Con trick on tap for benefit of monied few

THANKS to Julian Sturdy for his revelatory article on Yorkshire Water (Yorkshire Post, November 7) and by inference, the abject failure of this and past governments to take effective action. His espousal of thoroughly discredited “competition” was disappointing. “We should shake this industry up from top to bottom” sounds good; but why only water?

To recap: when David Cameron & Co were still running round the playing fields of their respective Etons, their political predecessors were doing a fine job persuading millions of us that the supposed weaknesses of state-run services could only be resolved by privatisation. All would be well, with any unlikely problems being resolved by “regulators”.

It sounded wonderful; it turned out to be a cynical confidence trick. What we were not told was that our public services were to be run like their public schools – primarily for the benefit of a monied few – directors and shareholders. The mysterious “regulators” failed to regulate and the privateers have been milking us ever since.

The vast majority of the people in rip-off Britain have seen no benefit – quite the reverse, with rocketing prices and all too often, poor service. How much louder do we have to shout this, and how much longer before Westminster’s mealy-mouthed utterances become robust action, putting – as Julian said – “the consumer first, second and third”? Much more is needed than a limp-wristed “change your supplier”.

From: Barrie Frost, Watson’s Lane, Reighton, Filey.

DOES anyone know how to join the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” club? This, it appears, is a club which secures obscenely paid contracts for members for achieving either success or failure.

Currently its membership seems to be “top heavy” with executives of hospitals, councils, the BBC, civil servants, police chiefs etc but I would imagine there must be openings for others who can satisfy the demanding terms of membership. But, when a club demands obscene pay for actually doing the job and even greater rewards for failure to do the job, it must be very particular about who is accepted as a member. A record of previous failures may help in fast-tracking the application.

Accepting such colossal rewards for failure is not something everyone can do; it requires a special type of person; a person who puts their own position first, second and even third and has no conscience about others having to pay for them, but, how do I apply?

Who will pay for overspend?

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor, East Yorkshire.

THE recent announcement that the Government expects the contract for the build of two aircraft carriers to far exceed the original budget by several more billion comes as no surprise whatsoever, given the MoD’s past record of extravagance and bungling. What does amaze me is that no-one will be held accountable for this gross error in financing.

Of course the coalition naturally blame the previous government which is fair enough, although they themselves have repeatedly changed their minds on specifications mid-order, adding to the costs.

Regardless of which political party was in charge, it would have been the Civil Service, their in-house lawyers and financial advisors that would have drawn up the contracts. So, why are those involved not brought to book and dismissed for gross incompetence?

Deafening tale 
of two cities

From: Malcolm Bateman, Almshouse Lane, Newmillerdam, Wakefield.

I HAVE been following the correspondence and editorial comment about the problem of loud noise nuisance and slow action by City of York Council to do anything about it.

Far from castigating City of York Council, they should be congratulated on taking definitive action fairly quickly with a noise abatement order, and then actually checking it was being implemented. They then had it enforced by law.

Contrast this with the behaviour of Wakefield Council, who have now being sitting on complaints about excessive late noise from the St Pierre Hotel in Newmillerdam for 13 years. A few token gestures were eventually followed up with a noise abatement order. This order from five years ago has neither been complied with, nor enforced.

Why two councils are so different in their efficiency and willingness to support members of the public is difficult to explain, unless dealing with an individual noise maker is easier than the noise nuisance from “big business” or similar.

Discovery is a power of good

From: Charles Rushton, Pasture Close, Strensall, York.

YOU reported (Yorkshire Post, November 7) a potentially life-changing discovery on the treatment and safer disposal of nuclear waste courtesy of research at Sheffield. This discovery surely opens up the nuclear path in the UK and offers us realistic power for the foreseeable future.

Freedom from windmills and other “Heath Robinson” ideas surely is worth the immediate attention of our worthy rulers or will this be one more example of dithering whilst others make full use of UK hard won knowledge?

The track record of this country in such matters is so abysmal that one has grave doubts that we as a country will see the benefits from such cutting edge technology but “bravo” to all concerned.

Let’s shut door on ‘plebgate’

From: D Birch, Smithy Lane, Cookridge, Leeds.

WITH reference to “plebgate” and its consequences, does the ex-Minister Andrew Mithcell realise the total cost to the country he has caused because of his personal reaction against the people involved in his safety, when he was made to use the gateway instead of the police having to open the main gate in Downing Street to let him out?

I remember the lapse and expect the police do, too, of the IRA bombing of No. 10 that happened in the working day and unexpected.

There should be no more money wasted on more and ever more meetings over what was said or who said what. It’s a disgraceful way to continue spending our hard earned money on what has become a “class war” with no satisfaction either way.

The people involved should meet up together, say what they have to say to each other and get back to doing the jobs they were doing before it started. This sort of thing goes on and people involved should be told that they pick up their own bills.