Friday's Letters: Now the voters can cleanse the stinking political stables

In the United Kingdom, the Houses of Parliament have become our Augean stables and the cleansing task is one of Herculean proportions. It is evident that the contributions from the Labour, Liberal Democrats and Conservative parties to the mess and the stench means that the required thorough cleansing cannot be entrusted to these political parties.

Additionally, all three parties have been complicit, by sovereign political treaties willingly entered into by them without the consent of the electorate, in introducing the controls and laws of the European Union, thereby further contributing to the mess in which the country and the electorate find themselves.

In the forthcoming General Election, the electorate face a truly Herculean task in persuading the three main parties that it is more than time they listened to the electorate and the most effective way of cleansing UK politics is by not voting for the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, or Labour. By their political records they have proved time and time again they put their own party before the country, as in April 2009 when the Liberal Democrats did this by denying the UK electorate the promised referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

Time for a change, indeed, and a plague on their respective stables.

From: Colin McNamee, Ella Street, Hull.

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

LISTENING to Jack Straw on the radio the other morning commenting on the suspended New Labour ministers and his horror at their stupidity made me smile, especially when he further pointed out that it would be wrong of us – the public – to get the idea that all MPs were out purely to make money for themselves.

Forgive me saying it, but New Labour's previous Prime Minister turned out to be a veritable expert at using position to line his pocket, and, indeed, is still doing so: hence is it any wonder that some of his protges have followed the same example?

Tony Blair, once hailed as the saviour of the Labour Party, is

perceived by many to have turned every available opportunity into creating his own personal fortune, eagerly and ably abetted by his wife Cherie Blair. Politicians of any colour may well consider themselves hard done by, with the expenses rows and the current revelations of back-handers in the way of "jollys" to foreign countries, but they only have themselves to blame.

The one prevailing fact that comes out of all this, is that having engineered themselves into positions of power, the vast majority in Westminster seem unable to resist the lure of easy money. Is it any wonder that people's confidence in any government is at an all time low?

From: Martin Smith, Main Street, Elvington, York.

THERE are likely to be many voters like myself who feel completely disenfranchised by the current state of politics and the main political parties.

Our democracy, so long the envy of the world, is now under serious threat from this feeling of detachment from those in power, whose arrogance and disdain for the views of the public seem to have no limit. So what is to be done to restore the vital relationship between electors and elected?

Firstly, we need leadership with a real and positive vision of Britain's place in the modern world, something to restore some hope and pride, particularly for our young people.

We are desperate for some big ideas on how we might once again become a major world producer of renowned quality and innovative products and we need to gear up our system of education accordingly. This is the way forward for really meaningful employment. This is the way to produce real and lasting prosperity, not the mirage of an endlessly stifling expansion of centralised state bureaucracy trumpeted as some sort of economic miracle.

Plight of a city that lost its direction

From: PH Green, Radlyn Park, West End Avenue, Harrogate.

AS one who grew up in Bradford in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, I was greatly saddened to learn that Bradford has now been dubbed "the city visitors least want to visit" (Yorkshire Post, March 19) as it is

deemed "dangerous, ugly and boring".

I was most upset by this description, since my memories of Bradford are of a beautiful city with wonderful architecture, a thriving woollen industry and a first class education system. It was the envy of many cities and towns throughout the country, and had handsome places like the Swan Arcade, the Wool Exchange, the Alhambra, the New Victoria and the Princes Theatre.

Its two railway stations were most impressive, Forster Square and the Exchange, from which you could travel anywhere in the country and its library and markets – both indoor and outdoor – were places of wonder, with pea and pie stalls, not forgetting Robert's Pie Shop and the claim: "JB Priestley dined here."

What went wrong to bring it to today's sorry state and to destroy all the heritage of which we were so proud? You can't call it progress, can you?

Not guilty over climate

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

I HEARD that the Advertising Standards Agency had rapped the knuckles of the Government's advertisements in newspapers stating that global warming will cause floods, droughts and earthquakes – but it was listening to Ed Miliband's comments on the radio in defence of them, that really made me fume.

We all know that, to coin a phrase, "every little helps". However, this Government seems intent on making each one of us in the UK feel

culpable as regards global warming, as though the whole thing was down to you and me.

