No painless or quick way out of the depths of economic crisis

THE rallying cry of the Left is now the buzz word “growth”. Whether it’s the Labour Party, or the French President Francois Hollande, it has become the attempted anaesthetic to take the pain out of austerity.

Ed Miliband’s party, having lived the life of Riley during its profligate 13 years of office at the taxpayers’ expense, now clings to the straw of the concept of growth.

This implies that growth is some miraculous alternative to the hardship of cuts and austerity. It also implies that the Socialist approach would be the answer in achieving such a wondrous transformation.

Any rational observer would agree that a successful, and I emphasise successful, growth programme would be a welcome support for austerity measures but even achieving the long-term average growth for the UK of about two per cent would be, in the current eurozone crisis, an Everest to climb.

What is needed are structural reforms that usually take a fair time to implement and to take effect.

Adoption of the majority of the recommendations of the recent Beecroft Report, liberating entrepreneurs from a whole gamut of bureaucratic restraints and improving labour flexibility would be a good start.

From: Peter A Rushforth, Sutton Drive, Cullingworth.

Peter Asquith-Cowen (Yorkshire Post, June 13) writes of Chancellor George Osborne discussing ways to claw back monies to reduce Britain’s debt.

Well there is a simple way he can draw back money and that is to stop sending our money to 158 countries. Top of the list is India. In year 2011/11, we gave India £428m. This was an increase of £71.5mon the amount given in year 2009/10. And India, remember, bought fighter aircraft from France instead of Britain.

Amongst the 158 countries are Zambia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Congo Iraq and Turkey.

Perhaps we should send a copy of the list to George Osborne.

From: Phil Hanson, Beechmount Close, Baildon, Shipley.

THIS once great nation of ours is on its backside – economically skint, jobless numbers are on a high and we have a generation of kids with limited job prospects at best!

So why is it that Britain still remains at the upper echelon of donors of overseas aid, indeed this present government has increased overseas aid rather than reduce it? Why, with such gloom and limited prospects, are we will still hell-bent on military spending and far worse still the spilling of British blood in the gutter of lost causes such as Afghanistan? The reason is simple, our politicians seem to be inducted into power with an ego pill that makes them want to play power games if they cannot play God.

Am I the only person that thinks we have reached a point where Britain and Britons should be the sole priority of our political leaders, a la Churchill?

The Government should slash overseas aid, send all law- breaking immigrants back to their homelands and tell the European Courts that we will decide who stays and who leaves our nation!

That sounds like a mandate that would restore our national pride, something the BBC and New Labour have spent the last years demolishing.

From: RD Leakey, Giggleswick, Settle.

IT is stupid to expect the rich financial “experts” to cure the problems of the unemployed who obviously are suffering due to lack of money.

Using the finance industry in this way is like using people who live in deserts and hills as experts to cure floods and swamps.

From: G Ellison, Hawthorn Avenue, Dronfield.

THE Tory-led coalition is going to force the unemployed to work for a month or their meagre benefits are stopped if refused.

I thought no company could employ for no less than the minimum wage which the Tories, when in Opposition, opposed and deep down still do.

It’s slave labour, a true Tory policy. If these jobs exist, pay a decent living wage.