Let’s learn about debt the Welsh way

IT was with incredulity that I saw the Leader of Leeds Council touting his wares on TV. Bidding to take control of Leeds region’s travel infrastructure, Councillor Keith Wakefield declared we need £1bn of funding and its “only a few pence on a precept”.

Well, if it’s only a few pence, he can pay it! Yet again we’re being hammered by the delusional ambitions of a Socialist politician eager to spend our money. Do I smell the resurrection of Leeds supertram? If so, the final bill will be way above £1bn

And hot on the tracks of Coun Wakefield was a Tory MP saying the area should borrow from the markets instead of charging council tax payers. Yes! More debt at greater expense – exactly what we need.

While these mediocrities decide how to get Yorkshire into more debt, Wales’s parliamentarians are creating a vision. Already they’re discussing how to control the money supply without waiting for that hopeless lot in London. This means assessing the capacity of the local economy and printing sufficient money to pay for infrastructure without inflationary excess. No borrowings, no debt, no interest to pay, no charges. Clever lot, those Welsh.

Poor marks for Ofqual

From: David Gell, West View Terrace, Raw Gap, Knaresborough.

AFTER reading the article (Yorkshire Post, May 2) which commented on exam standards slipping in science and geography, this has certainly got my blood boiling.

As a current A-level geography student looking to study the subject at university, I was not only annoyed but also shocked to read that a professional body such as Ofqual has deemed my geography exams as getting easier.

Having achieved highly at GCSE and AS, such comments about “multiple choice questions” have left me rather bemused. I, for one, have not seen any such question types in my geography exams over the last few years, and the perception that the younger generations exams are constantly getting easier is one that I am becoming tired of hearing.

The level of detail required to succeed at A-level geography is way beyond what most people reading the article will have any idea about.

Come summer, I will be taking my final A2 geography exam, and the annual beast of a 40-mark essay question at the end of the paper is likely to decide whether I get the grade I need to go to university next year.

Here I will supposedly consolidate month’s worth of learning and endless case study material into a finely tuned essay, quite a daunting task under pressure.

But fear not, perhaps the exam board have decided to replace it with a two-mark multiple choice question instead. After all, the exams are “officially” getting easier now right?

Statesmen of old?

From: Phyllis Capstick, Hellifield, Skipton.

IF this Government is unable to look after the “ordinary” working men and women of this country, we, as a country, will go down and down because these workers are the backbone of our society and the ones who keep the country on its feet.

We need to pay our way in the world. In this country now, there are too many people, causing too much expense and too little work. We have been flooded with immigrants and we are sinking fast. Tony Blair’s “let them all come” attitude has been and still is a massive recipe for disaster.

It is a simple fact: we cannot afford all of the immigrants and the “ordinary” working person realised this from the start.

Yet politicians are so self-serving and wrapped up in their own quest for wealth and glory, very little else is of any significance to them.

George Bush bragged that he was a war president. Tony Blair followed him, entering into a war based on a lie. We were not threatened in any way. War doesn’t bring about peace, only peace does that.

They should lead by example and be exemplary, putting this country and its people before their own desires for power and glory.

That is what we pay them for; only then will we get back on our feet and be able to prosper.

What we need is elder statesmen, who have lived and gained experience of life and wisdom, not arrogant posh boys who don’t know the price of milk.

Smackers of affection

From: Wendy Robinson, Walton Avenue, Gargrave, Skipton.

HAVING just read Stephanie Smith’s view on public snogging (Yorkshire Post, April 18), let me firstly agree with her dislike of prolonged kissing.

However, when it comes to holding hands, I plead guilty of doing so with my husband of 22 years.

This is not a smug gesture but usually is done in the context of being out on a walk with him. He, as a taller person, strides out and leaves me bringing up the rear, hence my tendency to grab his hand is to slow the pace. Romance with a practical tilt.

He does give me a peck on the cheek if he gives me a lift to work, which could be classed as in public, but is a genuine sign of affection. If he failed to do so, I would think something was wrong!