I bitterly resent the implication, because the likes of you and me actually contribute virtually nothing to creating global warming, and Ed Miliband and co should feel ashamed at dragging us in on their crime.

The ones who should feel guilty are the Government – they are the polluters, not us: in fact, every government worldwide is guilty. Until the destruction of the rainforests cease and the relentless

encroachment of palm-oil plantations cease, and America and the Third World nations cut their emissions, I refuse to feel guilty for

something I have no control over.

Economic answer

From: Ralph Musgrave, Garden Avenue, Durham.

RUTH Lea uses too many words and figures to scare us about the size of the national debt (Yorkshire Post, March 22).

For balance, she might have mentioned that this debt is nowhere near half what it was, as a proportion of national income, immediately after

the Second World War (or after the Napoleonic wars). In neither case was this debt level a problem.

However, the debt is rising much too fast. As to reducing it, that's easy: just raise taxes or reduce government spending, as Ruth Lea

points out. But hang on – that in turn depresses growth, a problem

which Ruth Lea doesn't address. So the 64 million dollar question is

how to cut the debt while without cutting growth?

The answer is actually just to continue quantitative easing, that is printing money and buying back national debt. And the predictable reaction to that idea is "inflation".

Well, the answer to the "inflation" point was given by David Hume, the Scottish philosopher 250 years ago. He pointed out that money supply increases are not inflationary until they are spent.

If and when it looks like this money will be spent in excessive

volumes, any half competent government ought to be able to take counter measures so as to prevent excessive spending, ie, inflation.

Train inspector should be penalised, not the traveller

From: John B Sears, Longmeads, Wickham Bishops, Witham, Essex.

YOUR correspondent RD Wolstenholme, who described a nightmare train experience and that of others, should take the matter up with his MP (Yorkshire Post, March 18).

Such arbitrary behaviour by a "jobsworth" ticket inspector should

result in the inspector, not the customer, being disciplined and penalised.

The public are not cows to be milked endlessly for the amusement or benefit of commerce and I suspect that to deny the man of a means of travel to which his age entitles him, is an illegal act, hidden behind the "company rules".

From: Adrian Roberts, Laurel Wood, Weaponness Park, Scarborough.

THE 640,000 costs of rebranding the East Coast franchise (Yorkshire Post, March 22) is the cost of just six-and-a-half days of the ongoing InterCity Super Express Programme.

This is not a large amount in transport terms and frankly I feel your editorial missed the point. At the moment, a review of the InterCity Super Express Project which will provide replacement trains between London and Scotland on the East Coast Main Line is being carried out.

The project has been dogged by poor decision making and even poorer engineering decisions.

So far, the Government and other bidders for the project have put in almost 100m despite excellent advice from railway engineers that the concept was flawed. Lord Adonis has, thankfully, put the project on hold before the election. Total project costs so far amount to 100,000 per day since the bidding process began.

And don't think roads are necessarily cheaper. Recent building work on a motorway in Glasgow worked out at at least 100m per mile!

Greedy elite exploit the poor

From: Glyn Powell, Bakersfield Drive, Kellington, Goole.

AS is the norm with industrial disputes, the useless powers-that-be condemn the strikers. They do this to maintain a system that is corrupt and moribund, serving only the greed of the elite at the expense of the poor.

If they were really interested in the public good, the politicians

would condemn the fat cat captains of industry who seek to impoverish their workers by removing hard- fought terms and conditions and reducing wages. They would have us all paid as serfs to maintain profit and their greedy, decadent lives.

Instead of condemning BA and Network Rail workers, they should be

supported as their cause is ultimately in all workers' interests.

Also, if the industrial action affects your journey, demand the sacking of idiots like Willie Walsh, who seeks to impoverish cabin crews to maintain his own over-hyped and inflated ego.

Tory boost

From: Roger M Dobson, Ash Street, Cross Hills, Keighley.

EVERYBODY one speaks to seems to want to see the back of Gordon Brown and his Government.

I always thought that, with few exceptions, the unions were all against the Conservatives but lo and behold, at the moment they are lining up to give presents to the Tories to get them back in again.

If it is not the airline workers, it is someone else. All I can say is carry on, boys and girls, you are doing a wonderful job for democracy.