns of ordinary people.

It was the inducements and exhortations from his predecessors that created the debt culture – incentivising house ownership, facilitating consumer credit and holding up risk-taking, speculation and borrowing as prescriptions for success.

Yet they are so ready to remit the debts of Third World corrupt countries, and those of the predatory banks – while their compatriots pay full measure by the strict date due.

This is a crisis of capitalism, corruption and corporate culture. But rather than rebuild the house, they increase the rent.

From: Janice Atkinson-Small, Westgrove Lane, London.

I would like to respond to Prof Double’s letter (Yorkshire Post, October 8) in response to my opinion piece.

He is absolutely right that as long as there are “safe seats”, the political landscape in Westminster will not change.

For six years I headed up Conservative Action for Electoral Reform, which campaigned for the single transferable vote to be used in all elections as it is widely recognised as the fairest and most proportionate system. Indeed, I wrote two opinion pieces for the Yorkshire Post on this. However, I did not support AV, it was a miserable compromise that would not have worked.

UKIP supports electoral reform, and the reason why we have a number of parties representing us in Europe is because Britain adopted the d’Hondt system of voting – which is a proportional system and represents the voting wishes of the people of Yorkshire. Until the system changes, it will still be largely a two-horse race in Westminster.

Day off for NHS staff

From: RC Gudgeon, Woodsome Road, Fenay Bridge, Huddersfield.

you reported that Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust (Yorkshire Post, October 5) are to give a day off work to their employees who book a flu jab – 8,000 staff being eligible.

Despite the Government treating the NHS as a special case in maintaining levels of funding, we read continually of cutbacks to frontline medical services on account of shortage of finance.

It is therefore unbelievable that this NHS Trust is allowed to give an extra day’s holiday (between April and September – not even at the time of having the flu jab!).

Such generosity with taxpayers’ monies sticks in the gullet of those of us who work in the real world outside the unjust benevolence given to public service employees.

Meaningless sentences

From: Jack Kinsman, Stainton Drive, Grimsby.

The Government has passed a law increasing the sentence to five years for injuring someone by motor car. What a farce!

The whole of the British population knows that nobody will be given the maximum sentence by any of our lily-livered judges, because Ken “cat-flap” Clarke wants all the prisons to be emptied to save money.

Nobody has been given anywhere near the maximum sentence for any offence since this lot of softies came to power. The people’s safety does not matter as far as this Minister of Injustice is concerned.

Flying finish

From: Dennis Whitaker, The Grove, Baildon, Shipley.

John M Lennard asks if anyone remembers Maxeret units. I did not work on Lancasters, but I did serve on 257 Squadron at RAF Wattisham in 1955/6.

During that time, our Meteor mk.8s were replaced with Hawker Hunter mk.2s. These are single-seater jet fighters, and were fitted with both powered flying controls and anti lock brakes (Maxeret units).

In 1956, four Hunter squadrons each contributed seven aircraft to fly to RAF Marham in Lincolnshire, where Marshall Bulganin and Nikita Khrushchev, the Russian leaders, were invited to view part of the Royal Air Force.

Twenty-Eight Hunters were positioned down one side of the perimeter track and (from memory), Avro Vulcans, Handly Page Victors and Vickers Valiants lined the other side.

During the inspection, word came down the line that one of the Hunters had a flat tyre – not one of ours, however I recall taking part in the quickest wheel change ever, finishing the job with a hammer on the wheel nut.

This is a chargeable offence, but it was decision time and since the fly-past called for 28 aircraft, all of 74 Squadron (I believe) said “thank you”!

Winter looms

From: Mrs M Maude, Rainhall Crescent, Barnoldswick.

I ENJOYED the item by Sheena Hastings to accompany Simon Hulme’s photo (Yorkshire Post, October 3), but was disappointed that she didn’t give a mention to St Luke.

His little summer is October 15-18, and it is not often we miss having three summer days. St Martin’s Day is, as she says, the ending of autumn, and as the saying goes: “To our fires we can betake never, heeding winter’s face” – so batten down the hatches for what is to come.

From: JB Hughes, Trinket Wood, Leaholm, Whitby.

With reference to the article by Sheena Hastings on variations to the term “Indian Summer”, I believe that in bygone days, say 60-70 years ago, as a boy I often heard the term “Michaelmas Summer” – presumably in reference to The Feast of St Michael the Archangel (on September 29).