Distorted view of history

BARRIE Frost (Yorkshire Post, March 29) seems to have a rather distorted perspective of British political and economic history. Does he really believe that “successive governments” conspired to destroy the coal mining industry?

Did Mr Frost not witness, for example, the disastrous events of the decade of destruction, the 1970s? The Marxist demagogue Arthur Scargill subsequently sought to engineer a national strike in order to precipitate a general strike. He failed. Miner was pitted against miner in a bitter internecine conflict that ruined the mining industry.

Mr Frost might care to reflect upon the fact that ICI shelved its plans to instal coal-fired boilers because the NCB (National Coal Board) could not guarantee continuity of supply. The miners strike was, in effect, a form of self-immolation.

Laws for all

From: John Wilson, Wilsons Solicitors, Horsforth, Leeds.

If it is true that cuts in legal aid will lead to people “taking the law into their own hands” (Yorkshire Post, April 2), what is wrong with that? It belongs to them, not to us lawyers.

The law in this country (and I suspect many others) is made by us lawyers in the image of us lawyers and for the benefit of us lawyers. Of course we will object if anyone does anything to upset our applecart. Whatever next? Simple laws? Plain English?